Contemporary Trends in Marketing: Problems, Processes and Prospects (Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society) 3031365887, 9783031365881

Table of contents :
Contents
Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Contemporary Trends in Marketing: Problems Processes and Prospects
Prologue
Background
The Emergence of a Digital World
Marketing and Sustainability
International Marketing
Social Media and New Sensemaking Lens of Consumer
Conclusion
References
2 Learning to Navigate a Changing Marketing Landscape
Introduction
The Post-COVID and Postdigital Terrain
Learning to Locate and Navigate Transitional Learning Spaces
A Conceptual Model of Transitional Learning Spaces
Disjunction and Transitional Learning Spaces
Liminality and Transitional Learning Spaces
Learning and Engagement in Transitional Learning Spaces
Transformation and Transitional Learning Spaces
Discussion: Learning Fluency, Hope, and Resilience in Transitional Learning
Areas for Future Research and Practice
Conclusion
References
3 Future of Marketing After Disruptions and Uncertainties: Physical, Digital, or Phygital?
Introduction
Understanding Phygital
Research Methodology
Results and Discussions
Customer Decision Journey
Technologies and Challenges
Case: Phygital in Health Delivery
Conclusion
References
4 The Digital Drivers of Consumer Behavior: Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, and Artificial Intelligence
Introduction
Digitalization/Disruptive Innovation
Industry 4.0: Co-Creation and Mass Customization
Web3.0: The Future of Consumer Interaction
Artificial Intelligence: The Frontier of Consumer Behavior
Summary
References
5 Rethinking Nation Branding in the Post-pandemic, Post-truth Era
Introduction
COVID-19 as an Inflection Point for Nation Branding
Soft Power for Nation Branding: Why It Matters?
Social Media: An Imperative for Nations in Current Times
Characteristics Behind the Growing Influence of Social Media
Social Media as a Tool for Soft Power Acceleration
The Dark Side of Social Media: A Looming Threat
A Social Media-Powered Infodemic During the Pandemic: An Unsettling Resemblance
The Perils of Disinformation
Disinformation as a Threat to Soft Power
Disinformation Spreading Its Tentacles
Infodemic and the Impact on Nation Branding
Fighting Disinformation Amidst Nation-Branding Efforts
Media Literacy and Critical Thinking
Community Collaboration
Proactive Mechanisms to Combat the Evolving Threat
Conclusion
References
6 Intelligent Automation, Service Robots, and AI – the Service Revolution is in Full Swing
The Service Revolution is Gathering Pace
Opportunities of the New Service World
Challenges of the New Service World
Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) as a Response to the New Digital Reality
Automated Customer Service vs. Traditional Service Delivery
Implications for Service Organizations
References
7 Delivering Value Through Sustainable Marketing
Introduction
From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals
From SDGs to ESGs
Triple Bottom Line
Evolution of Sustainable Marketing
Reinventing the Marketing Mix Decisions
Sustainable Product
Sustainable Price Policy
Sustainable Distribution
Sustainable Promotion
Case Examples of Sustainable Marketing Initiatives
Creating Value for All
Value for Business
Value for Customers
Value for Society
Sustenance Versus Consumption
Role of Government
Issues and Challenges
References
8 #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha: Failure to Leverage Twitter
Opening
Laal Singh Chaddha: Introduction
Say “No to Laal Singh Chaddha”
As Khan Responds…
Finally….
References
Correction to: Contemporary Trends in Marketing
Correction to: A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8
Index

Citation preview

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN MARKETING, ORGANIZATIONS AND SOCIETY

Contemporary Trends in Marketing Problems, Processes and Prospects Edited by Aarti Saini · Justin Paul · Satyanarayana Parayitam

Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society

Series Editor David W. Stewart, College of Business Administration, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA

This book series will focus on the broader contributions of marketing to the firm and to society at large. It takes a focus more consistent with the original reasons the marketing discipline was founded, the creation of efficient systems through with societies provision themselves and match supply with the needs of a diverse market. First, it looks at the contribution of marketing to the firm, or more broadly, to the organization (recognizing that marketing plays a role in not-for-profit organizations, governments, and other organization, in addition to for-profit commercial businesses). Marketing plays a pivotal and unique role in the creation and management of intangible assets such as brands, customer lists and customer loyalty, trademarks, copyrights, patents, and specialized knowledge. Second, the series explores the broader contributions of marketing to the larger society of which it is a part. The societal effect of the modern firm, largely through the development of markets, can be seen in the per capita growth of GDP in Western Europe between 1350 and 1950. During this period, per capita GDP increased by almost 600%, while remaining virtually unchanged in China and India during the same. Marketing has played an important role in the improvement of the quality of life through increasing the number, nature and variety products and services, the improvement of the quality and convenience of these product and services, and by making these products and services more readily accessible to larger numbers of persons. The series will examine ways in which marketing has been employed in the service of social welfare— to promote healthy behaviors, family planning, environmentally friendly behavior, responsible behavior, and economic development.

Aarti Saini · Justin Paul · Satyanarayana Parayitam Editors

Contemporary Trends in Marketing Problems, Processes and Prospects

Editors Aarti Saini Shaheed Bhagat Singh College University of Delhi New Delhi, India

Justin Paul University of Puerto Rico System San Juan, PR, USA

Satyanarayana Parayitam University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dartmouth, MA, USA

ISSN 2661-8613 ISSN 2661-8621 (electronic) Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society ISBN 978-3-031-36588-1 ISBN 978-3-031-36589-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023, corrected publication 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Alex Linch/shutterstock.com This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

The original version of the book was revised: Some corrections and the affiliation of the editor ‘Satyanarayana Parayitam’ city name for Chapter 1 and Front matter copy right page have been updated. The correction to the book is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_9

Contents

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Introduction: Contemporary Trends in Marketing: Problems Processes and Prospects Satyanarayana Parayitam and Aarti Saini

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Learning to Navigate a Changing Marketing Landscape Joan Ball and Maggi Savin-Baden

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Future of Marketing After Disruptions and Uncertainties: Physical, Digital, or Phygital? Vinaytosh Mishra and Sudhir Rana

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The Digital Drivers of Consumer Behavior: Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, and Artificial Intelligence D. Steven White and Sanjeev K. Pathak

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Rethinking Nation Branding in the Post-pandemic, Post-truth Era Satish Krishnan, Debashis Chatterjee, and Pramukh Nanjundaswamy Vasist Intelligent Automation, Service Robots, and AI – the Service Revolution is in Full Swing Werner H. Kunz, Jochen Wirtz, and Stefanie Paluch

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CONTENTS

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Delivering Value Through Sustainable Marketing Jayant Shah, Kavita Sharma, and Komal Gupta

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#BoycottLaalSinghChaddha: Failure to Leverage Twitter Archana Parashar, Sudhir Rana, and Sanjeev Prashar

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Correction to: Contemporary Trends in Marketing Aarti Saini, Justin Paul, and Satyanarayana Parayitam Index

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Contributors

Joan Ball Tobin College of Business, St. John‘s University, New York, NY, USA Debashis Chatterjee Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kerala, India Komal Gupta Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India Satish Krishnan Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kerala, India Werner H. Kunz Department of Marketing, Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA

University

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Vinaytosh Mishra College of Healthcare Management and Economics, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE Stefanie Paluch School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany Archana Parashar Indian Institute of Management Raipur, Raipur, India Sanjeev K. Pathak Charlton College of Business, University Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA

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Sanjeev Prashar Indian Institute of Management Raipur, Raipur, India ix

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CONTRIBUTORS

Sudhir Rana College of Healthcare Management and Economics, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE Aarti Saini Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India Maggi Savin-Baden University of Worcester, Worcester, England Jayant Shah Academy of Indian Marketing, Delhi, India Kavita Sharma Department of Commerce, University of Delhi, Delhi, India Pramukh Nanjundaswamy Vasist Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kerala, India D. Steven White Charlton College of Business, University Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA

of

Jochen Wirtz Department of Marketing, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Fig. 2.1 Fig. 3.1 Fig. 3.2 Fig. 6.1

Fig. 6.2

Fig. 7.1 Fig. 7.2 Fig. 7.3

Contemporary trends in marketing (Source Illustration by authors) A model of transitional learning spaces Is enabling phygital experience (Source Author’s compilation) Proposed phygital consumer decision journey (Source Author’s compilation) A service firm’s CDR calculus. Note Adapted from Wirtz, Jochen, Werner Kunz, Nicole Hartley, and James Tarbit (2022), “Corporate Digital Responsibility in Service Firms and Their Ecosystems”, Journal of Service Research, published online first Service delivery based on the complexity of emotional and cognitive tasks. Adapted from Jochen Wirtz, Paul Patterson, Werner Kunz, Thorsten Gruber, Vinh Nhat Lu, Stefanie Paluch, and Antje Martins (2018), “Brave New World: Service Robots in the Frontline”, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, p. 909, https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0119 Aspects of ESG Triple bottom line Sustainability marketing-mix decisions (Source Fuxman et al. [2022])

5 20 33 35

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104 116 118 121

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 7.4

Exhibit 8.1

The five elements of a vision for sustainable consumption in 2050 (Source Vision for sustainable consumption—Innovation, collaboration, and management of choice (2011), a report published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

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Tweets Against “Laal Singh Chaddha” Before the Launch

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List of Tables

Table 2.1 Table 3.1 Table 7.1

Areas for future research and practice Leading Challenges for Achieving Phygital Dimensions Sustainable Development Goals

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Contemporary Trends in Marketing: Problems Processes and Prospects Satyanarayana Parayitam and Aarti Saini

Prologue The unprecedented coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was one of the greatest “black swan” events in the present century, disturbing the entire world’s social, economic, and business life and altering how organizations have been functioning (Sohrabi et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2021). The global pandemic has brought paradigmatic changes in manufacturing and service sectors: retail, banks, educational institutions, real estate, tourism, information technology, recreation, media, and healthcare. Among other

The original version of this chapter was revised: Some corrections and the affiliation of the editor ‘Satyanarayana Parayitam’ have been updated. The correction to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_9 S. Parayitam University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, USA A. Saini (B) Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023, corrected publication 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_1

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things, there is a phenomenal metamorphosis in the behavior of individuals and organizations worldwide because of frequent lockdowns and mandatory social distancing. Most businesses were conducted on virtual platforms; educational institutions switched to web-based teaching, and consumers used click-of-mouse for buying products and services. Viewing from the lens of consumers, this book focuses on the changes in consumer behavior we label “Contemporary trends in Marketing” which showcases in-depth analysis and discussions with renowned marketing scholars on how businesses planned to survive during the pandemic. It discusses how businesses redefined marketing growth opportunities in post-COVID worldwide through a symbiosis between humans and technology. The COVID-19 crisis has posed several challenges and created opportunities for marketing researchers and practitioners (Chiu et al., 2021). The global pandemic has brought a paradigmatic change in consumer behavior and unraveled several resilient strategies formulated and implemented by organizations to restore normalcy (Moisescu et al., 2021). As the postpandemic approach will be radically different, as research evidence has been piling up for the last two years, it would be interesting to explore what the future is trying to unfold.

Background The COVID-19 global pandemic has overturned marketers’ strategies, challenging the existing rules about marketers’ strategies, customer behavior, customer relationship management, and brand building (Bu et al., 2021). First, the pandemic has shifted business organizations from profits to sustainability. The shift started when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared in March 2020 that COVID-19 was a deadly pandemic and announced lockdowns of activities worldwide, bringing the world to a standstill (Khan, 2021). Then, after a brief lull, economies opened up, with frequent lockdowns and mandatory social distancing, web-based working, and buying products online to avoid contact with the virus, which all the countries have experienced. Some examples of change in the behavior of individuals include: i) Even during the post-vaccinated period, consumers, despite being vaccinated, prefer to avoid visiting shopping malls because of virus transmission, ii) Organizations are finding ways to meet the changing consumers’ preferences to avoid bankruptcy, iii) Educational institutions are implementing innovative ways of delivering lectures to students.

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iv) Employees have been trying to make both ends meet by remote working to avoid layoffs. In sum, conducting business operations has dramatically changed in the post-pandemic phase. To quote some examples, many iconic brands like Ascena Retail (1962), a women’s retail fashion brand, Belk (1888) (home of “Modern” southern style), Brooks Brothers (1818), an American-based dressing company, have been adversely affected by the pandemic as customers shifted their gears toward online shopping. This episode resulted in the “Mass shutdown of 2020,” pushing many iconic brands to the edge. In addition, the organizations faced many economic, legal, technological, and social-environmental challenges. Though the effect of the pandemic on consumer behavior is slowly receding, digital transformation and e-buying behavior are expected to continue for a long time. One can visualize future marketing through the lens of the digital world.This edited book aims to shed light on the marketing strategies organizations employ to bounce back from the global pandemic disaster. Most importantly, this book is a collection of various facets of marketing the future unfolds, coming from stalwarts in marketing. The paradigmatic shift in consumer behavior because of global pandemic necessitates changing gears to charter into unimagined and unprecedented territory. As stated, how to shift the emphasis to support personalization and changed performances of businesses is a challenge. The basis of competition has thus moved from the traditional firm level to that of the associated network. From there to now, marketing has evolved, and the marketing discipline has been reshaped in the post-pandemic scenario and contemporary trends reflect paradigmatic changes. As the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century dramatically increased people’s standard of living worldwide, which is seen in terms of high-quality products available to the masses at affordable prices, the technological revolution has brought different changes. Some of these are smaller, lighter, and cheaper products. For example, the development can be explained through desktop-laptop-mobile-phones-computer disks-pen drives. Automation and Artificial Intelligence are the “catchphrases” today. While scientific management and the industrial revolution have revamped the manufacturing sector, the technological revolution has reshaped the services sector. The emergence of a digital world is the talk of the day.

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The emergence of a digital world has changed the competitive landscape. The availability of digital channels and physical stores has given the consumer a broader scope for media distribution and choices. This hybrid strategy has raised many important questions for marketers and policymakers, notably whether digital distribution channels will cannibalize physical sales or vice-versa and whether legitimate digital distribution channels will dissuade consumers from using (illegitimate) digital piracy channels. Moreover, this changing landscape is looking at customers and prospects from the perspective of tapping them through either digital or physical media. As a result, the companies must adjust their strategies and tactics to win business development at both marketplaces. The digitalization has been accrued through the technological developments that may have profoundly affected and restructured societies and behavior patterns in specific periods. We may be on the brink of a new revolution right now. The last decade was revolutionized by virtual reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual-try-on technology to facilitate online shopping so customers can buy apparel at the click of a mouse. The present decade will be dominated by virtual currencies and digital wallets where customers can exchange products and services through cryptocurrency. Companies would compete in a three-dimensional space where people interact and share with objects, the environment, and each other through digital representations of themselves or their avatars. One significant aftermath of these revolutions (technological and digital) require customers to learn the art of navigating the competitive landscape. Therefore, it is very important to distinguish between postdigital and post-pandemic landscapes and tie these to the requirements of dynamic ecosystems, liminality, ecotones, and various ways people think, respond, and act, primarily when they face disruption—the role of marketers in helping the customers to navigate successfully to get what they want (Fig. 1.1).

The Emergence of a Digital World Global data research revealed that 90% of top e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Warfare, and Alibaba witnessed double-digit annual growth. Qualitative structural changes in market proportions characterize the beginning of the third millennium. The scientific and technological acceleration of development caused these changes. New frameworks have been drawn in researching and developing descriptive models of global

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Fig. 1.1 Contemporary trends in marketing (Source Illustration by authors)

integration theoretically. The pandemic also necessitated innovation in information and communication technologies. Marketers are employing multichannel and omnichannel strategies to attract and retain customers. As consumers have easy access to the global market through a click of the mouse, social media and networking sites play a vital role in bringing companies and consumers together. It would not be a hyperbole to say that we are moving toward the fifth industrial revolution, where the digital, physical, and biological worlds are aggregated to create innovations that promote sustainable practices. This metamorphosis radically changes how individuals, companies, and institutions relate to each other by rapidly moving toward a new phase of global marketing transformation. The contemporary changes are reflected in digital transformations, technological advancements, their usage, Artificial Intelligence, manufacturing revolution (service robots), saving the planet, and cultural hybridization. The organizations are learning to be proactive rather than reactive. Further, a predictive approach can help the organization be

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proactive with the predicted situation. Augmented marketing transformed the marketer’s communication with warmth and empathy, delivering to those visiting their websites via chatbots and virtual assistants. Marketers need to embrace emerging technology, and brands need to rethink their narratives in 3D, with the introduction of Metaverse, which finds its place in a virtual environment. With the rise of Virtual Reality, 3D models have become an essential tool for creating rich interactive experiences. The advertising industry has witnessed significant shifts from radio, television, and banner advertising to search engines and social media and now taking place from digital advertising to metaverse marketing. With the rise of internet-based business, there’s been an explosion of international trade, and more and more consumers essentially have the world at their door. The new world has seen a new trend in increasing customization. The importance of customization has kept the customer expectation bar high in both B2B and B2C contexts. In maintaining and creating these experiences, companies are required to place technology and data management aligned and try to create a relevant experience with content, communication, and convenience; This made it realistic to believe that companies are trying hard to deliver satisfactory customer journeys, which is vital to building long-term relationship with Trust. The contextual marketing approach can be applied by providing one-to-one marketing in real-time, with the context related to consumer preference. Companies must embrace a transformative mindset for a data-driven and agile approach. As has been stated before, the recently hit global pandemic, a black swan event, has resulted in a phenomenal metamorphosis in the marketing landscape. In the chapter “Learning to Navigate a Changing Marketing Landscape,” Joan Ball and Maggi Savin-Baden introduced a “model of transitional learning spaces.” Concurring with the call by marketers to reinvent new strategies to come back to normal, these strategies include the identification of new priorities, creating a cushion to withstand unprecedented disruptions, and inducting new talents to meet the challenges created by the pandemic. The authors argue that post-digital does not signal a period of change. Instead, it refers to transitional learning spaces that offer new questions, new solutions, and push and pull factors the marketers deal with in a volatile and dynamic environment. The rest of the discussion focuses on the four-component transitional learning model. These four components are disjunction, liminality, learning and engagement, and transformation. The authors conclude that understanding these

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phases help marketers to learn to navigate in the uncertain marketing environment. The mid path between physical world and digital world is likely to be the intended focus in marketing research. In the chapter “Future of Marketing After Disruptions and Uncertainties: Physical, Digital, or Phygital?” Mishra and Rana explain what the future of marketing holds for both consumers and organizations. As digitalization is the order of the day, marketers and consumers largely depend on digital channels by fruitfully combining digital and physical practices. In their chapter, Vinaytosh Mishra and Sudhir Rana have explained how future marketing will likely march. Most interestingly, the “phygital” combines physical and digital business methods. A convenient way of bridging physical and digital is an emerging concept, which is present in the embryonic stage and consists of three elements: Immediacy, Immersion, and Interaction. Immediacy and Immersion are related to the digital world, and Immersion is associated with the physical world. This chapter explains the consumer’s proposed journey through the evidence-based framework. Researchers and practitioners largely agree that digitalization has become a household name in the present decade. About marketing, in their chapter titled “The Digital Drivers of Consumer Behavior: Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, and Artificial Intelligence,” White and Pathak unravel the fundamental drivers of consumer behavior in the post-pandemic scenario. The recently hit global pandemic has negatively impacted all sectors worldwide. However, the negative effect was relatively more visible in developed countries (2.1% in developing countries and 5.8% in developed countries). Consumer behavior, too, has undergone a radical transformation in favor of buying health-related products, online buying essential products, and, most importantly, digital payments. In their article, White and Pathak explain three digital drives of consumer behavior: Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, and Artificial Intelligence. Several scholars have recently highlighted disruptive technologies (Qureshi & Khan, 2022), indicating that innovations in data analysis paved the way for integrating the changing customer needs with organizations’ offers. The paper by White and Pathak also underscores the importance of Web 3.0 platforms in exploring new ways of maintaining customer relationship management and gaining the trust of customers. The third essential component is AI, that fosters the dynamic digital environment through human–machine interactions. Machine learning has become a catchphrase, and with big data, machine learning helps in

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data mining, whereby data scientists perform algorithms to identify and enables the data scientists to serve algorithms that help in predictions and decision-making.

Marketing and Sustainability Recent years witnessed an increase in the emphasis on sustainability: sustainable environment, sustainable production, and sustainable consumption, to protect the environment from degradation. No wonder, several research papers have been published on green marketing, green consumption, sustainable consumption practices, and sustainable tourism in marketing to increase awareness about the environment and sustainability. During and post-pandemic era, organizations are increasingly concerned with revamping supply chains, bringing awareness among consumers about the cleaner environment and appropriate disposal of waste materials. The triple bottom line (profits, people, and planet) has become a catchphrase. Marketing researchers have slightly skewed their focus on practicing sustainability by reusing and recycling products and services. Consumers who are concerned with the environment tend to eliminate products that have harmful effects on the environment. While sustainability and the green environment have been given priority from the beginning of this century, the pandemic has given a different twist by highlighting health consciousness. Succinctly stated, as sustainability and the green environment have received increasing attention from researchers, companies, and countries worldwide, the postpandemic era has created an unparallel challenge to maintain the triple bottom line of profits-people-planet in equilibrium. In their chapter titled “Delivering Value Through Sustainable Marketing,” Shah et al. have underscored the importance of sustainable marketing to re-create and maintain a sustainable environment. Both sustainable production and consumption are the pillars of achieving sustainability. Following the loud call by United Nations suggesting all the countries worldwide focus on sustainable development goals, organizations incorporated sustainable production and consumption in their agendas. The authors argue that sustainable development goals (SDG) are necessary but insufficient, and it is essential to move to environmental-social-governance (ESG) to achieve sustainability goals. The crux of the chapter is that, as opposed to a traditional marketing mix, the companies need to re-design the marketing mix

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to reflect sustainable marketing. The authors provided examples of the companies following this trend that help balance the triple-bottle line.

