Shaping the future of marketing

Marketing concerns how organizations create, communicate, and deliver value to customers. It involves both how firms design and execute marketing activities and how customers perceive and respond to them. Developments in technology, data, and society are transforming both dimensions.

Key areas of transformation

Product and service development

The development of products and services is increasingly shaped by data rather than direct consumer input. Large volumes of behavioral data enable firms to identify patterns and preferences without relying on explicit feedback. In some cases, data-driven and AI-based processes may replace traditional approaches to new product development.

Pricing

Access to detailed information about individual consumers enables more dynamic and differentiated pricing. Prices can vary across individuals and over time, while consumers simultaneously gain access to tools that make price comparisons easier. How these developments affect market efficiency and fairness remains an open question.

Distribution

Although online retail continues to grow, most purchases still take place offline. Firms therefore need to manage and integrate multiple channels. At the same time, digital sales depend on physical delivery, making logistics—particularly last-mile delivery—a key area of change. In addition, customer interactions are increasingly mediated by digital and AI-driven interfaces rather than face-to-face encounters.

Communication

Marketing communication is shaped by new media environments where most interactions occur through digital channels. Messages compete in a dense information landscape, requiring new approaches to reach and influence audiences. The emergence of specialized technology providers has also shifted both power and expertise within the advertising ecosystem.

Research focus

Within this evolving landscape, the research theme examines how the organization, tools, and practices of marketing are changing. Areas of focus include:

  • Data analytics and its role in decision-making
  • Consumer behavior in digital environments, including e-commerce and the Internet of Things
  • Marketing communication in new media and its effects
  • Influencer marketing and its impact
  • Interactions between consumers and AI-driven systems
  • Marketing responses to sustainability challenges

Purpose

By studying these developments, the research aims to better understand how marketing is shaped in a data-driven and digital environment, and what this means for organizations, markets, and society.