Research on the Application of Emerging Technologies in Marketing

Dear Colleagues,

The accelerating pace of technological innovation has fundamentally transformed the marketing landscape. Emerging technologies—such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data analytics—are enabling marketers to develop more personalized, immersive, and data-driven strategies.

While existing research has examined individual technologies (e.g., AI: Davenport et al., 2020; big data analytics: Wedel & Kannan, 2016; AR: Hilken et al., 2017), much of this work has focused on early adoption or conceptual implications rather than ongoing empirical evaluation in dynamic market environments. Given the rapid evolution of these technologies and shifting consumer expectations, there is a pressing need for the development of a wide range of approaches to assess their effectiveness in real-world marketing contexts (Huang & Rust, 2021; Kumar et al., 2023).

This Special Issue aims to responds to this gap in the literature by publishing research that introduces novel applications of emerging technologies while rigorously evaluating their short- and long-term impacts on consumer behavior, brand performance, and organizational outcomes. The aim is to refine marketing theory and offer actionable insights for practitioners navigating continuous technological disruption.

Scope and Topics

This Special Issue invites both empirical and conceptual contributions exploring the integration of emerging technologies into marketing theory and practice. We welcome submissions from diverse sectors, including but not limited to retail, sports, tourism, healthcare, finance, and digital platforms. Submissions may include original research articles, theoretical papers, case studies, and systematic literature reviews that examine applications, challenges, ethical considerations, and outcomes of emerging technologies in marketing. Potential topics include (but are not limited to) the following areas:

• AI-powered personalization and recommendation systems;
• AR/VR-enhanced consumer experiences;
• Blockchain-based ticketing, loyalty programs, and customer data management;
• Sentiment analysis in social media marketing;
• IoT-enabled customer engagement and behavioral analytics;
• Digital transformation and brand management in technology-driven markets;
• Ethical and privacy considerations in data-intensive marketing systems;
• Multi-method evaluations of emerging technology effectiveness.

By focusing on the practical deployment and impact measurement of emerging technologies, this Special Issue aims to

• Advance marketing theory through empirical evidence and conceptual refinement;
• Provide managerial insights for leveraging technology to enhance consumer engagement, loyalty, and value creation;
• Bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and technological implementation.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration between marketing scholars, information systems researchers, and industry practitioners.

Submission Instructions:

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. It may be sent to the Guest Editor or to the Assistant Editor of Administrative Sciences (zoya.zhang@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 2026/09/30

Notification of Abstract Acceptance: 2026/10/31

Dr. Daehwan Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Administrative Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• emerging technologies
• technology-driven marketing
• artificial intelligence (AI)
• augmented reality (AR)
• virtual reality (VR)
• blockchain marketing applications
• internet of things (IoT) in marketing
• big data analytics
• consumer behavior
• digital transformation in marketing