International Marketing Because of periodical lockdowns and closure of the international borders during the last three years, undoubtedly, international marketing has been adversely affected. The existing assumptions about the customer response to different needs have been fundamentally challenged. The pandemic has pushed the market into e-commerce; many countries found it challenging. Organizations saw the opportunity that can access easy to access the global markets, where innovation and technology-driven global strategies. Globally thinking people tend to be open to themselves and others by rethinking boundaries and changing behavior. Companies are now focusing on the local understanding of the local consumer, which moves toward glocalization in place of globalization. The global mindset has sometimes been considered an essential, open trait, with positive thoughts toward innovation and technology use. The impact of the pandemic has bought remarkable changes in the economic, legal, competitive, technological, and social environment, which needs urgent attention. In their paper titled “Rethinking nation branding in the postpandemic, post-truth era,” Krishnan et al. have focused on the perils of infodemic on nation branding, particularly in the marketing area. Branding professionals need to understand the adverse effects of disinformation and engage in strategies that bring truth during the postpandemic era. The authors argue that nation branding was confined to developed nations earlier, and the pandemic has become an inflection point. State of the art is that national branding reflects how countries have responded to the pandemic-driven situation. After closing the borders for an extended period, the pandemic has shifted all economic activities online, and the nation’s branding strategies have changed paradigmatically. While some countries (like China) have propagated as global health leaders by announcing that it is a significant suppliers of healthrelated products, other countries resorted to soft power in the diplomacy campaign. The authors have explained the dark side of social media and the perils of disinformation. The authors suggest critical thinking and community support combat the evolving threat of a panic-driven pandemic.

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Social Media and New Sensemaking Lens of Consumer The success of any business hinges upon the business–customer relationships. The global pandemic has changed the equation of businesscustomer relationships because customer demands have undergone a radical transformation. A simple example is several organizations in the fashion, clothing, and textile industry that started manufacturing and selling face masks matching the dress colors with different designs. This explains a straightforward fact: customers want safety and, at the same time, do not want to sacrifice their satisfaction. No one would have predicted in 2019 that 2.4 billion face and surgical masks would be sold in 2020. Instead of custom-built products, customers prefer selfbuilt products (for example, Dell laptops and desktops). Using social media and networking, customers co-create value by sharing and disseminating information about the products and services. Technology has facilitated this process. Companies are putting up lots of efforts to support customer value and support organizations. Some online companies like Ikea, Starbucks frappucchino.com, and Adagio teas are trying to implement customization and help customers buy their products. The modern marketing paradigm aims to move beyond the customer/market’s needs. The critical criterion is the unit cost reduction and the social and ecological stabilization this process brings about. Thus, the contemporary changes assert that “one size does not fit all”; instead, diversity in customization should be expected and encouraged. The COVID-19 pandemic has made many firms think about transforming customer needs and delivering them for business survival. The global pandemic proved to customers and organizations that the future is uncertain and unpredictable. Going back to Darwin’s concept of “survival of the fittest,” present-day organizations and individuals believe in the “survival of the healthiest.” It is not a surprise that some aisles in retail stores provide organic products to health-conscious customers. The companies try to give them the best experience, like a “living the moment” experience. Now the competition of the companies is less with competitors and more on trying to compete with the best experience they can deliver to the customer. Therefore, there is a need to identify what factors or solutions could be successfully implemented in mass customization to provide customer value and control producer costs, creating challenges in managing complexities.

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It is widely acknowledged that the global pandemic has adversely affected all sectors: manufacturing and services, in their paper titled “Intelligent Automation, Service Robots, and AI – The Service Revolution Is in Full Swing,” Wirtz et al. have focused on the “service revolution.” The industrial revolution paved the way for the manufacturing sector in the eighteenth century; the services sector received increased attention in twenty-first century. The quality of life is affected by the efficient services rendered by various sectors such as banking, insurance, logistics, healthcare, and education; the service revolution started with mechanized and streamlined automation through digital transformation.

Conclusion COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of change across organizations everywhere. Marketers must rework strategies to deliver customer value and support management to overcome post-pandemic trauma. With digitization and technological advancements, it is easy to reach the customer and track their choices via artificial intelligence; challenge strikes when companies are willing to deliver the best at a sophisticated cost. In addition, consumer behavior, sentiments, and preferences are dynamic; the pandemic has made it more. Therefore, the organization must redefine its plans and consider satisfying the customer and caring for the planet. The idea is not to deliver short-term satisfaction but to survive in the market, focusing on long-term goals and survival strategies, which can be co-created with customers. Marketing 5.0 focuses on predictive marketing (being proactive), contextual marketing, and augmented marketing. This book provides a roadmap for both marketers and academicians on how digital transformation of business and changing behavior of consumers will be influencing the marketing domain in the years to come.

References Bao, W. (2020). COVID-19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking University. Human Behavior & Emerging Technologies, 2, 113–115. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.19 Bu, Y., Parkinson, J., & Thaichon, P. (2021). Digital content marketing as a catalyst for e-WOM in food tourism. Australasian Marketing Journal, 29(2), 142–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2020.01.001

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Chiu, W., Oh, G.-E., & Cho, H. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on consumers’ impulse buying behavior of fitness products: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1998 Khan, M. A. (2021). COVID-19’s impact on higher education: A rapid review of early reactive literature. Education Sciences, 11, 421. https://doi.org/10. 3390/educsci11080421 Moisescu, O.-K., Dan, I., & Gic, O. A. (2021). An examination of personality traits as predictors of electronic word-of-mouth diffusion in social networking sites. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1970 Qureshi, M. I., & Khan, N. (2022). Business disruptions and innovations beyond COVID-19. Foresight, 24(3/4), 297–300. Sohrabi, C., Alsafi, Z., O’Neill, N., Khan, M., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., Iosifidis, C., & Agha, R. (2020). World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID19). International Journal of Surgery, 76(1), 71–76. Zhao, Y., Li, Y., Wang, N., Zhou, R., Luo, X., & R. (2021). A meta-analysis of online impulsive buying and the moderating effect of economic development level. Information Systems Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-02110170-4

CHAPTER 2

Learning to Navigate a Changing Marketing Landscape Joan Ball

and Maggi Savin-Baden

Introduction In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, decision-makers across the globe were forced to make sense of the emerging crisis and develop immediate and far-reaching interventions on the fly without the benefit of reliable data, best practices or, in many cases, reliable crisis plans, procedures and practices. From educators shifting to online learning, to underresourced healthcare workers, to governments stretched to the limit, the world was thrust overnight into uncharted territory. Across these and other contexts, marketing decision-makers and their teams were forced to reimagine internal and external operations in real time, while seeking

J. Ball (B) Tobin College of Business, St. John‘s University, New York, NY, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. Savin-Baden University of Worcester, Worcester, England

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_2

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to protect the health and well-being of employees, customers, communities and other stakeholders, many of whom were under-resourced. Many marketing leaders reported feeling under-equipped for the task of navigating this unfamiliar and unsettling transitional moment. A special edition of the American Marketing Association CMO Survey conducted in May 2020, for instance, found that member marketing executives at the vice president level or above relied more on improvisation and experience than they did planning and experimentation to guide their response in their early months of the pandemic. When asked to what degree marketing was prepared to face the pandemic and its economic impact, respondents reported that preparedness for an immediate and catastrophic disruption was not a strength. What is more, the ability to pivot as new priorities emerged, creativity and innovation skills, and the capacity to navigate ambiguity ranked highest among the skills they would look for in future talent hires to fill those gaps (American Marketing Association CMO Survey, 2020). Learning and development programs in business and marketing— both in higher education and in professional practice—emphasize models, frameworks and plans designed for clear skies and calm seas. Disruptions are addressed as either anticipated when inspired through well-executed change and innovation activities or mitigated through skillful planning and risk management. As a result, the messy middle between a catalyzing disruption and the benefit (in the case of innovation) or the response (in the case of negative disruptions and interruptions) is often something to be endured rather than engaged with as a distinct condition. This is evident as the acute response to COVID-19 fades and organizations seek to return to pre-pandemic operations. While this may signal entering a ‘new normal’, it also underscores the instinct to return as quickly as possible to a sense of control and future thinking in the wake of a catalyzing disruption—even when the longer-term impact remains unclear (Brammer et al., 2020). As COVID-19 illustrates, clarifying pivots and ‘new normals’ do not always come as quickly as we might like in the wake of catalyzing disruptions, nor are their implications and impact across systems uniformly distributed or immediately known. The ways that individuals, organizations and communities experienced the pandemic varied greatly between and among countries, industries, socio-economic circumstances and proximity to the virus on a day-to-day basis. This is not unlike other catalyzing disruptions nor is it particular to marketing. The impacts of emerging technology, climate change

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and other systemic issues are not uniformly experienced in any single country, organization or community. Dynamic macro and micro marketplace forces affect people across the globe in every industry and every community, forcing us all to adjust to interconnected and sporadically unfolding situations that had the potential to affect the health, livelihoods and well-being of all of humanity, including marketers and those they serve in all aspects of commerce and life. The ungraspable nature of these complex and interconnected systems and the uncharted territory we face as a networked humanity operating within it, offer a unique lens through which to consider problems, processes and prospects for marketing in dynamic circumstances. Here we draw upon both the post-COVID and the postdigital conditions to argue that building the capacity to function in the disjunction that arises due to catalyzing disruptions, and the ability to engage in transitional learning, is fundamental to preparing for and navigating any ‘new normal’ we might imagine or seek to create. Furthermore, we assert that marketers cannot effectively meet the needs of stakeholders in these disruptive moments if the transitional space between what once was and what might be is viewed with fear rather than curiousity and openness to inquiry and learning in new terrain—even when doing so is uncomfortable or unsettling (Ball, 2022).

The Post-COVID and Postdigital Terrain A flurry of marketing-related research papers have been published that attempt to make sense of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the marketing field. Topics as varied social media marketing and branding (Francisco et al., 2021; Mahmoud et al., 2022), consumer behavior (Hoekstra & Leeflang, 2020; Kannan & Kulkarni, 2022), corporate social responsibility and sustainability (He & Harris, 2020), short and long term effects of COVID service adaptations (John & Thakur, 2021; Vorhees et al., 2020), marketing education (Taylor & Frechette, 2022) and managing uncertainty during a pandemic (Sharma et al., 2020) are but a fraction of the COVID-related research that proliferated in the first two years of the 2020s. A Google Scholar search for the term ‘Marketing post-COVID-19’ in mid-February, 2023 returns more than 3400 results in the first weeks of 2023 alone. A special issue of the Journal of Business Research underscores the breadth of observed impact of the pandemic on the marketplace and points to the post-COVID as a locale for engaging

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with a shifting marketing environment that is unlikely to feel ‘normal’ any time soon. In it, Donthu and Gustafsson (2020) state: The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has forced many businesses to close, leading to an unprecedented disruption of commerce in most industry sectors. Retailers and brands face many short-term challenges, such as those related to health and safety, the supply chain, the workforce, cash flow, consumer demand, sales, and marketing. However, successfully navigating these challenges will not guarantee a promising future, or any future at all. This is because once we get through this pandemic, we will emerge in a very different world compared to the one before the outbreak. Many markets, especially in the fields of tourism and hospitality, no longer exist. All organizational functions are intended to prioritize and optimize spending or postpone tasks that will not bring value in the current environment. Companies, especially start-ups, have implemented an indefinite hiring freeze. At the same time, online communication, online entertainment, and online shopping are seeing unprecedented growth. (p. 284)

While quick attempts to return to stability (real or perceived) may be tempting, here we assert that life—and marketing—in this ‘new normal’ post-COVID require an acknowledgment that COVID-19—both the virus and the reactions and response to it—will have lasting effects how we learn, live and lead for decades to come. Thus, we refer in this chapter to after-COVID as temporal—the months and years after the acute response to the pandemic—and post-COVID as a transitional space where stakeholders grapple with the complex and seemingly ungraspable realities, questions and uncertainties that have and continue to emerge as we make sense of what the future holds. Moreover, since COVID19 occurred in a postdigital era where technology and transportation systems connect the globe broadly and immediately in ways that were already ungraspable prior to the pandemic (Jandri´c et al., 2018), we also argue that this post-COVID condition is both informed by and overlaps with our evolving postdigital condition. As such this chapter contributes to the ongoing exploration of both the post-COVID condition and the postdigital to help inform ways that leaders and decision-makers in business, education and elsewhere make sense of the emerging and unfolding unknowns of twenty-first-century life, especially in the wake of these and other catalyzing disruptions.

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The postdigital is defined here as a stance toward the digital that seeks to challenge the educational, economic, and ethical impact of digital technology on humanity and the environment (Ball & Savin-Baden, 2022). For example, while learning at universities through digital technology in the past has been seen as largely supplemental, it now takes center stage. Momentum toward more remote work and learning has been ongoing for decades, yet the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a realization that the digital was not separate from, but central to work, learning and commerce. All aspects of marketing are now grounded in the digital. Thus, while experiences, impacts, opportunities and challenges viewed through the post-COVID and postdigital lens are distinct, the liminal and ungraspable nature of the two conditions are not dissimilar. Thus, in the same way that the ‘post’ in post-COVID refers to the ungraspable nature of human health, the inconsistent information about the continuing global spread of the virus, as well as the lack of critical debate about the long-term impact of COVID on humanity economically and educationally, postdigital is not about a position after-digital, but a condition where digital is assumed to be a part of even the most analog experiences (Savin-Baden, 2021). Moreover, while the postdigital may be perceived by some authors as just signaling a period of change (Fuller & Jandri´c, 2019); here it is seen as a disruptive space in which to untangle the impact of the digital on diverse systems (economic, sociological, political, and ethical) and relationships. This distinction is important, as digital inequalities, defined here as those inequalities such as skills, use and access that affect people’s ability to exploit technology to support their life chances, as well as to grow and learn are pervasive. In fact, research in this area suggests that digital inequalities exacerbate existing inequalities such as age, race, ethnicity and gender (Savin-Baden, 2023). We view both the post-COVID and the postdigital as transitional learning spaces that spark new questions, opportunities and challenges for marketers operating in a complex and dynamic marketplace. Furthermore, we argue that learning to locate and navigate transitional learning space is a critical capacity for learning to prepare for and flourish in a dynamic marketplace. In the following section we draw upon previous research in transitional learning (Ball, 2022; Ball & Savin-Baden, 2022; Savin-Baden, 2008, 2023) and propose a four-component Model of Transitional Learning as a lens through which to consider ways to locate and navigate these and other transitional learning spaces.

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Learning to Locate and Navigate Transitional Learning Spaces The post-COVID and postdigital conditions described here are distinct types of catalyzing changes in that one may be considered a ‘sledgehammer effect’ and the other a ‘threshold effect’. Lent (2021) describes a sledgehammer effect as one that arises when an ‘outside force causes a dramatic change in a system, leaving it in a new state very different from the previous state (p. 409). Some view COVID as one such effect where many work, learning and civil systems will never be the same, although the long-term implications of COVID-19 remain to be seen. Threshold effects, on the other hand, are critical transitions that occur from within the system itself. The postdigital condition is an example of such a critical transition. In either case, both sledgehammer and threshold effects encourage learners to stand at the borders of knowledge and invite exploration and inquiry. A wilderness metaphor is helpful here. Consider standing on the border of a meadow and encountering a thick forest with no map or compass. Entering that unknown space requires questioning the status quo that served well in the meadow and entering a new terrain with curiosity and willingness to explore new possibilities, both in theory and in practice, to make sense of an unfamiliar environment. Entering the unknown with the intention of engaging it as transitional learning space—the liminal space between understanding the meadow environment and reorienting in the forest—might feel exciting, or daunting, or some of both. Operating in that transitional learning space requires continually experiencing disjunction and liminality on the way to learning, engagement and, in some cases, transformation as one explores and adapts to new information and learning. Inquiry in the face of this sort of unknowing, is not always intuitive—or comfortable. Moreover, this kind of learning is often discouraged in practice because it takes time and cannot be managed, controlled or measured. It is learning that needs to be central to making sense of a changing marketplace and improving the lives of diverse stakeholders one encounter along the way. Here we view transitional learning space as a place where interruption and disruption might be delineated, explored and made sense of, albeit with blurred edges, as a route to engaging with a dynamic marketplace and engaging with creative and innovative responses to uncertainty and change. Also, due to the contextual relevance of transitional learning, it

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requires those who endeavor to explore new terrain to consider tools, tactics and techniques that might or might not be relevant in other environments. Thus, for the purposes of this chapter, we consider the experience of the marketer as learner in times of uncertainty and change.

A Conceptual Model of Transitional Learning Spaces While a thorough review of transitional learning spaces is beyond the scope of this chapter, we suggest four components adapted from the integrated model of transitional learning (Ball & Savin-Baden, 2022) as a lens through which to approach transitional learning spaces in a marketing context and consider areas for future research, practice and pedagogy relevant to the problems, process and prospects we face as we seek to understand marketing in the ‘new normal’. These components, disjunction, liminality, learning and engagement, and transformation are described in the following sections (Fig. 2.1). Disjunction and Transitional Learning Spaces Disjunction is described as ‘hitting a brick wall’ or as having an overwhelming sense of ‘stuckness’ in the face of uncertainty and unknowing (Savin-Baden, 2008). It has similarities with conceptually difficult knowledge that Perkins, (1999) described as ‘troublesome knowledge’. This is the knowledge that appears, for example, counter intuitive, alien (emanating from another culture or discourse), or incoherent (discrete aspects are unproblematic but there is no organizing principle). Disjunction, then, is not only a form of troublesome knowledge but also a ‘space’ or ‘position’ reached through the realization that the knowledge (or a lack of it) is troublesome. The difficulty with disjunction is that people who experience it as a threat are not always able to pass through it and enter liminal space. Instead, they stand stuck on a threshold. Common responses to regain control and place boundaries around disjunction when it is perceived as a threat include avoidance, retreat, postponement, and temporizing (Savin-Baden, 2008). When, on the other hand, disjunction generates curiosity or a desire to learn (by choice or necessity), learners may cross the threshold into a liminal space, where they explore new information, knowledge and experiences (Ball, 2022).

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Disjunction

Liminality

Transformation

Learning and Engagement

Fig. 2.1 A model of transitional learning spaces

Liminality and Transitional Learning Spaces Liminality is a term that was originally developed by anthropologists that has become widely used in contemporary social and human sciences as a lens that is helpful to study ‘events or situations that involve the dissolution of order, but which are also formative of institutions and structures’ (Szakolczai, 2009). Crossing the threshold into liminality can prompt feelings of uncertainty, confusion or a sense of unknowing, that either inspires curiosity and a desire to learn and explore or fear, frustration and other responses that result in further disjunction. Thus, the threshold into and out of liminal or transitional spaces are typically viewed as points of inflection or turning points where learners either choose to enter the unknown or engage in the behaviors previously mentioned as a response to disjunction.

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In short, liminality is a third space in which to untangle the impact of the catalyzing disruption on systems and relationships. Liminal space provides some context for living, learning and leading in the transition space between what is known and what has yet to be known given the impact of the disruption on a system. Transitional learning is invariably liminal in nature because it interrupts current norms and expectations about what constitutes learning. Learning and Engagement in Transitional Learning Spaces Transitional learning spaces shift the idea of learning away from simple information gathering and knowledge acquisition to focus on curiosity, exploration, understanding, humility, care and relationships. Learning and engagement in transitional learning spaces requires a consideration of what sort of learners we hope to be and how that might be achieved. Nørgård and Bengtsen, (2016) suggest academic citizenship should be seen as a combination of dwelling, being and unbecoming. This includes not only moral stances as Nixon (2019) suggests but also an ontological one in which academic citizenship is about service and about integration and shared responsibility that is intertwined between the University and society. They argue; This intertwining of societal and academic potential in academic citizenship has been overlooked due to a tendency to separate individuals in higher education from the places they are part of through a disconnect between citizenship and university. (Nørgård & Bengtsen, 2016: 5)

The promotion of such forms of learning can encourage critique and challenge the structures and boundaries within higher education and industry that have implications for educational systems as well as learning and development in the marketplace. Academic citizenship is a compelling notion for marketers who might benefit from considering what ‘marketing citizenship’ might be in transitional learning environments. Transformation and Transitional Learning Spaces Transformation in the contexts we discuss here involves some shifts toward ‘becoming, moving and repositioning’ into a different life space,

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which invariably involves an identity shift, a course correction or both. This happens when challenges occur to value and belief systems due to engagement and learning. Identity shifts are characterized not only by a change in perception of self and others, but also by changes in perspectives about the political, social and economic ways in which life is lived and business is conducted. These shifts are transformational because they are invariably caused by moral dilemma problems and result in perspective transformation. These spaces, then, are where a major challenge to one’s position and identity has occurred, often resulting in a sense of confusion and a need to rethink one’s stance radically. Much of what occurs in these spaces can be likened to the notion of a personal epiphany—sometimes referred to as an ‘a-ha moment’. A personal epiphany is an ‘interactional moment’ (Denzin, 1989) which occurs when a challenge or set of challenges result in a crisis or change to someone’s meaning perspective. There is a sense that, in the unstable state of the marketplace, the continual renegotiations of epiphanies, frameworks, structures and ideals mean that we are, in a sense, always in crisis. Reflexive modernization, the process by which the classical industrial society has modernized itself, has resulted in a sense of crisis characterized by a ‘risk society’ (Beck, 1992). This type of society with its emerging themes of ecological safety, the danger of losing control over scientific and technological innovations, and the growth of a more flexible labor force, will have a profound effect upon marketing and the marketplace. Ways of managing this fragmenting culture might be seen not just as living with risk but as living in the borders, not moving toward the end of marketing as we know it, but being on the threshold of a critical transition that might improve the field, the marketplace and the lives and livelihoods of those we hope to serve. We argue that transitional learning space offers the potential for learning and transformation when approached with curiosity, willingness to ask new questions and an openness to discovering new ways of approaching ourselves and those we serve. In the following sections, we discuss the role that hope might play in that endeavor, and offer guiding questions for future research, practice and pedagogy necessary to equip people to enter, engage and exit liminal learning spaces.

