Marketing Strategy

The Marketing Strategy group studies how firms develop and implement marketing strategies and how these strategies affect customers, organizations, and markets. We aim to understand which marketing strategies work, why they work, and under which conditions they create sustainable value for customers, firms, and society. Our research addresses established strategic marketing questions as well as the profound changes created by digitalization, artificial intelligence, changing customer expectations, and growing societal demands on firms.

We combine strong theoretical foundations with rigorous empirical research. Our work draws on field and laboratory experiments, surveys, longitudinal and transactional data, and advanced quantitative methods, often in collaboration with researchers in Consumer Behavior and Marketing Modeling.

Key research areas

Digital transformation and AI

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are changing how firms interact with customers and organize marketing activities. We study the strategic implications of digitalization, AI, social media, platforms, and other emerging technologies, including how firms can successfully integrate human and technological capabilities into customer-facing processes. We examine how technology and changing labor markets are transforming service delivery and the frontline, including customer–employee interactions, service automation, and human–AI and human–robot collaboration.

Responsible and sustainable marketing

Marketing strategy increasingly involves responsibilities toward stakeholders beyond customers and shareholders. We investigate how firms can contribute to more sustainable and inclusive markets and how responsible marketing strategies affect consumers and firm performance. Topics include sustainable consumption and retailing, circularity and waste reduction, social responsibility, consumer inclusion, and the strategic implications of societal transitions.

Customer relationships, retailing, and experience

We study how firms create and sustain customer value by managing customer relationships and experiences across physical and digital channels. Research examines customer engagement, loyalty and relationship management, customer journeys, retailing and omnichannel strategies, customer experience, and the design and management of physical and digital customer touchpoints.

Strategic marketing and interorganizational relationships

We examine how firms develop marketing strategies and manage relationships with customers, business partners, public organizations, and other stakeholders. Topics include corporate branding and marketing leadership, B2B and B2G marketing, the marketing–finance interface, corporate activism, and the role of digital technologies and AI in strategic and interorganizational decision making.

Researchers contributing to this theme include:

Tammo Bijmolt, Jenny van Doorn, Maarten Gijsenberg, Edlira Shehu, Peter Verhoef, Laurens Sloot, Corine Noordhoff, Hans Risselada, Jana Holthöwer, Iina Ikonen, Carlo Calmasini, Jean-Pierre Thomassen, Qiong Tang, Anna Stepanova