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Discussion: Learning Fluency, Hope, and Resilience in Transitional Learning Unlike traditional learning models where clear objectives and learning activities can be assessed and reassessed over time, transitional learning is both contextual and exploratory in nature. No two moments of disjunction are the same, and liminal space varies in its intent and impact. This raises many questions about developing capacity for transitional learning in times of marketplace uncertainty and change—especially in institutions that value uniformity in instruction and learning. In the case of COVID-19, marketers were forced to explore new options and possibilities at home, at work and in their communities at the same time as their health, well-being and livelihoods were at stake. In the postdigital, constant learning, unlearning and relearning can be tiresome for service providers, employees and customers—even for digital natives. Broadly, we argue that a complex and dynamic marketplace requires all stakeholders to recognize their identities as learners and consider how best to engage with disjunction, liminality and new ways of thinking, doing and being—often while experiencing real or perceived threat. Thus, whether applied to the classroom, online or in the marketplace, we view learning to overcome disjunction and enter transitional learning space is less a question of a specific approach or pedagogy then it is mindset, philosophy, or even a system of belief, since entering the unknown as a learner is a leap of faith that requires hope that there is a light at the end of the liminal tunnel and the resilience to find a way through. Rather than offer particular methods or curricula for navigating transitional learning spaces, we assert that fluency in learning is the lynchpin of navigating uncertain transitions and that transcending disjunction in low-stakes environments can help develop the hope and resilience necessary for learners to engage with disjunction when the stakes are high. The relationship between hope and performance has been established across a variety of domains, including academic achievement (Snyder et al., 2002), physical and mental health (Rasmussen et al., 2017), survival and coping (Stanton et al., 2002) and well-being (Chang & DeSimone, 2001). While hope has been viewed in the literature as a trait (Snyder et al., 2002), more recently it has been viewed as a developmental state that involves having at least one future goal, the belief that one has the agency and resources to achieve the goal and at least one caring person to support their efforts (Lopez, 2013). Luthans et al., (2015)

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describe hope as a positive motivational state where two basic elements, a successful feeling of agency (or goal-oriented determination) and pathways (or proactively planning to achieve those goals) interact. They refer to these concepts as will-finding and wayfinding, defined here as follows: . Will-finding is the realization of the importance of the will as a central plank of choosing and sustaining the learning journey. . Wayfinding is the realization that a path through liminality exists and that the learner can connect with meaningful resources to find it. Contextualizing hope as will-finding and wayfinding provides a means of helping learners to consider the resources they need to enter and navigate liminal spaces prior to their experience of disjunction. By considering their readiness for transitional learning prior to a catalyzing disruption, they can prepare for disjunction in advance. Ungar (2019) describes resilience as the ability for learners to navigate their way to the emotional, material, and social resources they need in ways that are meaningful to them and help to sustain their well-being. This focus on agency and wellbeing dovetails with the work of Brewer et al., who suggest that resilience is something that needs to focus on flourishing rather than being seen as a mechanism to survive learning. Indeed, they propose resilience in this context should be defined as ‘…a dynamic process of positive adaptation in the face of adversity or challenge [that]…involves the capacity to negotiate for, and draw upon, psychological, social, cultural and environmental resources’ (Brewer et al., 2019: 1114). This view of resilience as a form of resourcefulness, rather than simply bouncing back from emotional stressors provides a framework for orienting and reorienting in times of disruption that has the potential to influence how marketers and those they serve approach disjunction and transitional learning.

Areas for Future Research and Practice Research into the role that marketing plays in helping and hindering consumers experiencing liminality have focused on social support (Ozanne & Ozanne, 2020), the interplay of liminality and consumption (Darveau et al., 2021), chronic consumer liminality (Mimoun & Bardhi, 2022), and difficult consumer transitions (Appau et al., 2020). Other research has explored the liminality of marketing intermediaries (Smith

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Maguire, 2010), the liminality of branding (Loacker & Sullivan, 2016), and other marketing-related topics that highlight transitional spaces among stakeholders in the marketplace. Less work, however, has been done on the experience of marketers themselves when catalyzing disruptions lead to disjunction and persistent liminality, and how the capacity to navigate disjunction and liminality in service of transitional learning on the individual level influences their ability to navigate uncertain transitions. The role that disjunction, liminality and transitional learning play in considering possibilities while embroiled in critical transitions is an important, yet understudied area in marketing research. This research gap has implications for marketing research, practice and education that are worthy of further exploration. As we consider areas for future research and practice through the lens of disjunction, liminality, engagement and learning and transformation at points of inflection, we engage at the level of the individual (will-finding) and at the level of social, economic, environmental and organizational context (wayfinding) as a stepping off point for considering two central questions: (1) what resources do those embarking on a transitional learning journey need to prepare for and flourish in unfamiliar terrain?, and (2) what conditions, capacities and pedagogies, practices and processes are necessary for marketing leaders to help themselves, their teams and those they serve to navigate such terrain? We recommend considering three categories of inquiry as a starting point to inspire a deeper exploration of transitional learning in a marketing context. These are: (1) the conditions necessary to build capacity for transitional learning, (2) the capacities necessary to encourage transitional learning and (3) the pedagogies, practices and processes necessary to equip marketing leaders and their teams to situate themselves as learners in times of transition and change. Table 2.1 reflects a steppingoff point for future inquiry and practice for marketing researchers, professionals and educators.

Conclusion The call to develop skills for change is often offered with trite calls to ‘get comfortable with being uncomfortable’ or to grow in courage, grit, curiosity or to develop a growth mindset in times of uncertainty and change. These ideals are helpful in theory, but more difficult to achieve in practice. Thus, learning to navigate an uncertain marketing environment

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Table 2.1 Areas for future research and practice Conditions for Transitional Learning in a Marketing Context

Capacities for Transitional Learning in a Marketing Context

Pedagogies, Practices and Processes for Transitional Learning in a Marketing Context

• What conditions are necessary to build the capacity to engage disjunction and navigate ambiguous transitions? • What conditions are necessary to build capacity for will-finding, wayfinding and resilience in transitional learning space? • What conditions are necessary to create transitional learning spaces? • What capacities are necessary to navigate transitional learning space? • What capacities are necessary to prepare for immediate and catastrophic disruptions? How do these compare to capacities necessary to prepare for micro interruptions and disruptions? • What role does improvisation and experience play in transitional learning? • Can transitional learning capacity be built outside of disjunction and liminality or is disruption necessary to practice such skills? • What transitional learning capacities can (or should) be integrated in business education and professional learning and development? • What pedagogies, practices and processes are necessary to develop the capacity to navigate ambiguity? • What pedagogies, practices and processes encourage the intentional creation of transitional learning space? • What pedagogies, practices are processes are necessary to make sense of emerging crises and pursuing interventions in times of disjunction?

offers opportunities to learn more about what it takes to achieve these ideals in practice. In this chapter, we acknowledge the complexity and dynamism marketing in a changing marking landscape and the challenges we face as the proliferation of digital technology, globalization, concerns about the environment and other micro and macro shifts have sparked cultural, economic and political instability that show little sign of settling. As we emerge from the acute effects of COVID-19 we must grapple

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with the fact that instability and uncertainty remain a fixture of any ‘new normal’ we might imagine or pursue. The disruption of the pandemic, coupled with the realities of the postdigital condition, places marketers in the role of explorers and creative problem solvers in spaces where it can be difficult to identify best practices or measure success. Business educators face disruption that some believe will lead to a ‘decade-long technologyled remaking of business education’ (Krishnamurthy, 2020a, 2020b: 1). Building upon prior research on transitional learning and liminality, this chapter is a call into the wilderness. It is an invitation for marketers to orient themselves as learners in times of uncertainty, to consider how they navigate marketplace disruptions in a mutable marketing environment, and how they might help others to do the same.

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Donthu, N., & Gustafsson, A. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on business and research. Journal of Business Research, 117 , 284–289. Fuller, S., & Jandri´c, P. (2019). The postdigital human: Making the history of the future. Postdigital Science and Education, 1(1), 190–217. Francisco, E., Fardos, N., Bhatt, A., & Bizel, G. (2021). Impact of the COVID19 pandemic on instagram and influencer marketing. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 13(2), 20–35. He, H., & Harris, L. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy. Journal of Business Research, 116, 176–182. Hoekstra, J. C., & Leeflang, P. S. (2020). Marketing in the era of COVID-19. Italian Journal of Marketing, 2020(4), 249–260. Jandri´c, P., Knox, J., Besley, T., Ryberg, T., Suoranta, J., & Hayes, S. (2018). Postdigital science and education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(10), 893–899. John, J., & Thakur, R. (2021). Long term effects of service adaptations made under pandemic conditions: The new “post COVID-19” normal. European Journal of Marketing, 55(6), 1679–1700. Kannan, P. K., & Kulkarni, G. (2022). The impact of Covid-19 on customer journeys: Implications for interactive marketing. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 16(1), 22–36. Krishnamurthy, S. (2020a). The future of business education: A commentary in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Business Research, 117 , 1–5. Lopez, S. J. (2013). Making hope happen: Create the future you want for yourself and others. Simon and Schuster. Lent, J. (2021). The web of meaning: Integrating science and traditional wisdom to find our place in the universe. New Society Publishers. Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2015). Psychological capital and beyond. Oxford University Press. Mahmoud, A. B., Ball, J., Rubin, D., Fuxman, L., Mohr, I., Hack-Polay, D., Grigoriou, N., & A. (2022). Pandemic pains to Instagram gains! COVID-19 perceptions effects on behaviours towards fashion brands on Instagram in subSaharan Africa: Tech-native vs non-native generations. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(8), 864–888. Mimoun, L., & Bardhi, F. (2022). Chronic consumer liminality: Being flexible in precarious times. Journal of Consumer Research, 49(3), 496–519. Nixon, J. (2019). Taking responsibility: Truth, trust, and justice. In J. and E. A. Gibbs Paul and Jameson (Ed.), Values of the university in a time of uncertainty (pp. 185–197). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/ 978-3-030-15970-2_13 Nørgård, R. T., & Bengtsen, S. S. E. (2016). Academic citizenship beyond the campus: A call for the placeful university. Higher Education Research

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and Development, 35(1), 4–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015. 1131669 Loacker, B., & Sullivan, K. R. (2016). The liminality of branding: Interweaving discourses ‘making up’a cultural intermediary occupation. Marketing Theory, 16(3), 361–382. Ozanne, L. K., & Ozanne, J. L. (2020). The power of sharing to support consumers through liminality. Australasian Marketing Journal, 28(3), 34–41. Perkins, D. (1999). The many faces of constructivism. Educational Leadership, 57 (3), 6–11. Rasmussen, H. N., O’Byrne, K. K., Vandamente, M., & Cole, B. P. (2017). Hope and physical health. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The oxford handbook of hope (pp. 159–168). Oxford University Press. Krishnamurthy, Sandeep, (2020b). “The future of business education: A commentary in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Journal of Business Research, 117(C), 1–5. Appau, S. (2020). Julie L Ozanne, Jill G Klein, Understanding difficult consumer transitions: The in/dividual consumer in permanent liminality. Journal of Consumer Research, 47 (2), 167–191. Savin-Baden, M. (2008). Learning spaces: Creating opportunities for knowledge creation in academic life: Creating opportunities for knowledge creation in academic life. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Savin-Baden, M. (2021). What are postdigital humans? (pp. 3–15). Springer International Publishing. Savin-Baden, M. (2023). Digital and postdigital learning for changing universities. Routledge. Sharma, P., Leung, T. Y., Kingshott, R. P., Davcik, N. S., & Cardinali, S. (2020). Managing uncertainty during a global pandemic: An international business perspective. Journal of Business Research, 116, 188–192. Smith Maguire, J. (2010). Provenance and the liminality of production and consumption: The case of wine promoters. Marketing Theory, 10(3), 269– 282. Snyder, C. R., Shorey, H. S., Cheavens, J., Pulvers, K. M., Adams, V. H., III., & Wiklund, C. (2002). Hope and academic success in college. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(4), 820. Stanton, A. L., Danoff-burg, S., & Huggins, M. E. (2002). The first year after breast cancer diagnosis: hope and coping strategies as predictors of adjustment. Psycho-Oncology: Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer, 11(2), 93–102. Szakolczai, A. (2009). Liminality and experience: Structuring transitory situations and transformative events. International Political Anthropology, 2(1), 141– 172.

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CHAPTER 3

Future of Marketing After Disruptions and Uncertainties: Physical, Digital, or Phygital? Vinaytosh Mishra and Sudhir Rana

Introduction The world has seen unprecedented digitalization in the past decade. It can be defined as the integration of digital technologies into daily life (Hagberg et al., 2017). It involves converting everything that can be digitized and has led to the emergence of new business practices while also posing a challenge to traditional ones (Leeflang et al., 2014). Other researchers, including Verhoef et al. (2015) and Khan and Goel (2022), consider digitalization is a disruptive force that not only tests

V. Mishra · S. Rana (B) College of Healthcare Management and Economics, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE e-mail: [email protected] V. Mishra e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_3

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entire industries but also their established norms and individual companies. The recent outbreak of the pandemic made have forced people to adopt digital technologies in many industries such as healthcare, banking, education, and retail (Chakraborty et al., 2021; Mishra & Sharma, 2022a, 2022b; Romdhane, 2021). Chris Anderson (2006) introduced the opportunity through customization using the long-tail effect. He observed that consumer demand in many internet markets is much less concentrated than in comparable offline markets. Advanced search and recommendation technologies substantially reduce consumers’ search costs and, consequently, enable consumers to efficiently identify products that fit their unique preferences (Brynjolfsson et al., 2011; Hinz et al., 2010). There has been a proliferation of digital channels for information search and purchase. Companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and Nordea have been ahead of the curve with phygital. Google’s business of advertisement has flourished in the last decade. The recent advent of generative artificial intelligence-based chatbots such as ChatGPT will further make the information search better. Recently, in the post-COVID world people frequently use digital modes of payment and the number of ATMs is reducing day by day. Online education is much accepted now and apprehension about its quality and capability has been addressed to a large extent. The use of telemedicine was at an all-time high during the pandemic and is still an accepted mode of care delivery in the postCOVID world. Digital channels have many advantages such as cost and convenience (Mishra & Singh, 2022). Although the quality-of-service delivery through the digital channel is still debatable. Moreover, disruption in recent times has made it necessary to ensure transparency and visibility in the supply chains and digitalization fits this bill (Burgos & Ivanov, 2021). With this background, this paper tries to analyze the future of marketing in post-covid world. Understanding Phygital Phygital is a marketing term that describes blending digital experiences with physical ones. It is the concept of using technology to bridge the digital world with the physical world to provide a unique interactive experience for the user (Klaus, 2021). It is made up of “three I’s”: Immediacy, Immersion, and Interaction (Fig. 3.1). While the first two “I’s” originate from the digital realm, the last “I” is derived from the physical world.

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Immediacy (Digital)

Immersion(Digital) Phygital Interaction (Physical)

Fig. 3.1 Is enabling phygital experience (Source Author’s compilation)

To ensure an effective phygital approach, all three elements must be integrated. For example, Immediacy in the phygital world can be defined as the availability of digital options regardless of channels while immersion is the capability of these channels in augmenting the customer decision journey through information. Finally, physical channels have the potential to humanize technology by creating digital dialogue and enabling the co-creation of products and services. The objective of this study is three prongs. Firstly, it revisits the consumer decision journey concerning phygital dimensions. Secondly, it identifies the key challenges in achieving these dimensions of the phygital world. Finally, the study uses an example of customer care to illustrate the phygital potential in healthcare delivery. The structure of the manuscript is as follows. The next sections discuss the research methodology used in the study followed by results and discussions. Finally, the study concludes with implications, limitations, and future research directions.

Research Methodology The study is planned as positioned as a conceptual narrative review. A narrative review is a type of literature review that summarizes and synthesizes published research on a particular topic using a narrative or storytelling approach (Calati et al., 2019). The paper is a conceptual paper emphasizing evidence based on existing literature, backed by comprehensible, compelling logic (Vargo & Koskela-Huotari, 2020). Authors carry the autonomy to choose the design and concepts to be included in a conceptual paper (Rana et al., 2020) and in this paper, we adopted the

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approach proposed for conceptual papers in the business management domain by Jaakkola (2020) and Hulland (2020). For the first objective, the study further utilized a focus group consisting of five digital marketing professionals to propose a modified consumer decision journey for the phygital world namely pCDJ. The study used the Delphi method two get consensus for developing a proposed consumer decision journey (CDJ). For last objective study uses a case study-based approach to illustrate the phygital potential in healthcare delivery. It is a research method involving an in-depth examination of a single case or multiple cases within a specific context to gain insights and understanding into a particular phenomenon (Yin et al., 2019).

Results and Discussions This section lists the results related to the three objectives listed in the earlier section. Customer Decision Journey Consumers themselves are phygital; they exist in both the physical and digital worlds, and they take part in business in both realms. The consumer decision journey (CDJ) is a framework used by marketers to understand how consumers make purchasing decisions. The traditional model of the consumer decision journey involved five stages namely (1) Awareness (2) Consideration (3) Preference (4) Purchase and (5) Loyalty. Nowadays, consumers are engaging in multiple touchpoints across various channels, including social media, search engines, mobile apps, and metaverse the CDJ has become more complex. As a result, the traditional model has been updated to reflect this complexity, with the new model including additional stages such as advocacy and post-purchase evaluation. In this phygital world linear models (traditional funnel metaphors) are ill-fitted and don’t serve the purpose. Mckinsey and Company (2014) proposed a modified Consumer Decision Journey 2.0 (CDJ2.0). The new version of CDJ proposed by Mckinsey & Company introduces a shortened loop eliminating the need for the evaluation itself. Scott et al. (2017) proposed another version of the consumer decision journey in the digital age. This study proposes an extended version of the consumer decision journey namely pCDJ. Focus group discussions were conducted using an

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Fig. 3.2 Proposed phygital consumer decision journey (Source Author’s compilation)

asynchronous discussion on WhatsApp chat group held during March 16– 18, 2023. The input till midnight March 17 was compiled by researcher VM and presented again for the second round of iteration. The final input was taken with a cut-off time of March 18, 2023. The findings helped us in proposing pCDJ, Fig. 3.2. The figure suggests that most of the stages of the proposed consumer decision journey are phygital. Thus businesses must adopt to phygital approach. The next sections discuss the enabling technologies for phygital marketing, and the challenges associated with it.

Technologies and Challenges Digital technologies have transformed the field of marketing by enabling businesses to reach and engage with customers through various digital channels. Some of the popular digital technologies used in marketing include social networks, search engines, comparison websites, mobile applications, and demand-side advertising platforms (Chaffey & EllisChadwick, 2019). Social Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud (SMAC) technologies have been instrumental in the transition of many businesses from traditional brick-and-mortar models to the online business model.

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Table 3.1 Leading Challenges for Achieving Phygital Dimensions SN

List of Challenges

References

1 2

Cybersecurity Threats Technological Disruption

3 4 5

Data Privacy Concerns Digital Skills Gap Technology Acquisition Cost

Spremi´c and Šimunic (2018); Li and Liu (2021) García-Morales et al. (2021); Sabatier et al. (2012) Komljenovic (2022); Moore et al. (2018) Jackman et al. (2021); Berger and Frey (2015) Roggeveen and Sethuraman (2020); Grewal et al. (2020)

Source Author’s compilation

Venugopal, M. (2018) in his paper discusses the applicability of SMAC technologies in transforming healthcare services. The new addition to these impressive digital technologies is the internet of things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Large Language Models (LLMs). These technologies have the potential to overcome many shortcomings of the digital realm and enable a stride toward digital smoother (Dalenogare et al., 2022). The study published by leading technology companies and publications lists five challenges associated with these technologies in achieving these phygital dimensions (Table 3.1). Case: Phygital in Health Delivery Health delivery is a process of providing healthcare services to promote and maintain physical, mental, and social well-being. It involves the coordination and delivery of various healthcare services and involves multiple stakeholders. Moreover, different disease warrants a different type of service delivery approach which makes health systems complex. Digital technologies have the potential to solve some perennial problems of healthcare such as availability, accessibility, and affordability. Health delivery in the post-COVID world is increasingly becoming phygital (Mishra & Sharma, 2022a, 2022b). The phygital health delivery approach requires a technology-led approach with advanced analytics and AI. As highlighted in an earlier section cost of technology acquisition is one of the key challenges in achieving the objectives of phygital service delivery. Another major concern related to realizing the phygital dream in healthcare delivery is concerns related to privacy and security. Telemedicine can be delivered

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in well-defined phygital mode. Patients can be offered a seamless experience and they can interact with a hospital online and be promoted with a live video call or schedule a virtual consultation. From there they are connected to a physician assistant or practicing nurses who can navigate the entire service and assist in case of any difficulty. The patients can be referred to the physician in case of need arises. Digital technologies (AIbased systems) can even help these nurses in taking timely decisions. To illustrate the phygital potential, let’s refer to the three I’s again in this case: Immediacy: A virtual assistant can be connected immediately and if no one is available the patients can schedule an appointment that suits them best. In this case, a fugai (record of abnormalities) can be generated for this scenario and efforts should be made to minimize these incidences. Immersion: A live video of patient education and hospital visit immerses the patient through hospital services and a metaverselike experience ally many apprehensions about the care that once before was not possible on a standard website visit or teleconsultation. Digital technologies can assist in insurance claims, billing, and other non-clinical interactions associated with healthcare delivery. Interaction: One-to-one live video conferencing enables effective digital dialogue between the patient and healthcare provider. Closely replicating in-hospital visit experiences creates an environment where clinical nurses can identify needs, curates precision care, and builds meaningful customer relationships and superlative care.

Conclusion The study concludes that digitalization has increased in the recent decade. Omnichannel marketing is not a point of differentiation but a point of parity now. Firstly, the study has two implications for theory. It proposes a modified consumer decision journey for the phygital world. Secondly, it identifies the key challenges in implementing the phygital business model. Similarly, this study has one implication for practices as it identifies key dimensions of phygital experience and illustrates it with an example of healthcare delivery. The approach used in the study can be used for analyzing other cases also.

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One of the limitations of the study is the use of narrative review for achieving research objectives. Narrative reviews are less structured than systematic reviews, they are more prone to bias and may not provide a comprehensive or exhaustive review of the available literature. Further pCDJ model proposed in the study can be empirically tested. A future study can map enabling technologies with the challenges listed in the study. Interpretive Structural Modeling can be used to explain the hierarchy and association enablers and challenges related to phygital marketing.

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Grewal, D., Hulland, J., Kopalle, P. K., & Karahanna, E. (2020). The future of technology and marketing: A multidisciplinary perspective. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48, 1–8. Hagberg, J., Jonsson, A., & Egels-Zandén, N. (2017). Retail digitalization: Implications for physical stores. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 39, 264–269. Hänninen, M., Kwan, S. K., & Mitronen, L. (2021). From the store to omnichannel retail: Looking back over three decades of research. The International Review of Retail, Distribution, and Consumer Research, 31(1), 1–35. Hinz, O., Eckert, J., & Skiera, B. (2010). Drivers of the long tail phenomenon: An empirical analysis. Journal of Management Information Systems: JMIS, 27 (4), 43–69. Hulland, J. (2020). Conceptual review papers: Revisiting existing research to develop and refine theory. AMS Review, 10(1/2), 1–9. Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: Four approaches. AMS Review, 10(1/2), 1–9. Jackman, J. A., Gentile, D. A., Cho, N. J., & Park, Y. (2021). Addressing the digital skills gap for future education. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(5), 542– 545. Khan, S., & Goel, A. (2022). A perspective on digital transformation among Indian exporting firms. FIIB Business Review, (vol. and issue ahead of print). https://doi.org/10.1177/23197145221093499 Klaus, P. P. (2021). Phygital–the emperor’s new clothes? Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1–8. Komljenovic, J. (2022). The future of value in digitalized higher education: Why data privacy should not be our biggest concern. Higher Education, 83(1), 119–135. Leeflang, P. S., Verhoef, P. C., Dahlström, P., & Freundt, T. (2014). Challenges and solutions for marketing in a digital era. European Management Journal, 32(1), 1–12. Li, Y., & Liu, Q. (2021). A comprehensive review study of cyber-attacks and cyber security; Emerging trends and recent developments. Energy Reports, 7 , 8176–8186. McKinsey & Company. (2014). The new consumer decision journey. Retrieved on March 18, 2023, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/market ing-and-sales/our-insights/the-new-consumer-decision-journey Mishra, V., & Sharma, M. G. (2022a). Digital transformation evaluation of telehealth using convergence, maturity, and adoption. Health Policy and Technology, 11(4), 100684.

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Mishra, V., & Sharma, M. G. (2022b). Telemedicine as a frugal intervention to health care: A case of diabetes management. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 15(2), 165–170. Mishra, V., & Singh, J. (2022). Health technology assessment of telemedicine interventions in diabetes management: Evidence from UAE. FIIB Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/231971452211306 Moore, P. V., Akhtar, P., & Upchurch, M. (2018). Digitalization of work and resistance. Humans and Machines at Work: Monitoring, Surveillance, and Automation in Contemporary Capitalism, 17–44. Rana, S., Raut, S. K., Prashar, S., & Hamid, A. B. A. (2020). Promoting through consumer nostalgia: A conceptual framework and future research agenda. Journal of Promotion Management, 27 (2), 211–249. Roggeveen, A. L., & Sethuraman, R. (2020). Customer-interfacing retail technologies in 2020 & beyond: An integrative framework and research directions. Journal of Retailing, 96(3), 299–309. Romdhane, S. B. (2021). Impact of information technology and digitalization on banking strategy pre-covid-19 challenges in the covid era, and post-covid stakes. International Journal of Accounting & Finance Review, 6(2), 60–73. Sabatier, V., Craig-Kennard, A., & Mangematin, V. (2012). When technological discontinuities and disruptive business models challenge dominant industry logics: Insights from the drugs industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 79(5), 949–962. Scott, P., Scott, T., Stokes, P., Moore, N., Smith, S. M., Rowland, C., & Ward, T. (2017). The consumer journey in the digital age: The challenges faced by destination and place marketing agencies. International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism, 2(1), 28–45. Spremi´c, M., & Šimunic, A. (2018). Cyber security challenges in the digital economy. In Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering (Vol. 1, pp. 341–346). Hong Kong, China: International Association of Engineers. Vargo, S. L., & Koskela-Huotari, K. (2020). Advancing conceptual-only articles in marketing. AMS Review, 10(1/2), 1–5. Venugopal, M. (2018). Application of SMAC technology. In Health care delivery and clinical science: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 104– 140). IGI Global. Verhoef, P. C., Kannan, P. K., & Inman, J. J. (2015). From multi-channel retailing to omnichannel retailing introduction to the special issue on multichannel retailing. Journal of Retailing, 91(2), 174–181. Yin, Y., Zhang, R., Gao, H., & Xi, M. (2019). New retail business analysis and modeling: A Taobao case study. IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems, 6(5), 1126–1137.

CHAPTER 4

The Digital Drivers of Consumer Behavior: Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, and Artificial Intelligence D. Steven White and Sanjeev K. Pathak

Introduction The total economic impact of the 2019–2022 global coronavirus pandemic is yet to be determined. What is certain, however, is that every country, every sector, every industry, and every consumer was affected (Sharma & Jhamb, 2020). An early estimate of the negative economic impact of the virus posited losses at the time to exceed $US 3.8 trillion globally (Kurecic & Hatlek, 2021). The pandemic affected developed countries more so than developing countries in terms of its impact on economic growth, by one estimate at a rate of over two to one: −

D. S. White (B) · S. K. Pathak Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA e-mail: [email protected] S. K. Pathak e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_4

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4.3% worldwide, −2.1% in developing countries, and −5.8% in developed countries (Zhilenko et al., 2021). Ancillary negative impacts of the pandemic include the disruption of global supply chains (Kurecic & Hatlek, 2021; Pomelnikov, 2021), the loss of consumer and investor confidence, asset deflation, weak aggregate demand, rising debt burden, an uneven distribution of household income (Zhilenko et al., 2021), and a decline in consumer purchasing power (Gu et al., 2021). In response, the diffusion of technological advances led to a new digitally immersed consumer, accelerated the proliferation of digital commerce, and fast-tracked the transformation to a digital world (Anjum, 2023; Gu et al., 2021; Pomelnikov, 2021). The resultant digitally immersed consumers reshaped shopping habits globally, shifting from traditional shopping to a preference for online shopping and digital payment systems (Coffie et al., 2022; Gu et al., 2021; Kurecic & Hatlek, 2021; Sharma & Jhamb, 2020). At the beginning of the pandemic, demand for consumer essentials, especially related to health and safety, created supply chain issues globally (Gu et al., 2021; Pomelnikov, 2021), pushing consumers to seek digital solutions and broader arrays of product offerings. Thus, the key impacts of the pandemic on consumer behavior include an increase in online shopping, increased demand for essential goods and services, a shift to digital payments, and an increased focus on health and wellness (Bard, 2023; Gu et al., 2021; Pomelnikov, 2021). In general, the pandemic hastened the emergence of technically savvy, experienced online shoppers. The diffusion of technology and the disruption of digitalization in consumer behavior depends, to a large extent, on the acceptance of the customer (Anjum, 2023). Three disruptive, yet related, technologyrelated innovations that played a part in the global response to the pandemic include the shift to an Industry 4.0 perspective, the transformation from the current Web 2.0 environment to its successor Web 3.0, and the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence by businesses. All three aspire to closer align businesses with consumers through responsive and participatory design, increasingly customized/ individualized consumer targeting, and decentralized mutually beneficial consumer engagement. Consumer acceptance of these innovations is not a fait accomopli. This chapter provides an overview of the disruptive technologies impacting the future of consumer behavior.

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Digitalization/Disruptive Innovation The pandemic pushed organizations into a massive digital transformation (Aysan et al., 2021; Hanelt et al., 2021) and digitally dominant economic activity (Mubarak et al., 2019). This digital transformation is changing the way that companies conduct business (Gao et al., 2022; Hanelt et al., 2021). Digital transformation is defined as organizational change triggered and shaped by the widespread diffusion of digital technologies (Hanelt et al., 2021). Ciasullo et al. (2018) identify advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) and the resultant digitalization as a key driver of development and the most transformative factor impacting contemporary society. The consequences of today’s digital transformation extend beyond previous phases of Information Technology-related change (Hanelt et al., 2021). Rapid digitalization of consumption and production mandated structural adjustments globally (Martins & Roeger, 2021). The pace of digital transformation is disruptive in the sense that the rapidity of diffusion was in response to a global health crisis. Disruptive technologies may be defined as emerging or new technologies that replace old dominant technologies or ways of doing business (Chidambaram et al., 2023; Kumaraswamy et al., 2018). Rotolo et al. (2015) characterize disruptive emerging technologies as those possessing radical novelty, relatively fast growth, coherence, prominent impact, and uncertainty and ambiguity. The utilization of these disruptive ICT-based technological advances offers benefits to businesses and consumers alike. Benefits for businesses include the potential for exponential growth and aggressive reductions in marginal costs (Pucheanu et al., 2022). Important impacts and concerns for consumers include an increased reliance on digital commerce, greater demand for convenience, a larger focus on data privacy and cybersecurity (Calderon-Monge & Ribeiro-Soriano, 2023; Wylde et al., 2022), and increased use of social media/social commerce (OpenAI, 2023a). In the digital world, customers have access to shopping channels and options anytime and anywhere, increasingly via smartphones (Manser Payne et al., 2018). Thus, the rapid digitalization of businesses (Industry 4.0), development and implementation of Web 3.0, and development and utilization of Artificial Intelligence represent the frontier in the fields of business, marketing, and consumer behavior.

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Industry 4.0: Co-Creation and Mass Customization The new, emerging paradigm of Industry 4.0 is built on a foundation of digital and technological innovation (Khan et al., 2022; Kurecic & Hatlek, 2021). Industry 4.0 consists of disruptive technologies that redefine how businesses create, form, deliver, and service products (Liao et al., 2017; Narula et al., 2020). Advances in computing power, data storage, data processing, and digital transactions allow businesses to integrate data about customers and analyze that data to better understand the customer experience (Avgouleas & Blair, 2020; Wisetsri et al., 2021). The disruptive nature of these innovations penetrates all economic sectors (Pucheanu et al., 2022). Kowalikova et al. (2020) contend that while no unifying definition of Industry 4.0 exists, it embodies the idea of a technological revolution that will impact all areas of society. Ghobakhloo (2018) contends that agreement on what constitutes Industry 4.0 remains unclear, but it is characterized as applying cyber-physical systems within the industry. Regardless, it is clear that a key objective of Industry 4.0 is to attain an advanced level of operational effectiveness and proficiency (Mubarak et al., 2019). Although no single unifying definition of Industry 4.0 prevails, there is common ground regarding its components. Frank et al. (2019) identify the front-end technology of Industry 4.0 as consisting of smart manufacturing, smart products, smart supply chain, and smart working and the base technology as Internet of Things, cloud services, big data, and analytics. Narula et al. (2020) identify the nine drivers of Industry 4.0 to be advanced robotics, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, simulations, vertical and horizontal system integration, industrial Internet of Things, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and big data analytics. Similarly, Ghobakhloo (2018) identifies 14 technologies that constitute Industry 4.0 as the Internet of Things, Internet of Service, Internet of People, Internet of Data, cloud computing, big data analytics, blockchain, cybersecurity, augmented reality, automation and industrial robots, additive manufacturing, simulation and modeling, cyber-physical systems, and semantic technologies. The overlap between Narula et al. (2020) and Ghobakhloo (2018) is nearly 100%, differing mainly on system designation nomenclature and the inclusion of semantic technologies. The bulk of research to date on Industry 4.0 emanates from Europe (Pucheanu et al., 2022). The disruptive technologies of Industry 4.0 lead

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to smart facilities that are highly efficient and digitally integrated (Frank et al., 2019; Narula et al., 2020) and provide an opportunity for convergent technologies to create a future that is inclusive and focused on consumers (Mhlanga, 2022). The impact of Industry 4.0 on consumer behavior is a result of the direct integration of responsive customer feedback into the manufacturing process (Mubarak et al., 2019; Pucheanu et al., 2022). This co-creation is revolutionizing consumer markets (Ghobakhloo, 2018; Kotler et al., 2010). Mass customization based on consumer input and preferences represents the frontier of Industry 4.0 (Calderon-Monge & Ribeiro-Soriano, 2023; Ghobakhloo, 2018).

Web3.0: The Future of Consumer Interaction Elements that facilitate consumers’ access to information and social relationships include the diffusion of the Internet, the influence of information and communications technologies (ICTs), Web 2.0, consumer relationship management, and the new Web 3.0 platforms (MartinezCanas et al., 2016). Choudhury and Harrigan (2014) explore customer relationship management (CRM) in Web 2.0 and the development of social CRM. Cummings et al. (2014) conducted a thorough review of the intersection of consumer behavior and interactive marketing for the period 1993–2012. Web 2.0 is characterized by feedback (Farzad et al., 2019) and based on trust (Crosby et al., 2016). Thus, the Web 2.0 environment fostered the development of interactive marketing and social CRM. The progression of the Internet and World Wide Web from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, to the semantic web (Web 3.0) ensues. The eras of digitalization are the focus of numerous research efforts (c.f., Ciasullo et al., 2018; Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010; Roose, 2022; Sandstrom, 2021). In general, this progression is described consistently through the Web3.0 phase and may be characterized as follows: Web 1.0: Read-only web. This is the World Wide Web in the early 1990s through the early 2000s and is characterized by passively reading static web pages (Choudhury, 2014; Ciasullo et al., 2018; Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010; Roose, 2022). This initial version of the web was very highly centralized and defined as the web of Internet connections (Choudhury, 2014). Web 2.0: Read–write web. This is the World Wide Web from 2005 to the present and is characterized as providing a platform for users to create and post content. It is highly centralized but allows for broad

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active participation (Ciasullo et al., 2018; Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010; Roose, 2022). This version of the web provides a platform for relationship technologies, participatory media, and social digital communities (Choudhury, 2014). Web 3.0: Read-write-execute web. Identified as the semantic web (Ciasullo et al., 2018; Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010). This version of the web fosters decentralization and is community-run (Roose, 2022). In Web 3.0, websites and webpages disappear or become less important (Choudhury, 2014), replaced by the concept of a semantic web where consumers can find, share, and combine information (Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010). Web 4.0: Read-write-concurrency web. Characterized by connecting to all available devices in real time in both the physical and virtual world (Choudhury, 2014; Ciasullo et al., 2018). This version of the web provides the foundation for incorporating Artificial Intelligence into a symbiotic ubiquitous relationship with humans (Choudhury, 2014). Web 5.0: Symbiotic web. According to Ciasullo et al. (2018), this phase of technological innovation builds on the foundation of Web 4.0 but provides a platform for the integration of neuro-technologies, hence its characterization as the emotional web. Web 3.0 replaces the centralized, corporate platforms of Web 2.0 with open protocols and decentralized, community-run networks (Roose, 2022). Web 3.0 is designed to engage consumers in a collaborative interaction providing mutually beneficial value (Choudhury & Harrigan, 2014; Martinez-Canas et al., 2016). Web 3.0 is about enabling peerto-peer interactions, where individuals interact with each other directly, without the need for intermediaries or centralized platforms, made possible by the utilization of decentralized protocols/applications that run on top of blockchain technology (OpenAI, 2023b). A key tenant of Web 3.0, much like Industry 4.0, is co-creation (Ciasullo et al., 2018; Farzad et al., 2019; Martinez-Canas et al., 2016). Web 3.0 platforms are envisioned to offer improved interaction and learning by incorporating data mining, semantic webs, and artificial intelligence into a decentralized, trustless, transparent, and private environment (Martinez-Canas et al., 2016). Web 2.0 operated on a foundation of trust: Trust in sources, information, platform providers, data security, and privacy. Web 3.0 changes this by incorporating trustlessness and privacy using blockchain technology. Trustlessness relies on the accurate and factual identification

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of individuals. Thus, decentralized digital identities and credentials are a critical component and key to the adoption of Web 3.0. Sedlmeir et al. (2021) propose a new type of digital credential called a Verifiable Credential (VC). Individual Verifiable Credentials, linked to digital wallets, offer a convenient, secure, and privacy-oriented alternative to the status quo. India’s national government digital identity platform, Aadhaar, uses biometrics to reduce fraud but relies on a centralized trust model (Sedlmeir et al., 2021). Centralized trust models fail to provide adequate levels of individual security and protection. Decentralized trustless models provide the best levels of individual security and protection, but present challenges in terms of identity verification globally. The nexus of verifiable credentials, digital wallets, and blockchain technology represents the research frontier in digital marketing (Sedlmeir et al., 2021). However, as the future develops, Web 3.0 through its integration with blockchain technology, will transform how businesses interact with consumers by allowing for direct and secure connections. Direct links to consumers will change all aspects of marketing as it currently exists. One can envision transformative changes in the area of promotion as consumers connect with businesses via Web 3.0 by sharing secure verifiable wallet addresses during the purchase process, providing for redirection of promotional budgets into customer reward programs. The importance and utility of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems may reach their zenith during the Web 3.0 era.

Artificial Intelligence: The Frontier of Consumer Behavior Piloto (2023) defines Artificial Intelligence (AI) as “…the ability for computers to imitate cognitive human functions such as learning and problem-solving.” In simpler terms, AI may be characterized as computers capable of reacting to stimulation and information (Gera & Kumar, 2023; Shubhendu & Vijay, 2013). The main goal of AI is to develop a robust dynamic digital environment (Rabby et al., 2021) through the development of programs that can think like a human, act like a human, think rationally, and act rationally (Manser Payne et al., 2018; Russell & Norvig, 2021). Kopalle et al. (2022) characterize the two key dimensions of AI as consisting of human–machine interactions and automated analysis of multiple forms of input. One form of input, Machine Learning, studies patterns in data subsequently used as the

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learning base for AI (Piloto, 2023; Siegel, 2023). Another source of input, the semantic web (Web 3.0), provides a useful mechanism for formatting data into a machine-readable form (Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010). The task of AI is to interpret external data, learn from that data, and use those learnings to achieve specific tasks and goals through flexible adaptation (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2019). In general, AI has the potential to become a transformative engine of productivity and growth (Abrardi et al., 2022; Rabby et al., 2021). AI and other emerging technologies, are evolving in lockstep with organizational progress toward Industry 4.0 (Wisetsri et al., 2021). An area of academic interest is the use of AI in developing and managing customer relationships by providing insight into consumer behavior (Wisetsri et al, 2021). AI transforms data into meaningful strategies to guide consumer behavior (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019; Rabby et al., 2021). AI-enabled products promise to make consumers happier, healthier, and more efficient (Puntoni et al., 2021). By developing a better understanding of customer preferences, spending habits, and future needs, AI has the potential to provide businesses with better consumer targeting (Marouani et al., 2021). Forecasting customer needs, recommending personalized products and services and other customized promotional messages will transform digital marketing for the foreseeable future. Other areas of application in consumer behavior include fraud detection, risk scoring, spam filtering, and supply chain management (Siegel, 2023). Thus, AI is useful for generating insights, predicting and influencing consumer brand-related behavior, and monitoring consumer psychological outcomes (Gera & Kumar, 2023). One applied benefit of utilizing AI in customer service is cost reduction (Marouani et al., 2021) through continuous monitoring of customer sentiment and satisfaction at the individual level. Not all academic research is focused on the positive aspects of AI. Contemporary research delineates AI’s positive and negative implications from a business perspective (c.f., Abrardi et al., 2022; Kopalle et al., 2022). AI will fundamentally transform how firms make decisions and interact with external stakeholders (Haenlein & Kaplan, 2019). The disruptive technologies of artificial intelligence, big data analysis, the Internet, blockchain, and expansion of networks are creating a revolution in marketing that potentially makes the 4 Ps obsolete (Rust, 2020; Wisetsri

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et al., 2021). The coupling of AI, social computing, and new technologies will combine to create a generation of systems that will empower humanity in new and transforming ways (Hendler & Berners-Lee, 2010). The future implementation of Web 4.0 and Web 5.0, social machines represent the nexus of the increasing convergence of artificial intelligence, social networking, and human cognition (Hendler & Mulvehill, 2016; Sandstrom, 2021).

Summary In the highly interconnected world, the role of consumers is changing because technological advancements provide a mechanism for active collaboration with companies in product and process innovation (Martinez-Canas et al., 2016). This radical change in consumption habits and behavior is breaking down the boundaries between real and virtual life (Ciasullo et al., 2018). In the new Web 3.0 environment, customer engagement behaviors go beyond transactions to include individual motivational drivers (Choudhury & Harrington, 2014; van Doorn et al., 2010). Consumers align themselves with businesses that satisfy needs deeper than just the product or service itself (Kotler et al., 2010). The era of permissionless marketing is coming to an end. Digitalization and disruptive technologies are changing the global business environment. Key long-term trends in marketing include the increased capability to communicate with customers directly, the increased capability to collect and store information about customers, and an increased capability to analyze customer information (Rust, 2020; Rust & Huang, 2014). By entering co-creative relationships with customers via Web 3.0 and verifiable digital identities, the transformation to Industry 4.0 is reinforced and required. Organizations that adopt and implement Industry 4.0, connect with their customers via Web 3.0, and support the consumer decision process via advances in Artificial Intelligence will become the norm in the global economic environment.

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CHAPTER 5

Rethinking Nation Branding in the Post-pandemic, Post-truth Era Satish Krishnan, Debashis Chatterjee, and Pramukh Nanjundaswamy Vasist

Introduction In an increasingly globalized world, governments are thrust into a competitive field where they must engage with various market actors to enhance their competitiveness (Cerny, 1997). This motivates nations to employ marketing strategies to enhance their competitive image on the international stage (Hao et al., 2019). Nation branding as a phrase was coined by Anholt (1998) and refers to how the state collaborates and

S. Krishnan (B) · D. Chatterjee · P. N. Vasist Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Kerala, India e-mail: [email protected] D. Chatterjee e-mail: [email protected] P. N. Vasist e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_5

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networks with market forces to establish and promote the nation’s attractiveness and competitiveness. The phrase is often confused with other ideas, su soft power ch as destination branding, which is more tourismfocused, resulting in a continued lack of consensus over the definition of nation brand (Rojas-Méndez, 2013). Several scholars have sought to define this construct over the years (e.g., Dinnie, 2008; Fan, 2010; Fetscherin, 2010; Kotler & Gertner, 2002). Based upon these efforts, nation branding may now be referred to as a process that enables nations to build or adjust their image and monitor, evaluate, and actively manage it before the global audience (Bartsch et al., 2016; Papadopoulos et al., 2016). This role of the state in shaping markets merits a greater emphasis in contemporary marketing literature (Nguyen & Özçaglar-Toulouse, 2021). A few decades ago, nation branding strategies were confined to developed nations; but, with progressing times, both developed and emerging nations are now engaged in nation branding activities with considerable funds committed to creating and maintaining an appealing image of their nation (Herstein, 2012). The nations’ use of branding and marketing tactics to promote their image gains prominence as market complexity and the importance of national competitiveness increase, resulting in a greater emphasis and priority on nation branding strategies (Hassan & Mahrous, 2019). A nation’s brand helps it compete worldwide and advertise its products and services, in addition to encouraging tourism, luring world-class talent, and attracting foreign investments, all of which stimulate the economy (Rojas-Méndez et al., 2013). However, nation branding is not just confined to marketing efforts or populist rhetoric. It is a form of intellectual property and a claim to the production of and association with commodities, events, and activities that symbolize a country (Barr, 2012).

COVID-19 as an Inflection Point for Nation Branding Nation branding is regarded as an effective instrument for public diplomacy (Macedo, 2019). The worldwide health catastrophe precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a paradigm shift in public diplomacy, with countries closing their borders and instituting lockdowns and social distance rules (Manfredi-Sánchez, 2022). The closure of borders, protectionism, and deglobalization have underscored the importance of

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the nation brand more than ever before in a world where countries are increasingly isolated from one another (Song, 2020). A substantial portion of economic activity also shifted online, implying that a great deal of brand-building would occur via virtual channels (Koh, 2021). The border restrictions and control meant that governments had a substantial influence on commercial activity within their territory, and that consumer perceptions of commercial brands were influenced by their country of origin (Koh, 2021). As a result of the pandemic, investors, tourists, immigrants, and business partners gravitated toward locations recognized as trustworthy and safe (Koh, 2021). As nations recover from the pandemic crisis amidst shifting economic, social, and political forces, they are starting to leverage this crisis to enhance their nation’s image on the international stage (Ting Lee & Kim, 2021). In this context, it is widely believed that a nation’s response to pandemic-caused devastation would influence how the rest of the world perceives it (Lee & Kim, 2021). It is considered that the prolonged nature and high-intensity levels of the pandemic-caused crisis compromised the image of nations as brands. According to reports, 68 percent of global citizens altered their perceptions of states depending on public governance and how the country handled the COVID situation (Bloom Consulting, 2020). The crisis also presented nations with a narrative of legitimacy to promote their ideals and advance their political goals, while the counter-pandemic response included public diplomacy and the novelty of vaccines (Manfredi-Sánchez, 2022). Public diplomacy in the light of the pandemic challenged conventional assumptions about nation branding and led to deinstitutionalization of efforts (Lee & Kim, 2021; Manfredi-Sánchez, 2022). For instance, while countries struggled to secure vaccine supplies amidst the pandemic, India made every effort to make vaccines available for such nations, thereby enhancing its worldwide stature, which is considered to aid the nation’s efforts to achieve global power status (Tharoor, 2021). India’s program to support other countries with the COVID-19 vaccine, known as Vaccine Maitri or “Vaccine friendship,” was viewed as a potent soft power instrument to offset China’s expanding influence in South Asia, Africa, and elsewhere (Ramachandran, 2021). In the context of nation branding, image, and reputation are of foremost relevance and are mostly affected by the nation’s culture, political beliefs, and policies, which are analogous to the nation’s soft power resources (Barr, 2012).

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During the pandemic, India was not alone in its nation branding initiatives. In the midst of a relatively successful pandemic mitigation effort by April 2020, China launched a public diplomacy campaign to promote itself as a global health leader (Lancaster & Rubin, 2020), delivering medical supplies to a number of nations (Lee & Kim, 2021). Taiwan also undertook similar measures, delivering face masks and personal protective equipment to the United States, Japan, and a number of its allies (Horton, 2020; Jao, 2020), gaining a victory over China when White House workers were pictured wearing masks with a “Made in Taiwan” label (McLaughlin, 2020). In a similar vein, South Korea was praised for its efforts to contain the COVID outbreak, which were particularly significant given its proximity to China (Thompson, 2020). South Korea’s response to the pandemic resulted in its being viewed as a model nation by the world community due to its response system (Lee & Kim, 2021).

Soft Power for Nation Branding: Why It Matters? Soft power refers to a nation’s use of persuasion or appeal to influence others, as opposed to hard power’s use of threats and military sanctions (Holm, 2016). In the post-cold war era, the term acquired conceptual relevance in the context of foreign policy debates, with the United States regarded as the bulwark of soft power (Ramzan, 2023). The term was coined by Joseph Nye in 1990 to counter the traditional view of the collapse of American power, and to stimulate an assessment that goes beyond the use of military and economic power to include the ability to influence others through attraction and coercion (Nye, 1990). Since then, the concept has gained momentum globally and is extensively employed in political debates (Nye, 2017). Soft power fosters favorable perceptions of a country and improves its overall prospects. This is supported by past studies indicating that countries with a high cultural attractiveness score export more, with each 1 percent net rise in soft power boosting exports by approximately 0.8 percent (Rose, 2015). The relationship between soft power and nation branding initiatives can be considered symbiotic, with soft power not just increasing a nation’s brand, but a successful branding campaign also enhancing the nation’s soft power (Haigh, 2019). Recent research on African countries, for instance, highlights Morocco’s cultural diplomacy efforts to leverage its heritage through massive investment in cultural infrastructure, most notably the museum landscape of Morocco, to

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further shape its nation’s brand and demonstrate its soft power (Wüst & Nicolai, 2022). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) can serve as a reference to support the use of soft power to promote a positive national image. UAE as a nation has pursued a succession of foreign policy objectives over the past decade, which have aided in enhancing its cooperation with neighbors and achieving its economic, cultural, and diplomatic objectives (AntwiBoateng & Alhashmi, 2022). The formation of the UAE soft power council in 2017 to promote the country on the world stage was not only a concerted effort to develop the country’s influence beyond military and economic might, but also an endeavor to promote public diplomacy (The National staff, 2017). In order to exercise soft power, the nation has prioritized political stability, high levels of public safety, and enormous infrastructural investments in education and other core sectors (AntwiBoateng & Alhashmi, 2022). Global information technologies also play an essential role in increasing the soft power of a nation (Chong, 2009). In this regard, UAE has placed significant emphasis on fostering digital diplomacy, utilizing its vast digital infrastructure and high social media penetration rate to create a positive image of the nation domestically and internationally via digital media (Antwi-Boateng & Alhashmi, 2022).

Social Media: An Imperative for Nations in Current Times Social media is rapidly becoming a need for nations looking to enhance their image on the global stage. In light of this expanding relevance, it is crucial to comprehend the characteristics that drive SMPs and information dissemination, as well as their function in accelerating soft power. Due to its striking resemblance to the features of a pandemic, the evil side of social media and its ability to wreak havoc and trigger an infodemic also merits consideration. Characteristics Behind the Growing Influence of Social Media Literature acknowledges the function of social media as an effective medium for advancing public diplomacy initiatives (Harris, 2013). In this regard, the honeycomb framework developed by Kietzmann et al. (2011) offers a valuable perspective for comprehending the varied functions of social media and the dissemination of information on social media

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platforms (SMPs). The framework comprises seven functions: “identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups” (Kietzmann et al., 2011, p. 241). It illuminates the features comprising social media experiences, and the extent to which social media functionalities enable users to (i) share and exchange content, (ii) communicate with others, (iii) know if others are accessible, (iv) share their identity with others, (v) forge relationships, (vi) understand others’ reputation, and (vii) form communities (Kietzmann et al., 2011). These elements assist governments using social media for digital diplomacy in advancing their objectives and expanding their reach. Identity as a building block enables governments to ensure transparency and openness, whereas presence and conversations allow states to connect and engage with individuals and respond to their needs (Stamati et al., 2015). States have also realized that social media provides a platform for relationship building, as evidenced by the Australian Government Department of Human Services, which was an early adopter of social media in 2009 and used SMPs, particularly Twitter and Facebook, to listen to and interact with citizens on the platforms (Nepal et al., 2015). In this regard, a strong presence helps support customers effectively, particularly in the context of government-provided human services, by providing timely information about emergency service centers and emergency support (Ciancio & Dennett, 2015). Along this journey, states must keep a close watch on safeguarding their reputation on SMPs, including crafting positive public relations campaigns coupled with continual monitoring and skillful use of social media, with cascading benefits for the nation’s online branding as well as on the international stage (Virtual Social Media, 2022). Lastly, community features in SMPs allow political parties to communicate with a large audience, while the usage of hashtags on platforms such as Twitter lets political parties harness the strength of the algorithms powering SMPs to gain support and construct a discursive frame to their advantage (Fedorchenko et al., 2020). Despite the benefits provided by social media, its growing use exposes individuals, businesses, and society to threats, constituting the dark side of SMPs. Social Media as a Tool for Soft Power Acceleration Technological advancements have contributed to the rising prevalence of social media and its role as a formidable instrument of soft power

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(Mavrodieva et al., 2019). SMPs have a huge impact on the political agenda, international relations, and social processes within nations, hence advancing soft power goals (Popova et al., 2022). These platforms generate new modes of engagement between societal groups and institutions, which are not constrained by the geographical boundaries of individual nations (Popova et al., 2022). Social media provides political leaders and institutions with a potent platform for promoting their identity, with the capacity to expand the message’s scope and reach through the digital medium. These leaders and institutions must now face unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability for their actions due to the digitization of communication (Soft Power 30, 2019b). For instance, in 2011, Twitter and Facebook were largely influential as digital platforms in rallying efforts during the Arab Spring, when protestors utilized these platforms to spread messages of dissent regarding the authoritarian regime in the Middle East and to organize offline protests and demonstrations against the administration (Rowbotham, 2022). Similarly, the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in September 2022 sparked protests against the Iranian morality police and government repression, with activists leveraging Twitter’s soft power to mobilize offline protests (Rowbotham, 2022). The effectiveness of public diplomacy operations employing digital media and related persuasion methods, which comprise a significant component of soft power, is primarily driven by an underlying emotional component (Soft Power 30, 2019b). In this regard, such efforts can have both benefits and drawbacks. While this increased use affords unprecedented opportunities for individuals to engage, network, and exchange ideas on significant topics (Mavrodieva et al., 2019), it can also exacerbate social and political risks connected with the increased adoption of these communication tools (Popova et al., 2022). When public diplomacy aims to foster a specific sentiment within a society, the increased dialogic exchange facilitated by social media distorts the transmission of emotional contagion (Soft Power 30, 2019b). Emotions can flow from one individual to another, going beyond tweets and Facebook posts and spilling over into offline conversations as well (Soft Power 30, 2019b). One of the most complex concerns is the destabilizing impact of fake news, which may be especially difficult to manage in the digital media when the audience is emotionally invested in believing certain narratives, and exposing it as false may prove tough (Soft Power 30, 2019b).

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Social media’s weaponization as a soft power tool is particularly worrisome. For example, while its measured use for digital diplomacy can yield positive results, rushed comments on platforms such as Twitter have led to misinterpretation and the escalation of hostilities between nations. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump’s remark regarding North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and the United States’ nuclear stockpile led to a stalemate between the two countries and sparked global fears of a nuclear conflict (Rowbotham, 2022). The capabilities afforded by social media could also be utilized for falsehood and propaganda campaigns. For instance, concerns that the TikTok app could be a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controlled tool have led the United States to view it as a national security threat (Farmer, 2020). In this context, it is alleged that TikTok could serve as a mechanism for the CCP to collect personal data about the platform’s users in the United States, while the CCP could also use the platform to run propaganda operations in the United States, impacting its elections and eroding its societal fabric (Chavez, 2023). The Dark Side of Social Media: A Looming Threat The issue regarding the weaponization of social media leads to a discussion of the negative aspects of SMPs. In this context, Baccarella et al. (2018), in an extension of the framework by Kietzmann et al. (2011), shed light on the dark side of social media, offering a useful perspective on how fake news and falsity proliferate on these platforms. A fundamental risk of SMPs, in this regard, is the ability for anyone to share any content on the platform with a wide outreach (Baccarella et al., 2018). For instance, during the 2016 US presidential elections plagued by fake news, it is believed that several websites posting false information were being operated by teenagers from a small town in Macedonia (Woolf, 2016). The ability of a small city in Macedonia to influence the presidential election in the United States (Kirby, 2016) underscores the vast and far-reaching impact of false information dissemination through SMPs (Kumar & Shah, 2018). Furthermore, prior research highlights individuals’ proclivity to sensationalism in news content (Ng & Zhao, 2020), which is also apparent in fake news (Nanath et al., 2022). This appeal and sensationalism tend to generate higher readership on SMPs, thereby fueling online dialogues and increasing divisions within online communities (Baccarella et al., 2018).

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In response to the growing influence of social media, countries are compelled to direct SMPs to regulate their online material, particularly on subjects of national concern where SMPs have become unofficial public debate forums (Siripurapu & Merrow, 2021). Some have allowed SMPs to self-regulate, while others have resorted to differing degrees of online censorship, with repercussions for internet freedom and free expression (Siripurapu & Merrow, 2021). In this regard, recent findings indicate a dramatic loss in internet freedom, with countries progressively fragmenting and controlling the internet and online places (Shahbaz et al., 2022). However, governments are now beginning to recognize that promoting propaganda content through SMPs may be more effective than censorship, as political leaders engage individuals to subtly change opinions online (Ingram, 2019). In the past, countries such as Russia and China have been accused of engaging in propaganda efforts (Clark, 2022). However, recent reports indicate that this problem may be more prevalent, with numerous western nations engaging in similar techniques and promoting pro-western narratives in other nations (Clark, 2022). The practices have only become more complex over time, as automated bots are now used to enhance the impact of the messages and distribute them further (Caldarelli et al., 2020). In light of the increasing manipulation of information, it is reasonable to presume that consumers have the option of engaging or ignoring controlled propaganda materials disseminated by the government or foreign adversaries. This has prompted propagandists to engage social media influencers to expand their reach (Woolley, 2022). These influencers are considered subject matter experts, publish frequently on their social media channels, and have a large audience actively engaged with their material (Geyser, 2023). Involving influencers in the promotion of propaganda enhances the content’s impression of authenticity. An example is the case of the Philippines where several prominent bloggers and macro-influencers with millions of followers mobilized political support for their clients in the past, only to suffer a backlash (Ong & Tapsell, 2020). This led strategists to engage micro and nano-influencers with fewer followers to appear more authentic and advance their agenda (Ong & Tapsell, 2020). Such efforts increase trust and genuine engagement with ordinary people under the guise of authenticity, as these influencers do not always disclose when a post is sponsored by a political organization and are typically compensated for assisting in propaganda operations (Woolley, 2022).

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A Social Media-Powered Infodemic During the Pandemic: An Unsettling Resemblance Epidemics are disease outbreaks characterized by an unanticipated increase in the number of affected individuals in a specific geographic area (Intermountain Healthcare, 2020). In contrast, pandemics are characterized by an exponential increase in cases in which the number of infected individuals skyrockets and is no longer confined to a certain geographical area, but rather spreads to several nations (Intermountain Healthcare, 2020). However, the deluge of information accompanying these disease outbreaks is a component they share in common (Xu & Liu, 2021). The World Health Organization refers to this enormous influx of information during a health crisis brought on by a disease outbreak as an infodemic (Rubinelli et al., 2022). This information overload makes it challenging for people to find trustworthy information and seek reliable guidance when needed, leading to a state of health-related social panic and ushering in chaos amidst a health catastrophe (Xu & Liu, 2021). The term infodemiology was coined in 2002 and focused on the proliferation of health information and misinformation with the goal of directing medical professionals and patients to trustworthy information on the web (Eysenbach, 2002, 2020). However, infodemic as a term gained immense significance during the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Shoib et al., 2022). While past disease outbreaks such as the SARS and H1N1 flu were also accompanied by false rumors and generated panic, the COVID-19 pandemic was witness to an first-of-its-kind unprecedented pace of dissemination of false information brought about by digital technologies and the proliferation of social media (Hao & Basu, 2020). As a mode of communication, social media is highly prone to the transmission of disinformation and misinformation (Snyder & Dury, 2021). While the latter refers to communication created and disseminated without a specific purpose, the former refers to intentionally false communication transmitted with malicious intent (Hameleers & Minihold, 2022). The pandemic was accompanied by an increase in social media usage, which altered the manner in which people utilize the platforms (Molla, 2021). During the pandemic, there was far more news, and pandemic-related circumstances such as lockdowns and unemployment afforded individuals more time to consume online content (Stewart, 2020). However, this was also accompanied by a surge in unreliable news online. For instance, in 2019, 8 percent of engagement with the top one hundred

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performing news sources on social media was deemed unreliable; in 2020, this number more than doubled to 17 percent (Stewart, 2020). This resulted in a more toxic information environment, with misinformation, fake news, and conspiracy theories proliferating online (Molla, 2021). The propagation of such false information was accelerated by the lockdowns and movement restrictions imposed on citizens in many nations, a setting in which seeking knowledge became a coping strategy to deal with heightened anxiety and acquire epistemic control amid an uncertain and evolving crisis (Ying & Cheng, 2021). While the pandemic brought in social distancing norms and physical isolation to mitigate the pandemic crisis, social media use during physical isolation may have exacerbated the infodemic. The fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is among the worst pandemics in terms of disease outbreaks reveals an unsettling similarity. As on December 2022, for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic was regarded the worst pandemic in US history, with the death toll surpassing the numbers from the 1918 Spanish Flu (Miller, 2022). While there have been fervent calls for flattening the pandemic curve (The Economist, 2020), there have been equally loud calls for flattening the infodemic curve (Dharmesh, 2021). At the 2020 Munich security conference, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, stated that we are not only fighting a pandemic but also an infodemic (The Lancet, 2020; United Nations, 2020a). This striking resemblance between the two phenomena necessitates a more in-depth investigation, which we elaborate on in the following paragraphs. First, the pandemic and the highly contagious nature of the virus have caused an exponential rise in the number of individuals affected by it (Young-Saver, 2021). In the context of infodemic and the spread of disease-related information, the deluge has been equally alarming, with calls to take urgent action to contain the spread of misinformation and disinformation (United Nations, 2020b). While the COVID-19 virus is distinguished by its airborne nature and high risk of transmission (Welch, 2022), the infodemic is characterized by a toxic information environment (Doggett, 2021) that impedes public health response and leaves people confused, ill-advised, and misled by information that may be inaccurate and unreliable (United Nations, 2020b; WHO, 2020). Second, the transmission of the virus and the disease-related information follow similar dissemination patterns. For instance, the 5G conspiracy theory links the fifth-generation cellular network technology standard to

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the pandemic. According to reports, this conspiracy theory may have originated in Belgium during an interview with a Belgian doctor (Temperton, 2020). However, the original 5G conspiracy theories that existed on the fringes of the internet previous to the disease outbreak quickly spread across Europe, with some individuals resorting to burning telecom towers (Fildes et al., 2020). It is not only at the outset that the spread of such conspiracy theories bears semblance to the spread of the pandemic, but even research underscores these similarities. In this regard, Kauk et al. (2021) apply epidemiological models which are used to study disease outbreaks to the 5G conspiracy theory and its proliferation on Twitter and find parallels between the propagation of such theories on social networks and the spread of infectious diseases. Furthermore, they find fact-checking as an effective countermeasure in the early phases of the conspiracy theory’s diffusion (Kauk et al., 2021). This brings us to the third aspect, which draws parallels between the pandemic and epidemic-specific combat techniques. While the virus caused an exponential growth in infections, vaccines proved to be an effective combat mechanism to flatten the curve (Young-Saver, 2021). However, the virus is believed to evolve in ways that allow it to circumvent vaccine-induced immunity (Finley, 2023). The combination of natural immunity from a previous infection and vaccine-induced immunity, known as hybrid immunity, is believed to provide superior protection against the virus (Bobrovitz et al., 2023). In a similar manner, SMPs responded to the infodemic by deleting and censoring inaccurate content on their platforms (Lalani & Majcin, 2020). However, this was met with resistance, with platforms like Facebook being accused of censorship owing to the blocking of content (Koetsier, 2020), casting doubts on the efficacy of such efforts. Moreover, when people become aware of their greater exposure to incorrect information, the usefulness of media literacy and critical thinking abilities becomes increasingly apparent (Saperstein & Ethier, 2021; UNICEF, 2022). This combination of social media platform governance and the development of media literacy and critical thinking skills may be viewed as a more effective infodemic response in the long run.

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The Perils of Disinformation Nation-building initiatives are endangered by disinformation. In this aspect, the use of disinformation for soft power may be counterproductive, while the downstream consequences of disinformation, such as offline violence, hate speech, and societal divisions, constitute a threat to soft power and nation-building initiatives. Disinformation as a Threat to Soft Power The credibility of information conveyed by nations is a core component of soft power (Massa & Anzera, 2022) and provides a useful lens for identifying disinformation as a phenomenon that seeks to legitimize the tools of communication management among the non-material sources of power available to the state (Massa & Anzera, 2022). In this regard, while nations project a positive image that is inextricably linked to their political practices and performance (Nye, 2005, 1990), independent factchecking in light of the complexity of validating all online news sources is a daunting task (Massa & Anzera, 2022). In light of this issue, user behaviors and socio-technical affordances result in the establishment of echo chambers and filter bubbles in which individuals are not only isolated from other points of view but also experience an amplification of their opinions (Bruns, 2019). Disinformation may be used to assert legitimacy over power or to portray a favorable image. Recent research has highlighted the use of pro-Indonesian government content on Twitter to bolster Indonesia’s claims over West Papua, the location of a prolonged ethno-nationalist and pro-independence struggle (McRae et al., 2022). While the origin of the tweets cannot be explicitly attributed to the Indonesian government, the pro-government tweets demonstrate the risk associated with pro-government actors’ ability to restrict political discourse via SMPs (McRae et al., 2022). Likewise, the Middle East has been criticized for its role in disinformation campaigns involving social media manipulation and false Twitter accounts designed not only to influence the American public but also to spread pro-regime propaganda (Jones, 2022; Paul, 2019). In a similar vein, China has been accused, in light of the escalating human rights violations and genocide against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, of ramping up disinformation propaganda on US-based SMPs to boost its soft power and forge a better image of Beijing through Uyghur speakers

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denying allegations of genocide and forced labor (Kong, 2022). However, it is argued that China’s influence operations abroad, particularly in Europe, to develop its soft power in the region have been mainly ineffective, employing unsophisticated and ineffective disinformation tactics (Gelin, 2022). This strategy of information manipulation by states which extends beyond territorial boundaries to affect and alter the information landscapes of other nations is referred to as sharp power (Walker & Ludwig, 2017). Sharp power is characterized by the utilization of information warfare tactics to influence foreign nationals by sowing doubt and uncertainty about official narratives for political benefits, as opposed to soft power, whose common reference point is to present a favorable image and win hearts and minds (Soft Power 30, 2019a). Generally, sharp power disinformation efforts target conflict zones, electoral processes, and geopolitical flashpoints (Soft Power 30, 2019a). However, Walker (2018) cautions against interpreting sharp power as the polar opposite of soft power and contends that governments can exercise both types of power. Recent literature analyzing multilingual viewers of television network Russia Today (RT) on Facebook suggests that RT began as an ambitious public diplomacy project aimed at projecting a positive image of Russia; however, the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict led to a shift in focus, with RT being accused of sowing doubts about western media and governments, signifying a shift from soft to hard power (Glazunova et al., 2022). Taking a hint from Russia, similar attempts are evident in relation to China’s rising sharp power. This is exemplified by Thailand’s media outlets signing content-sharing agreements with Chinese state media (Nachemson, 2022), Malaysia’s Chinese-language media being owned by a Chinese-Malaysian tycoon with commercial interests in China (Han & Loh, 2022), and Chinese student associations in the United States retaliating against scholars and students critical of the Communist regime in China (Rotella, 2021). Disinformation Spreading Its Tentacles The spread of disinformation and false narratives via social media has far-reaching effects (Colomina et al., 2021). In this regard, disinformation fosters hate speech, online extremism (EFSAS, 2021), and offline violence (Arayankalam & Krishnan, 2021). In the global arena, these disinformation-fueled events have a cascading effect on how a nation is

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perceived by tarnishing its image and reducing its soft power. An illustration of this would be the assault on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, also known as the “Capitol riots.” The attack on the US Capitol was largely motivated by false information concerning election fraud in the 2020 US presidential elections (Nawaz et al., 2022). Investigations uncovered over six hundred thousand Facebook posts questioning the legitimacy of the electoral mandate and disseminating false information that culminated in offline riots, which had a significant role in the escalation of this violence (Silverman et al., 2022). This historic event had a profound influence on the country’s brand, as indicated by the deterioration of the country’s image internationally following the riots, with perceptions of the country being politically unstable to the outside world (Reibstein & Bedi, 2021). Furthermore, the global competitiveness is highlighted by the fact that the attack on one of the nation’s most revered buildings not only had an impact on America’s soft power, but also provided an opportunity for other countries, such as China, to project the decline of the United States’ image as a “beacon of democracy and freedom” (Kokas & Mastro, 2021). For nations such as the United States, which, unlike China, relies on political values as a source of soft power, incidents such as the siege on its democratic institutions may represent a loss of soft power that may be challenging to rebuild (Kokas & Mastro, 2021). Disinformation’s tentacles extend far and wide as it continues its relentless march in comparable occurrences. In what could be considered a repeat of the Capitol riots, the Latin American nation of Brazil experienced its “January 6 moment” with a disinformation-fueled rage alleging fraudulent electronic voting that questioned the country’s electoral process and culminated in rioters ransacking the National Congress and other buildings (Antelava, 2023). There has been a resurgence of calls for SMPs to counter disinformation and violence, while platforms such as Facebook and YouTube have been accused of failing to prevent the spread of electoral disinformation on their platforms in Brazil (Global Witness, 2023). While the United States decried the riots as an assault on democracy, analysts were quick to draw parallels between the riots in Brazil and the US Capitol siege, stressing the potential for similar uprisings to unfold in other Latin American nations within the United States’ sphere of influence (Qi, 2023). These incidents highlight the potential for disinformation to damage a nation’s reputation and soft power on the international stage.

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At times, disinformation has been accused of fueling online hatred by generating a toxic information environment by means of harassment and endless rhetoric (EUvsDisinfo, 2021). Hate speech poses a major threat to democratic processes (Council of Europe, 2022), erodes the social fabric, and makes way for harmful social conflicts (Tsesis, 2002). This trend of online hatred can have far-reaching consequences, including a challenge to the soft power of a nation within the international community. We provide several examples to clarify this issue. In recent years, SMPs such as Facebook have been accused of failing to prevent the spread of fake news and hate speech in India, as well as of censoring anti-Muslim material selectively (Al Jazeera, 2021). A notable instance is the defamation of Muslims via tweets and fake news stories during a religious gathering at Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi in early 2020, which was attributed to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country (Siyech, 2020). This was quickly followed by Indians in the Gulf region tweeting Islamophobic messages (Siyech, 2020), illustrating the far-reaching power of social media. Arab citizens and even royals criticized this vehemently (Siyech, 2020), and the Organization of the Islamic Conference issued a statement urging India to protect Muslims in the country and condemning Islamophobia (Chadha, 2020). This combination of events in the wake of the Tablighi Jamaat episode and the online hatred and fake news had a clear impact on India’s soft power in the Gulf area, where it has typically enjoyed a favorable relationship (Siyech, 2020). A nation’s soft power efforts may also be undermined by disinformation and online hate. In this aspect, Malaysia has over the years projected its soft power over its geopolitical weight in subtle ways, by contributing to UN peacekeeping efforts, engaging culturally in the South East Asia neighborhood, and fostering global relations with Muslims and Islam (Kheng, 2019). However, during the recent 15th general elections for the appointment of the country’s prime minister, there was a spike of conspiracy theories and online hate accusing the newly elected prime minister of being a Zionist Israeli agent placed by the Central Intelligence Agency (Mustaffa, 2022). Although the Prime Minister’s party, Pakatan Harapan, promised a non-aligned foreign policy, the disinformation and hatred reflected concerns over the new Prime Minister’s potential impact on the country’s approach to soft power (Mustaffa, 2022). While there has been a rise in calls for social media to regulate and curb hate speech online (UN News, 2023), some content such as “redtagging” eludes the scrutiny of platform control standards without being

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categorized as harassment or hate speech (Santos, 2023). Red-tagging refers to “the labeling of, or insinuation that, individuals and groups who are left-leaning are communists and therefore terrorists” (CaballeroAnthony & Morada, 2022, p. 14). Red-tagging has been identified as a significant human rights violation in the Philippines (Marasigan, 2022). Red-tagging attempts were believed to have intensified during the COVID-19 crisis in the country, and reports stated that citizens were being red-tagged to suppress criticism of the government’s inadequate response to the pandemic, undermine human rights, and consolidate authority (Deinla, 2021). In addition, it was considered as a technique for exercising soft power over journalistic media, stifling free expression, and denying citizens access to important information (CHR, 2020). Respect for human rights is a fundamental contributor toward a nation’s brand image (Fetscherin, 2010), and infractions can be costly for nation branding efforts. Online dissemination of false information exacerbates political polarization within nations (EFSAS, 2021). Prior research has highlighted the importance of misleading information in fostering ideological polarization and social unrest (Au et al., 2021), while polarization in turn fuels the spread of fake news (Osmundsen et al., 2021). This growing fragmentation threatens the social fabric and enhances political instability (Carothers & O’Donohue, 2020). While nations have attempted to shed their negative reputation and promote themselves as locations that are not only business-friendly but also offer political stability (Cooper & Momani, 2009), political turmoil poses a hurdle to these efforts. For instance, Sri Lanka as a nation has experienced polarization, profound political divisions, and geopolitical difficulties, including terrorism (Kadirgamar, 2020). The COVID-19 outbreak ultimately exacerbated divisiveness in the nation and expedited the government’s efforts to consolidate power (Kadirgamar, 2020). These challenges for Sri Lanka as a nation beset by political tensions, turmoil, and instability have affected the country’s reputation and contributed to the downfall of its tourism industry (Pande, 2022). Infodemic and the Impact on Nation Branding The prolonged nature of the pandemic had a distinct effect on the nation’s brand in terms of how countries responded to the crisis (Bloom Consulting, 2020), but it also showcased the significance of national

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character as exemplified by citizens’ responses. For example, while the British abided by the law, the Swedish relied on personal judgments, and the Vietnamese emerged as a highly organized society (Grand, 2021). Moreover, whereas tourism was a significant channel for a nation’s brand communication prior to the COVID crisis, the pandemic has led to the activation of new channels to portray a nation’s brand (Grand, 2021). “Made in” products, for instance, are proving to be an excellent technique of constructing the narrative surrounding a nation’s brand following the pandemic (Grand, 2021). In the context of India, the “Make in India” initiative, started in 2014, witnessed the country’s ascent toward being one of the world’s most valuable nation brands within the next few years (Gandhi, 2017), while this campaign is also viewed as a crucial driver of post-pandemic growth (Bhowmick, 2020). However, the infodemic and deluge of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic proved devastating for nations’ brand reputation. We illustrate this through the example of Italy which was among the first countries in the western world to witness a COVID-19 outbreak (Pizzo, 2021). Even as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the nation, an infodemic unfolded in tandem with widespread disinformation, undermining the government’s ability to effectively manage the health catastrophe and eroding the already low levels of public confidence in the government (Pizzo, 2021). As the nation struggled to respond to the crisis, it began to be perceived negatively because it did not meet the expectations surrounding the pandemic response (Pizzo, 2021). Additionally, the government was hindered by administrative inefficiencies and was ineffective at communicating the Italian brand, all of which had a negative impact on the nation’s brand image (Pizzo, 2021). In a similar vein, the pandemic was accompanied by erroneous information about vaccinations, their production process, and potential hazards, which, according to research, could result in significant vaccine hesitancy and decreased vaccination intentions (Lee et al., 2022). Given the prospect that nations could make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory, vaccine skepticism has led to anti-vaccination demonstrations in several countries (BBC, 2021). For instance, in February 2022, thousands of protestors demonstrated against vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions near Canada’s parliament in Ottawa, with the unruly behavior of protestors allegedly provoking shock among some (Associated Press, 2022). It is claimed that these riotous protests harmed Canada’s image

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on the international stage (Robbins, 2022), while the imposition of emergency following the protests was condemned for the change in stance in Canada’s image from soft to hard power (Hindustan Times, 2022).

Fighting Disinformation Amidst Nation-Branding Efforts The perils of disinformation and its cascading influence on a nation’s brand are evident from the discussion so far. This highlights the crucial necessity to combat disinformation in order to advance nation-building initiatives. In this respect, initiatives to improve digital literacy, promote independent media, and expose the sharp power tactics of foreign influence, in addition to drafting laws and supporting new technologies to combat disinformation, may prove helpful. We explain this through instances of nations that have served as exemplars in the battle against disinformation in the context of developing a strong national brand. Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Efforts to increase media literacy and encourage critical thinking have proven to be effective techniques for combating disinformation and constructing strong nation brands. We elaborate further by providing examples. Finland is among the nations whose use of soft power is well regarded, and their response to the pandemic and portrayal of excellent governance have contributed to favorable perceptions of the nation (Brand Finance, 2021). In addition, the government has launched a focused country branding strategy to promote the nation’s image (Finland Toolbox, 2017). Amidst these efforts, the Finnish government was quick to recognize the dangers of fake news and initiated an anti-fake news campaign in 2014, two years before the phrase gained prominence due to foreign interference in the 2016 US presidential election (Mackintosh, 2019). While the country has not been particularly immune to fake news propaganda, as various false information operations have targeted the nation, the state has not only emphasized media literacy but also the necessity to cultivate critical thinking in order to distinguish between facts and falsehood (Hallamaa, 2015). Estonia is another country that has set a high standard for combating disinformation. In 2021, the country was recognized as the fastestgrowing nation brand (Brand Estonia, 2021). Since the 2007 Cyber

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Attacks, regarded as the first cyber-attack against a whole country, which shut down banks, media sites, and government websites, Estonia has recognized media literacy as a vital component of its digital-first society and has taken several steps in this direction (Yee, 2022). The country was ranked third in the 2021 media literacy index published by the European Policies Initiative of the Open Society Institute (OSIS, 2021). This was the outcome of a decade-long endeavor to increase literacy skills and assist its population in navigating falsehood (Yee, 2022) Estonia’s measures have served as a model for other nations, with US military officials visiting Estonia prior to the 2020 US presidential elections to learn about cyber defense mechanisms (Barnes, 2020), and the UK parliament hearing evidence from the Estonian government to comprehend better the media literacy efforts (UK Parliament, 2020). Community Collaboration In contrast to Estonia and Finland, several Balkan countries, such as Bulgaria and North Macedonia, rank very low in media literacy (OSIS, 2022). Collaboration is essential in these circumstances to develop media literacy among the populace. In Balkan countries, collaborative activities have begun to take shape, bringing together activists and practitioners from the sectors of education, journalism, and civic engagement (Stojkovski, 2022). Nonetheless, the state’s support toward such initiatives assumes immense significance. For instance, reports suggest that the lack of a unified approach toward media literacy is believed to have hindered its effective implementation in Bulgaria (Stojkovski, 2022). In a similar vein, previous reports have emphasized the lack of a dedicated media literacy and safe use of new media strategy in North Macedonia, despite the matter being mentioned in other strategies and regulations (European Commission, 2022). Alongside the development of an effective education system to instill critical thinking and media literacy, there is a pressing need for public relations teams at the highest institutional levels to develop an all-encompassing strategy and ensure that effective public awareness of fake news is created in societies (Stojkovski, 2022). Among nations, Taiwan is recognized as one of the most effective states in combating foreign interference concerning Chinese sharp power (Nachemson, 2022). The country has consistently ranked among the top nations that have been a target of disinformation by foreign governments (Mien-chieh & Chin, 2022). However, despite the threat of

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misleading information to which the nation is exposed, the Taiwanese have developed countermeasures. The government’s unique collaboration with non-profit organizations to combat disinformation and propaganda is one of the most important endeavors (Sass, 2022). Despite a relatively robust democracy, citizens’ distrust of legacy media has led people to turn to social media and crowdfunded open-source news organizations (Sass, 2022). However, given the susceptibility of social media to fake news, the Ministry of Education has introduced media literacy programs into the curriculum to ensure that students learn to use technology and the media efficiently and avoid false narratives (Sass, 2022). In addition, fact-checking programs such as Aunt Meiyu and volunteer-run services aid in discerning reality from falsehood and provide clarity regarding policy decisions (Sass, 2022), while recent reports indicate rising calls for scrutiny of funding sources of influencers engaged in pro-China propaganda (Yu-fu & Hetherington, 2023). In this war against disinformation, several nations have resorted to banning media accused of spreading fake news, despite resistance to such actions (EFJ, 2022). Censorship can be helpful in preventing the spread of false information but it raises concerns over the appropriateness of restricting freedom of expression through such means (Roas, 2022). Costa Rica is a model for achieving a delicate balance between countering disinformation and preserving freedom of expression. Costa Rica is a country that has scored high as a nation brand (TPBO, 2020). The country has not only initiated efforts to limit false news (Zúñiga, 2019), but it has done so with minimal digital repression. The nation has served as a model for Central America in preserving online human rights and guaranteeing ample internet freedom (Alvarado et al., 2022). More importantly, these initiatives have been accomplished through the government’s collaboration with civil society, public institutions, and private sector actors, demonstrating the efficacy of a coordinated multistakeholder partnership (Alvarado et al., 2022). Proactive Mechanisms to Combat the Evolving Threat The world of information manipulation is undergoing a rapid evolution, with threats becoming more formidable with time. Deepfakes, a type of hyper-realistic synthetic media, is a growing issue whose adverse impact is anticipated to outweigh its benefits, and governments are beginning to recognize the problem (Vasist & Krishnan, 2022a). The increasing

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sophistication of deepfakes necessitates that SMPs intensify their efforts to develop effective detection algorithms, flag inappropriate information, and control its spread (Vasist & Krishnan, 2022b). Deepfakes are considered a troubling development as they could affect public opinions, mislead people with false information (Tribune News Service, 2023), and tarnish a nation’s reputation on the international arena (Tariq et al., 2022). This worrisome trend necessitates that policymakers and governments engage with SMPs to limit the spread of deepfake content while defining boundaries for interacting with deepfake content through the robust development and implementation of platform standards (Vasist & Krishnan, 2022b). In this scenario, efforts should go beyond collaboration, with governments taking more proactive, forward-looking measures to defend against the dangers posed by deepfakes and other emergent forms of disinformation. In light of this threat, nations are exploring legal avenues to govern deepfakes. For example, China has begun enforcing stringent rules regarding the creation of deepfakes, with such content requiring a watermark and service providers offering the ability to generate synthetic content assuming responsibility for ensuring their services are not used for illegal or harmful purposes (Daws, 2023). Among other options, countries have also considered financing the development of new technology and media forensic techniques that can assist in intensifying the battle against the developing nature of information manipulation. In the past, the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has funded new technologies to support the development of tools to identify manipulated photos and videos with a focus on deepfaked content (Hatmaker, 2018). Likewise, partners associated with the Five Eyes alliance, which consists of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have also funded similar ventures to develop deepfake detection tools (Choi, 2022).

Conclusion This chapter sought to draw attention to the often-overlooked concept of nation branding by emphasizing its significance to a country’s development efforts and its social, political, and economic success. In doing so, the chapter shed light on soft power as a central tenet of nation branding, as well as the role of social media and the pervasiveness of online disinformation and its cascading effects, which pose a severe threat to the nation’s

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brand building efforts, especially in the post-pandemic era, when strategies for nation branding are evolving with the changing times. Lastly, we emphasized the significance of digital literacy, critical thinking, and other aspects crucial to combating fake news and disinformation. In addition, we outlined a number of instances of nations that have been the target of disinformation campaigns that have harmed their brand image, as well as countries that have invested structured efforts in combating the menace of disinformation. We hope that this chapter will provide the necessary insights for researchers to explore the dark side of technologies and their impact on nation’s branding efforts, and that it will serve as a guide for branding professionals to develop successful nation branding strategies while keeping an eye out for potential pitfalls that could derail their branding efforts. Acknowledgements Satish Krishnan thanks the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode’s Chair Associate Professorship for supporting this research.

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Kumar, S., & Shah, N. (2018). False information on web and social media: A survey (arXiv:1804.08559). arXiv. Lalani, F., & Majcin, J. (2020, April 9). COVID-19 Inside the battle to counteract the “infodemic.” World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/age nda/2020/04/covid-19-inside-the-battle-to-counteract-the-coronavirus-inf odemic/ Lancaster, K., & Rubin, M. (2020, April 30). Assessing the early response to Beijing’s pandemic diplomacy. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www. cfr.org/blog/assessing-early-response-beijings-pandemic-diplomacy Lee, S. T., & Kim, H. S. (2021). Nation branding in the COVID-19 era: South Korea’s pandemic public diplomacy. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 17 (4), 382–396. Lee, S. K., Sun, J., Jang, S., & Connelly, S. (2022). Misinformation of COVID19 vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 1. Macedo, G. B. (2019). Nation Branding as an instrument for public diplomacy: An analysis of Romania’s nation brand building. https://repositorio.comillas. edu/xmlui/handle/11531/28035 Mackintosh, E. (2019). Finland is winning the war on fake news. What it’s learned may be crucial to Western democracy. https://www.cnn.com/intera ctive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl Manfredi-Sánchez, J. L. (2022). Vaccine (public) diplomacy: Legitimacy narratives in the pandemic age. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. Marasigan, T. S. (2022, April 13). Red-tagging as a human rights violation in the Philippines. New Mandala. https://www.newmandala.org/red-tagging-asa-human-rights-violation-in-the-philippines/ Massa, A., & Anzera, G. (2022). When communication meets international relations perspectives: Understanding disinformation in a multicentric political environment. In Disinformation Studies: Perspectives to An Emerging Research Field. Mavrodieva, A. V., Rachman, O. K., Harahap, V. B., & Shaw, R. (2019). Role of social media as a soft power tool in raising public awareness and engagement in addressing climate change. Climate, 7 (10), Article 10. McLaughlin, T. (2020, May 16). Is this Taiwan’s moment? The atlantic. https:/ /www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/05/taiwan-china-whocoronavirus-pandemic/611737/ McRae, D., Quiroga, M. del M., Russo-Batterham, D., & Doyle, K. (2022). A pro-government disinformation campaign on Indonesian Papua. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review.

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Temperton, J. (2020, June 4). How the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory tore through the internet. Wired UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/5g-cor onavirus-conspiracy-theory Tharoor, S. (2021, March 11). India’s Smart Vaccine Diplomacy | by Shashi Tharoor. Project Syndicate. https://www.project-syndicate.org/com mentary/india-covid19-vaccine-diplomacy-by-shashi-tharoor-2021-03 The Economist. (2020, February 29). Covid-19 is now in 50 countries, and things will get worse. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/briefing/ 2020/02/29/covid-19-is-now-in-50-countries-and-things-will-get-worse Lancet, T. (2020). The COVID-19 infodemic. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(8), 875. The National staff. (2017, April 29). Sheikh Mohammed launches UAE soft power council. The National. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/government/ sheikh-mohammed-launches-uae-soft-power-council-1.58063 Thompson, D. (2020, May 6). What’s behind South Korea’s COVID-19 exceptionalism? The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/ 05/whats-south-koreas-secret/611215/ TPBO. (2020, October 29). Daniel Valverde on Costa Rica’s country branding strategy during COVID and the power of sustainability as place brand narrative. https://placebrandobserver.com/costa-rica-countrybranding-strategy-insights/ Tribune News Service. (2023, January 23). Deep fake narratives disturbing trend, can mar elections: CEC. Tribuneindia News Service. https://www.tri buneindia.com/news/nation/deep-fake-narratives-disturbing-trend-can-marelections-cec-473158 Tsesis, A. (2002). Destructive messages: How hate speech paves the way for harmful social movements. UK Parliament. (2020, March 2). Estonia’s digital literacy programmes explored by Committee—Committees—UK Parliament. https://committees.parlia ment.uk/committee/407/democracy-and-digital-technologies-committee/ news/111685/estonias-digital-literacy-programmes-explored-by-committee/ UN News. (2023, January 6). ‘Urgent need’ for more accountability from social media giants to curb hate speech: UN experts | UN News. https://news.un. org/en/story/2023/01/1132232 UNICEF. (2022, October 24). Media literacy: A shield against the infodemic. https://www.unicef.org/romania/press-releases/media-literacy-shield-aga inst-infodemic United Nations. (2020a, March 31). UN tackles ‘infodemic’ of misinformation and cybercrime in COVID-19 crisis. United Nations; United Nations. https:/ /www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/un-tackling-%E2% 80%98infodemic%E2%80%99-misinformation-and-cybercrime-covid-19

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CHAPTER 6

Intelligent Automation, Service Robots, and AI – the Service Revolution is in Full Swing Werner H. Kunz, Jochen Wirtz, and Stefanie Paluch

The Service Revolution is Gathering Pace The world economy received a significant boost during the late eighteenth century with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which introduced automated manufacturing processes. This revolution brought higher quality and cost-effective products to the mass market while also

W. H. Kunz (B) Department of Marketing, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] J. Wirtz Department of Marketing, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore S. Paluch School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_6

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freeing people from manual labor, significantly improving our standard of living. Currently, our economies are undergoing a similar transformation, but this time it is in the service sector. We believe that a digital revolution in services is beginning, much like the Industrial Revolution transformed manufacturing. The competition in market economies has made cost savings increasingly challenging. Still, the potential for significant improvements in our quality of life is immense as services such as banking, insurance, logistics, healthcare, and education are mechanized and streamlined, and increasingly end-to-end (E2E) automated through this digital transformation (Bock etal., 2020a, 2020b; Bornet et al., 2021; Huang & Rust, 2018; Wirtz et al., 2018). Technology continues to advance at an incredible pace, becoming more intelligent and powerful while also becoming smaller, lighter, and more affordable. This includes various hardware such as physical robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles, along with their components such as chips, processors, sensors, and cameras. It also encompasses software such as analytics, speech processing, image processing, biometrics, virtual reality, augmented reality, metaverse, cloud technologies, mobile technologies, geo-tagging, low-code platforms, robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, and generative artificial intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT) (Bornet et al., 2021; Mariani et al., 2022; Wirtz et al., 2018). Today, especially intelligent automation (IA), service robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) are driving the revolution in the service sector. These technologies, when combined, have the potential to lead to rapid innovation that can significantly enhance the customer experience, improve service quality, and boost productivity all at once (Wirtz & Zeithaml, 2018). In the service revolution, AI plays a central role as the “brain” and can be defined as “algorithmic models that can identify patterns and learn in real-time” (Mariani et al., 2022, p. 1). Nowadays, AI applications are not just limited to computing fields but are rapidly expanding to various contexts and devices, including smartphones, recommender systems, and customer service. They are even assuming advanced roles, often referred to as cognitive analytics, in areas that were once believed to rely solely on human intellect, such as journalism, painting, music production, and marketing (Mariani & Wirtz, 2023; Mariani et al., 2022). With the rapid development of robot technology and AI, service robots have become increasingly prevalent and represent the operational aspect of the service revolution. According to Wirtz et al. (2018), service robots

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are “system-based autonomous and adaptable interfaces that interact, communicate, and provide services to an organization’s customers” (p. 909). Robots have been a source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers, and thinkers worldwide since their inception. However, recently, we have witnessed robots moving into people’s daily lives due to the rapid development of computer technology and robots. We have now reached a point where humanoid robots (such as Pepper and Nao) and voice-based assistants (such as Siri and Alexa) are becoming a regular part of our lives. Service robots are on the rise with the rapid advancement of robot technologies, AI, big data analytics, cameras, sensors, and speech recognition (Wirtz et al., 2018). They can perform tasks autonomously without any human involvement (Joerling et al., 2019), execute tasks by following their service script and with prior knowledge (Huang & Rust, 2018), and are an important source of service innovation (Rust & Huang, 2014). Numerous companies are showing keen interest in experimenting with service robots. For instance, hotels have started introducing humanoid robots in their lobbies to welcome and entertain guests and provide them with information. Pepper, the latest humanoid staff member at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas, is responsible for welcoming guests and helping them find their way around the hotel in an entertaining and innovative way (Walsh, 2018). At airports, robots scan boarding passes, guide passengers to their departure gates, and reduce waiting times. Some robots are also employed in maintenance and security. For example, Spencer, a robot at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, scans KLM passengers’ boarding passes and directs them to the correct departure gate. Kate, a self-moving check-in kiosk robot at Kansai airport in Japan, identifies busy areas and assists passengers, while at Incheon airport in South Korea, robots vacuum the airport, and Anbot, a security robot, patrols the departure hall for suspicious behavior (Read, 2017). The outbreak of COVID-19 has further increased the demand for medical service robots, which can take care of contagious patients. The social robot Ari interacts with COVID-19 patients to alleviate their isolation, while other robots help ensure that patients receive their medication and monitor their vital signs remotely. Even prostitution services are offered in sex robots brothels with all their advantages (e.g., sexual health benefits and addressing needs of the elderly) and concerns (e.g., the risk of objectification of women and devaluation of sex with humans) (Belk, 2022).

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Furthermore, intelligent automation (IA) builds the process framework for the service revolution. IA refers to computer-based intelligent programs that automate knowledge work in various industries (Bornet et al., 2021). The focus of IA is to automate the work of knowledge workers, such as programmers, physicians, architects, engineers, scientists, and lawyers, whose main asset is their knowledge. Automation is achieved by replicating the capabilities of knowledge workers, such as language, vision, execution, thinking, and learning, in performing their work. The ultimate goal of IA is to achieve a business outcome through end-to-end (E2E) automated processes that ideally require no human intervention. The benefits of using IA include increased process speed, reduced costs, enhanced compliance and quality, improved process resilience, and optimized decision outcomes (Bornet et al., 2021). Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) will likely be a game-changer in service delivery. This technology is getting closer to achieving artificial general intelligence (also called strong AI; it is the ability of technology to understand and learn any intellectual task just as human beings can). We expect that generative AI will allow many frontline technologies (e.g., chatbots, digital agents, and service robots) to understand and learn virtually any intellectual task just as frontline employees do, making today’s chatbots look primitive in comparison. We expect that generative AI will become a common customer interface and provide service close to the level and flexibility of today’s human frontline employees provide (Dwivedi et al., 2023b). Finally, the metaverse is also taking shape in delivering services with a myriad of potential use cases. For example, mirror worlds can show customers what to expect (e.g., what a holiday destination looks like), and virtual real-time experiences can feature live events such as soccer matches and lectures that could be offered as a fully immersive experience at low incremental costs. These developments can be expected to lead to new services and business models. For example, events can be offered at a premium subscription where F1 fans switch from watching a race on TV to joining a virtual mirror world and experience it first-hand virtually from their preferred seat on the track (Dwivedi et al., 2023a). The service revolution and its underlying technologies have important implications for service strategy and consumers alike. In the following discussion, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of the new service world. We highlight the strengths of the new digital reality and consider implications for the future of customer service.

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Opportunities of the New Service World In the new service world, the use of AI-based processes can provide direct advantages to customers in various ways. One of these benefits is that the service is created and informed by algorithms that continually learn from past and current data. This enables the service to adjust and personalize the experience to meet each customer’s specific needs. Examples of this approach include Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, which leverage historical data and user engagement to understand customer preferences and improve the service experience with each interaction. As a result, customers receive a more tailored and effective service that addresses their desires and requirements (Wixom & Schüritz, 2017). Automated services provide greater convenience for consumers as they are faster at handling service requests than humans and are available 24/ 7 (Newell & Marabelli, 2015) and can lead to higher customer satisfaction (Mariani & Borghi, 2023). Moreover, services at a low marginal cost permit customers to utilize them frequently without incurring significant expenses. An example is live translation apps that use data-driven technology to interpret a conversation instantly. These apps facilitate realtime discussions in a foreign language without needing a human customer service representative, which saves them time and energy in finding solutions. Additionally, they offer immediate responses to users’ enquiries instead of waiting for a representative to help. To the consumer, digital services are often cost-efficient. They can be delivered at a much lower cost than traditional, high-touch, humanprovided services, and in some cases, they are completely free (Gu et al., 2018). For example, AI-powered proofreading services can accurately proofread documents at a low cost due to computer-generated results. The low or zero cost allows for creating new user experiences through algorithms. Social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram, for instance, utilize smart filters powered by machine learning and deep learning algorithms to improve video feeds with additional features such as virtual accessories or beautification. These experiences are made possible through the advanced capabilities of AI. Further, AI-powered services are considerably less costly than traditional human-delivered service and can be expanded with minimal additional expense. This includes both virtual service robots, such as chatbots, and “visible” ones, like holograms. An airport could utilize humanoid service robots based on holograms to assist travelers and

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answer frequently asked questions, such as providing information about arrivals and departures and guiding them to the proper check-in counters and airport hotels. These holograms only need inexpensive hardware, like a camera, microphone, speaker, and projector, and do not occupy physical space. Travelers can easily pass through them while carrying their luggage carts (Wirtz et al., 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in the use of medical service robots to attend to patients with infectious diseases. One illustration of such a social robot that uses AI technology is Ari. These robots can interact with patients to alleviate loneliness, administer medicine, remotely monitor vital signs, and sanitize hospitals. They can also help enforce safety regulations and maintain physical distancing among patients and visitors (Schoepfer & Etemad-Sajadi, 2020). AI-based services can also empower customers to do more for themselves in collaboration with an algorithm (Viswanathan et al., 2017). They can give users greater control and privacy since they don’t require human interaction. This can lead to a more engaged and satisfying service experience for customers. For instance, online dating services that use computational profile matching to find compatible partners allow users to interact with potential partners privately without human intermediaries. Incorporating data, analytical insights, or actions into service experiences benefits both companies and customers (Wixom et al., 2020). Using data and analytics in service experiences can enhance efficiency, productivity, and access to valuable customer insights for businesses. This, in turn, allows for flexible and optimal interactions in real-time. By offering personalized and customized services at scale, companies can build customer loyalty, making it harder for customers to switch to competitors, thereby providing a long-term competitive advantage. As a result, executives have invested in data and analytics technology and talent, including data scientists, a key priority over the past decade (Kappelman & Sinha, 2021).

Challenges of the New Service World The digital service revolution brings many exciting possibilities, but it also has its downsides and potential risks for users. The ease of capturing and analyzing customer data presents new challenges beyond those described in George Orwell’s "Nineteen Eighty-Four." In addition to the risks of data leaks, hacking, and security breaches, there is a risk that service

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providers may intentionally or unintentionally misuse customer data in their management processes (Beke et al., 2018). One example of such misuse is the controversy surrounding Match Group, which owns dating apps like Tinder and Grindr. The company was accused of violating EU privacy laws by sharing users’ data, including sensitive information like their exact GPS locations, sexual orientation, and HIV status with external firms without obtaining their consent. In addition to worries regarding data privacy, advancements in digital technology, including machine learning, AI, analytics, and intelligent automation, raise significant ethical quandaries. These technologies possess unprecedented capabilities, posing questions regarding their appropriate application and potential impact on society (Belk, 2021; Breidbach & Maglio, 2020; Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2017; Bornet et al., 2021). There are ethical apprehensions about constructing variables and indicators like creditworthiness scores or safe driving habits using data and feeding this information into AI systems for automatic decision-making. This practice can lead to unfair outcomes for consumers, such as higher interest rates or insurance premiums. Moreover, there is a possibility of bias against specific demographics or groups, particularly those already disadvantaged, like women, certain ethnicities, or the elderly, and can adversely affect those individuals (Gillis & Spiess, 2019). Digital services can have harmful effects, such as inducing addictive behavior, including impulsive buying patterns that may lead to obesity (Montgomery et al., 2019). These services may also suppress self-esteem and trigger emotional dependence on dating apps through algorithmic reinforcement (Courtois & Timmermans, 2018; Her & Timmermans, 2020), inhibit self-regulation behaviors in online gaming and in-game purchases (Brooks & Clark, 2019; Li et al., 2019), and foster conditioning of reward-response behaviors toward emotional validation on social platforms (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017; Montag et al., 2019). On a larger scale, service robots and AI can lead to dehumanization, social isolation, loss of autonomy and dignity, social engineering, and more ˇ c et al., 2018; Leidner & Tona, 2021; Vande(Belk, 2021, 2022; Cai´ meulebroucke et al., 2018). Even if implemented with the best intentions, flexible AI systems risk being exploited for unintended purposes (Koshiyama et al., 2021).

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Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) as a Response to the New Digital Reality Service organizations need to be aware that using AI systems and digital technologies can potentially harm their customers and society as a whole and should take responsibility for mitigating such risks (Lobschat et al., 2021). As Wade (2020) has aptly noted, "The risks to humanity of poor or unethical digital practices are increasing rapidly and can no longer be ignored… corporate entities need to join the debate." Service companies face unique challenges regarding AI since they tend to have more customer touchpoints, process larger amounts of consumer data than goods companies, and have closer relationships with customers. Services are also easier to digitize, leading to an increased data flow that can be integrated into service value chains. AI is often used to analyze this data and develop models to make predictions and enhance customer experiences. Regrettably, there is a dearth of research on how organizations can navigate ethical dilemmas arising from digital technologies, particularly in a service context. To address these new challenges, Wirtz et al. (2023) propose the concept of Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) as a framework for service companies, defining it as "the principles governing a service firm’s ethical, equitable, and protective use of data and technology when engaging with customers within their digital service ecosystem"(p. 1). CDR is especially crucial in service markets due to the high potential for ethical concerns stemming from the disruptive impact of digital technology (Bock et al., 2020a, 2020b). Balancing organizational goals and good CDR practices can sometimes lead to conflicting objectives that service companies must reconcile. These tensions can be seen as trade-offs that companies must navigate in order to achieve both profitability and ethical responsibility, or as a "utilitarian perspective" that weighs the benefits and costs of CDR practices (Hermann, 2022a, p. 44). For instance, the privacy literature has developed the "privacy calculus" to address such trade-offs from a consumer perspective, indicating that consumers should consider the benefits and costs of their privacy decisions (Gouthier et al., 2022; Smith et al., 2011). Similarly, Wirtz et al. (2023) argue that service firms must evaluate the benefits and costs of good CDR practices to determine their level of commitment to CDR. They illustrate these tensions through a CDR calculus shown in Fig. 6.1.

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Fig. 6.1 A service firm’s CDR calculus. Note Adapted from Wirtz, Jochen, Werner Kunz, Nicole Hartley, and James Tarbit (2022), “Corporate Digital Responsibility in Service Firms and Their Ecosystems”, Journal of Service Research, published online first

Ensuring good CDR practices can be challenging for service firms, as there may be tensions between organizational goals and ethical principles. Nonetheless, building a reputation of trustworthiness in this regard is crucial for future service organizations. Instead of merely focusing on risks and concerns, service companies should consider the benefits and costs of their CDR behaviors, using a CDR calculus approach. By assessing their data practices and technologies in this manner, service firms can gain important insights, including whether they are willing to sacrifice some profit for the sake of good CDR practices. If the calculus suggests that forgone profits are too high, service organizations are less likely to prioritize good CDR behaviors, and regulation may be necessary. Although self-regulation has certain advantages, such as being faster and more flexible, it is not always sufficient to address the ethical challenges posed by AI, and external regulations become necessary. Floridi (2021) shares this view, concluding that the era of self-regulation to address such challenges has come to an end. He concluded that “the time has come to acknowledge that, much as it was worth trying, self-regulation did not work. …Self-regulation needs to be replaced by the law; the sooner, the better” (Floridi, 2021, p. 622).

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The preceding discourse highlights the ethical hurdles arising from the service revolution, but also underscores the considerable advantages of digital services. Therefore, following the tenets of the CDR calculus, businesses are likely to lean towards greater implementation of AI-based systems (with a view to upholding CDR standards). Given this likelihood, conducting a more in-depth exploration of how automated customer service diverges from traditional service delivery is important.

Automated Customer Service vs. Traditional Service Delivery The deployment of automated customer services, such as chatbots, physical service robots, and conversational agents, results in several differences compared to traditional service delivery. The following paragraphs discuss some of the most significant differences. Emotional Touch vs. Customized Tech: Frontline employees are typically regarded as the primary representation of a service company, responsible for ensuring the quality of the service through their skills, training, emotions, personality, and attitude (Wirtz & Jerger, 2017). For service organizations, the human touch can be a distinguishing factor depending on the company’s approach. Human-to-human interaction allows for genuine emotions to be exchanged, which is absent in AI-based customer interfaces. The service management literature has differentiated between “deep acting,” where employees display authentic emotions, and "surface acting," where employees display superficial, insincere emotional responses (e.g., Wirtz & Jerger, 2017). Since AI-based service agents do not feel real emotions, their emotional expressions will likely be perceived as artificial. Consumers may respond differently to them compared to genuinely expressed emotions by human frontline employees (Wirtz et al., 2018). However, increasingly humanized and anthropomorphized AIbased service agents (Hermann, 2022b) may be better at mimicking surface-acted emotions (i.e., automated social presence) than human employees because they are not susceptible to emotional burnout (van Doorn et al., 2017). Individual Person vs. System-based Approach: Another distinction is that human employees have their own unique personalities, skills, perceptions, biases, and experiences, which can result in variations in the quality of service provided over time and across different employees. Training is required for human employees to learn the necessary routines, memorize

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relevant information, and learn to use various IT systems, which can be a time-consuming and difficult process. In contrast, AI-based customer services are integrated into a larger frontline service system. They can easily access information from a knowledge database, as well as external sources like the Internet and social media to provide their service. High vs. Low Incremental Cost: Human employees cannot be scaled, and each additional employee adds significant costs to the company. Conversely, AI-based customer services offer substantial economies of scale and scope as most of the costs are incurred during research and development. Physical robots, for example, have incremental costs, but these are still only a fraction of the cost of adding human employees. In contrast, virtual robots can be deployed at negligible incremental costs (Wirtz et al., 2018). Based on the discussed comparison, we next explore the key implications that the digital service revolution has for service organizations.

Implications for Service Organizations The service revolution will have enormous implications for business. Some of the most critical issues for service organizations are the following. The Service Sector is at an Inflection Point : Today, the service industry is at a critical juncture similar to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. During this time, manufacturing underwent significant improvements. This transformation presents a remarkable opportunity for companies that can take advantage of new technologies and adjust their services while also transforming their business models. Traditional service organizations can leverage digital transformation and the integration of AI to improve productivity and quality and revitalize their brand image through creative marketing strategies. This will enable them to maintain their competitiveness in the long term. Reconstructing the Organizational Frontline: The implementation of autonomous service systems will demand the reorganization and transformation of organizations, which in turn will require strong leadership and support, as well as employees’ willingness and ability to adapt. As new tasks and responsibilities are assigned, employees will need to develop new skills such as RPA, basic programming, analytics, and technical troubleshooting. Consequently, the skills and competencies of human service representatives will need to evolve, potentially impacting the job market. To ensure the successful adoption of AI, companies must be prepared

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for these changes and integrate digitization and AI principles into the organizational culture at all levels beyond the customer interface. More Human–Robot Collaboration: We do not believe that service robots will fully substitute human service employees either currently or in the future. While it is likely that robots in the upcoming decades will be able to handle cognitive and analytical tasks of high complexity, services that mainly require emotional or social skills and genuine emotions will continue to be primarily provided by humans (see Fig. 6.2). Hence, it is probable that robots will take over most standardized tasks, such as routine tasks, but this may not be the case for all service contexts. In fact, we maintain that human service employees remain crucial in building trusting relationships with customers. Their empathetic, compassionate behavior and authentic emotions are important in some service contexts (e.g., certain healthcare services, education, and religious services) and are the bedrock of trust and cannot currently be emulated by robots.

Fig. 6.2 Service delivery based on the complexity of emotional and cognitive tasks. Adapted from Jochen Wirtz, Paul Patterson, Werner Kunz, Thorsten Gruber, Vinh Nhat Lu, Stefanie Paluch, and Antje Martins (2018), “Brave New World: Service Robots in the Frontline”, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, p. 909, https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0119

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We anticipate that hybrid teams consisting of humans and robots will become the preferred mode of delivery for many services in the future. These hybrid teams will provide productivity and service quality gains for companies by combining the strengths of AI and human service representatives. An Opportunity for Cost-effective Service Excellence: By combining the strengths of AI and human employees, hybrid teams can increase productivity and improve service quality. Robots are particularly suited to deliver highly customized services due to their extensive knowledge base and access to data, including customer profiles stored in CRM systems, and processing power. Therefore, companies should focus on implementing, managing, and optimizing the deployment of co-creation teams involving robots, employees, and customers to provide exceptional customer experiences. While AI-based customer service can be a useful tool for improving service quality, it is not a solution for all service issues. When issues become more complex or require individual attention or recovery, human service representatives can provide support through their emotional and social skills. These new modes of interaction are expected to contribute to an overall better service experience. Mitigating Potential Deployment Risks: To address potential biases and concerns that may arise in relation to autonomous services systems, such as algorithm aversion, loss of the human touch, and consumer privacy, companies should embrace corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and develop a set of shared values, norms, and guidelines for the responsible use of technology throughout its entire life cycle (Wirtz et al., 2023). This may involve considerations such as the acquisition of data (for example, using biometrics or social media accounts), its use (for example, creating variables such as a healthiness index or financial score), decision-making (such as approving loans and setting interest rates), and its removal (such as when information on a bounced payment is deleted from the company’s database). In summary, service robots and AI have the potential to revolutionize the service sector, leading to remarkable enhancements in customer experience, service quality, and productivity, just like how the Industrial Revolution transformed manufactured goods. This service revolution can significantly improve our standard of living and will industrialize services such as finance, logistics, healthcare, and education.

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However, more research is needed to understand better how to implement service robots and their impact on customers and employees who work alongside them. In a study by Lu et al. (2020), several areas were identified where more research is needed to explore service robots further. We want to take this journey together with our research field to understand better how to harness the potential of service robots and AI to improve our services while, at the same time, addressing the concerns and implications that arise from their adoption.

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CHAPTER 7

Delivering Value Through Sustainable Marketing Jayant Shah, Kavita Sharma, and Komal Gupta

Introduction The sustainable marketing domain has gained a lot of adhesion over the years (Kemper & Ballantine, 2019). The growth of scientific evidence of environmental degradation, the rising governmental concerns and initiatives, and corporate marketers’ actions adhering to environmental standards are the factors that contribute to growing academic enquiry and practice within the domain of sustainable marketing (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 2020). Also, there is the realization of potential in marketing’s ability to influence sustainable lifestyles (Peattie & Peattie, 2009) and produce

J. Shah (B) Academy of Indian Marketing, Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected] K. Sharma Department of Commerce, University of Delhi, Delhi, India K. Gupta Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_7

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sustainable products (Charter et al., 2002) that can help preserve natural resources for future generations. When resources cannot be replenished it is difficult to balance the increasing demand. The phenomenal growth in world population from 2.5 billion in 1950 to over 7.8 billion in 2022, nearly at the rate of 300%, has led to increasing demand for resources. To meet the needs of the growing population, billions of tons of natural resources (crude, minerals, and coal) are consumed, millions of acres of forests are destroyed, and freshwater sources are slowly depleted. Moreover, consumption-led economies produce consumable products in abundance, resulting in factories producing carbon emissions that adversely affect the ozone layer and the creation of lots of resource wastage. There is an ongoing debate between sustainability and marketing. Marketing is based on the model of sustained consumption despite limits to economic growth (Sanberg & Polsa, 2015). Nonetheless, the relationship between marketing and the environment is part of academic discourse for a long. The sustainability agenda in marketing, therefore, has evolved over time and widened the scope of sustainability marketing. Ecological marketing, green marketing, environmental marketing, sustainable behavior, sustainable consumption, social marketing, relationship marketing, and ethical marketing are the varied concepts that fall within the spectrum of sustainability marketing. At the outset, this chapter aims to explain the way marketing decisions are reinvented in light of sustainability concerns to deliver value to customers. Against the backdrop of sustainable development goals (SDGs), the chapter first discusses the evolution of sustainability marketing both as a concept and practice. In the next section, the chapter covers the re-invention of marketing decisions addressing sustainability issues followed by the discussion about creating value for all, including business, customers and society at large. Sustainable consumption, the role of government and major issues and challenges in practising sustainable marketing are the other relevant discussions covered in the chapter to provide a comprehensive understanding of delivering value through sustainable marketing.

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From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprises a set of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all the member states of the United Nations in the historic summit held on September 25, 2015, in New York with the vision of peace and prosperity for people and planet, now and in the future. Sustainable Development Goals recognize the need for action by all countries in areas such as ending poverty and hunger, gender equality, reducing inequality, improving health and education, and promoting sustainable economic growth while tackling climate change until 2030. The 2030 agenda for sustainable development is transformative as it has many enlarged connotations than the earlier approaches adopted by the UN in the mid-1990s. There is a realization of the fact that the problems and challenges relating to development are no longer country-specific, but are becoming increasingly global in nature. As a global village, issues in one country affect other countries and become global by transcending boundaries. Thus, the SDGs are based on the philosophy of interrelatedness of the global problems of economic growth having environmental and social dimensions. Sustainable Development Goals have evolved over decades of work by the United Nations (UN) and its member countries. At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil held in June 1992, a comprehensive plan of action to build a global partnership for sustainable development to improve human lives and protect the environment (Agenda 21) was adopted by over 178 countries. In the year 2000, the Millennium Summit was held in New York, and Millennium Declaration was adopted whereby eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were elaborated to reduce extreme poverty by 2015. In June 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + ) held in Rio de Janeiro the outcome document “The Future We Want” was adopted which initiated the formulation of a set of SDGs to build upon the MDGs. Rio + 20 also entailed other measures for implementing sustainable development, including mandates for future programmes. A 30-member Open Working Group was constituted by the General Assembly in 2013 to develop a proposal on the SDGs. The UN Sustainable Development Summit held in New York in 2015 adopted the Resolution titled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development” with its seventeen

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SDGs and 169 related targets. The high-level political forum on sustainable development serves as the central UN platform that conducts annual follow-ups and reviews of the SDGs. To transform the 2030 Agenda into reality, a strong commitment from all stakeholders is needed to implement global goals. The Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) plays a key role in this by evaluating the UN systemwide implementation of the 2030 Agenda and advocacy and outreach activities related to the SDGs. The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals adapted from United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Summit 2019 are laid out in Table 7.1. From SDGs to ESGs To achieve sustainable development, SDGs are not sufficient in themselves because of various issues such as supply chain working conditions, child labor, and shortage of water, which has led to the concept of environmental-social-governance (ESG) thinking. By holding companies accountable for their actions and ensuring that they comply with best practices, ESG aims to resolve sustainability issues. ESG defines enterprise sustainability in terms of not only financial and competitive sustainability but also societal and ecological sustainability (Villa & Bharadwaj, 2019). ESG refers to a way of investing or assessing companies on their environmental, social, and governance performance while also considering financial returns—the cornerstone of accountability. As a subset of SDGs, ESGs expect organizations to align their sustainability interventions with leading ESG reporting standards and integrate ESG analytics to provide a complete picture of the organization’s value creation to investors and other stakeholders via ESG and sustainability reporting. At the minimum, ESG reporting aims to ensure that the enterprise practices do not harm people or the planet, and at the best, they create value for all stakeholders (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 2020). There is a gamut of aspects of ESG reporting that ensure that companies consider the impacts on sustainability issues and are transparent about the risks and opportunities while making non-financial disclosures to stakeholders. ESG reporting, based on Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards and integrated reporting framework, is conducted through

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Table 7.1 Sustainable Development Goals SDGs No

Goal

Goal description

Goal 1 Goal 2

No Poverty Zero Hunger

Goal 3 Goal 4

Good Health and well being Quality education

Goal 5

Gender equality

Goal 6

Clean water and sanitation Affordable and clean energy Decent work and economic growth

End poverty in all its forms everywhere End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all Achieve Gender equality and empower all women and girls Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 7 Goal 8

Goal 9

Goal 13

Industry, innovation and infrastructure Reduced inequality Sustainable cities and communities Responsible consumption and production Climate action

Goal 14

Life below water

Goal 15

Life on land

Goal 16

Peace, justice and strong instructions

Goal 17

Partnership

Goal 10 Goal 11 Goal 12

Reduce inequality within and among countries Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

Source https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgsummit

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annual sustainability reporting and is the part and parcel of annual financial reporting. Figure 7.1 shows some of the universal aspects of ESG reporting. SDGs and ESG together provide a roadmap for businesses and organizations to strive for long-term sustainable solutions. While SDGs are global goals set by the UN, ESG is a rating system that measures companies’ environmental and social performance. SDGs are time bound to be achieved by 2030, whereas ESG focuses on long-term solutions that

Environmental

Preservation of our natural world

Social

Consideration of humans and our interdependencies

Governance

Process for running a business or organization

Climate change and its aspects

Customer success

Board of Directors and its composition

Carbon emission reduction

Gender and diversity inclusion

Executive compensation guidelines

Water pollution / water scarcity

Community relations

Political contributions and lobbying

Air pollution / Environmental pollution

Mental health

Venture partner compensation

Deforestation

Fig. 7.1 Aspects of ESG

Hiring and onboarding best practices

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focus on specific targets around the world. ESG aims to encourage organizations to improve their environmental and social rankings, which will help attract investment and improve their reputation and access to new markets. SDGs work in tandem with ESG factors by providing guidelines on how an organization can achieve sustainable development goals within their company, products, and services. Triple Bottom Line Historically, businesses have worked solely for their financial bottom lines. Sustainability has been an often-mentioned goal of businesses, non-profit organisations and governments in the past decade, and measuring the degree to which an organization is being sustainable or pursuing sustainable growth can be difficult (Slaper, et al., 2011). Elkington (1994) coined the phrase “Triple Bottom Line” as a comprehensive way of measuring performance in corporate America. The triple bottom line framework advocates that companies look beyond profits and include social and environmental issues to measure the full cost of their business operations. Triple bottom line (TBL) thinking aims to incorporate sustainable accounting in business, i.e., social, environmental and economic aspects (Fig. 7.2). TBL framework makes businesses realize their responsibility toward society and ecology by evolving systemic change in market solutions (Elkington, 2019). TBL thinking, thus, requires businesses to work simultaneously on the three bottom lines, also called as 3 Ps—i.e., economic, social and environmental—instead of the single-bottom line paradigm as a transforming agent for the market-driven economies. Profit is the conventional measure of business performance. Business decisions and strategic plans are generally made to maximize profits. Now, businesses are realizing that they can lead to positive changes in the world by adopting sustainable initiatives without hampering financial performance. Businesses are gradually transforming from traditional business models oriented around shareholders into concern for all stakeholders to ensure enterprise stakeholders’ satisfaction and having both profit and sustainability fit together. People measure how socially responsible a business is. Businesses are now shifting their focus to creating value for all stakeholders, such as customers, employees, suppliers, and community members. Planet identifies how ecologically responsive the

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Economy & Commerce

Enviornment & Clmate

Society & Wellbeing

SDG Fig. 7.2 Triple bottom line

business is. Sustainable initiatives such as ethically sourced materials, rationalizing energy consumption, planting trees, etc., are taken by companies to contribute positively toward climate change. The triple bottom line is a transformation framework for businesses and other organizations to help them move toward a regenerative and more sustainable future. Today many companies worldwide are taking initiatives to support Sustainable Development Goals. To reduce its environmental impact, Nike has committed to using 100% sustainable cotton by 2025. Adidas is undertaking various initiatives to improve suppliers’ working conditions.

Evolution of Sustainable Marketing The marketing concept has evolved through five different concepts. The first is the production concept, where the focus is to increase production at a lower cost to meet the consumer demand that exceeded supply. The

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second concept, product concept, recognizes that consumers prefer highquality products with high performance and innovative features. In the selling concept, the focus shifts to selling more products through aggressive selling and promotion techniques, as supply reaches a point where it exceeds demand. In the mid-1950s the focus shifted from selling to marketing catering to the growing consumer interest in unique products and services that can satisfy their individual needs. Here the focus was on consumer preferences, i.e., the consumer is put first in business planning and strategy. It holds that marketing activities should be based on creating, communicating, and delivering superior value to targeted customers (Kumar et al., 2012). Next, the societal marketing concept, the extension of the marketing concept suggests that consumers may on occasion respond to their immediate needs or wants while overcoming what is in effect in their own long-run best interest, the best interest of their family and neighbors, the best interest of their country or region, or even the best interest of the entire planet. So, here the role of marketers is to enlighten consumers about their long-run best interests on the one hand and on the other hand apprise what their own company is doing to be a good corporate citizen (Schiffman et. al., 2011). With the evolution of social systems worldwide, the relationship between humankind and the planet has changed over time. The pursuit of economic growth has resulted in irreversible damage to our ecosystem, such as resource depletion and climate change, and also a huge loss to social and human well-being. Therefore, conventional marketing, where the customer is the king, needs to incorporate environmental, social, and ethical concerns in addition to economic concerns in their business and marketing strategies. Several marketing concepts have emerged to address social and environmental issues, such as societal marketing, social marketing, ecological marketing, green marketing, greener marketing, and environmental marketing. The other concepts such as “green consumption,” “green purchasing,” “green innovation,” “green investment,” and “going green” mainly emphasize the relationship between marketing and environment (Chaudhary, 2020; Song et al., 2020). Sustainability marketing represents a logical evolution from these earlier approaches to socially and environmentally sensitive marketing that extends and integrates them (Peattie & Belz, 2010). In more general terms, sustainability marketing can be defined as building and maintaining sustainable relationships with customers, the social environment, and the natural environment (Belz, 2006). Sustainable marketing, thus, focuses

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on the production, distribution, and consumption of products that do not harm the environment (Benevene & Buonomo, 2020; Kim et al., 2017; Shafaei et al., 2020) and work as a source of well-being for humans and other species (Borland & Lindgreen, 2013). Sustainability marketing embraces the idea of sustainable development, which requires a change in the behavior of virtually everyone, including both producers and consumers. This will combine the existing strengths of conventional marketing with the sustainability perspectives of ecological and ethical marketing and insights from the field of relationship marketing to create a new marketing paradigm based on forging sustainable, value-based relationships with consumers, which in a nutshell is sustainability marketing (Peattie, 1992). Businesses need to proactively shift from conventional marketing to sustainable marketing. Though, many companies advocate TBL thinking, yet it is followed by many of them in their accounting and reporting of business results (Apte & Sheth, 2016; Vardarajan, 2019). Currently, sustainable marketing is not an option but an obligation for companies to gain a competitive advantage. Businesses need to apply their creativity and innovation to solve sustainable development challenges and exploit $12 trillion a year market potential of sustainable products and services by the year 2030 (Elkington, 2018). Sustainability marketing management refers to planning, organizing, implementing and controlling marketing resources and programs to satisfy consumers’ wants and needs while considering social and environmental criteria and meeting corporate objectives. The researchers like Chen et al. (2019), Pereira and Martins (2021) emphasized research on sustainable production, consumption, and marketing to generate marketing knowledge and practices that could drive the market in the direction of achieving triple bottom line.

Reinventing the Marketing Mix Decisions Today, on the one hand, companies are more conscious of their social and environmental responsibility, on the other hand, consumers also want to consider the long-term interests of all stakeholders and be transparent about their practices. Consequently, companies are increasingly adopting sustainable marketing strategies. They are reinventing their marketing mix to include social and environmental aspects in it.

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The traditional marketing mix, consisting of the 4Ps of marketing, namely, product, price, place and promotion are the controllable parameters for organisations to drive their marketing strategy and influence the target market’s buying habits and decisions (Brassington, 2011). The 4Ps framework has endured over the years through its extensions to embrace the ever-changing and dynamic nature of businesses, markets and industries (Fuxman et al., 2022). 4Ps created for manufacturing sector was logically adapted to service sector with three additional Ps, namely, people, process, and physical evidence. Adding to existing marketing-mix decision, sustainability marketing has 3Ps, namely, public, performance and preservation. Public represents the “who” of sustainability and may include customer contact staff, customers, personnel, and management. Peattie and Belz (2010) suggested an additional re-configuration of 4Ps into 4Cs of marketing-mix model to include customer solutions, customer cost, convenience, and communication. The integrated framework for sustainable marketing strategies for fashion industry proposed by Fuxman et al. (2022) involves 4Ps’ marketing-mix model (product, price, place, promotion) transformation through three additional service marketingmix decisions (people, process, physical evidence) into four sustainability marketing-mix decisions, namely, communication, convenience, customer cost, and customer solutions (Fig. 7.3).

Traditional Marketing Mix Decisions (4P’s) Product Price Place Promotion

Additional Service marketing Decisions People Process Physical Evidences

Sustainability Marketing-Mix Decision Adaptation Customer Solution Customer Cost Convenience Communication

Transformation

Fig. 7.3 Sustainability marketing-mix decisions (Source Fuxman et al. [2022])

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Marketers are now looking at a bigger picture and recognize the impact of marketing strategies on the world around them. Thus, they are increasingly shifting to a societal focus by adopting their marketing mix for environmental longevity. Sustainable Product Streams of products that flood the world pose significant social and environmental problems. The development of sustainable products fits into actions for sustainable development and should be run through discussions on economic, social, and environmental goals. The product will be sustainable if it takes into account aspects of environmental, social, and economic nature: the features and characteristics of the product assortment, brand, and accompanying services, but also raw material sourcing, transportation, storage, production, sale, use, and recycling (Pabian, 2015). Adapting products according to ecology reduces negative impacts on the natural environment. Now increasingly companies are providing solutions to customers which are environmentally friendly, such as LED lights, electric vehicles. 3 M—the sustainable leader company has succeeded in bringing many innovative sustainable products in market (Winston, 2012). Sustainable Price Policy Price is another marketing mix tool that is difficult to harmonize with the concept of sustainable marketing. On one hand, sustainable products have higher prices than other offers, which is an important barrier on the demand side. On the other hand, it is the only tool for the company, which directly contributes to the size of the generated revenues, and therefore it is the main tool for gaining a competitive advantage in the global market (Pabian, 2015). The consequences of recognizing the concept of sustainable development in pricing policy are also reflected in the price calculation from the customer’s point of view. In this case, the attention of managers setting the price should focus on all costs borne by the purchaser. Although the concept of the buyer’s total costs is not new, a broader, holistic view is proposed in sustainable marketing. In addition to purchase costs, costs of use, modernization, and product disposal are included. In addition,

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opportunities to reduce them are analyzed. Therefore, the most important goal, but at the same time difficult too, in the process of adaptation of sustainable principles in pricing policy is calculating the total costs that are incurred in the full product life cycle (Rudawska et al., 2016). Ansar (2013), in his study, highlighted that ecologically conscious consumers are significantly proven to be willing to pay premium prices for environmentally-friendly, i.e., green products. Furthermore, research highlights that consumers in some industries are not willing to pay a higher price for ecological solutions, as they perceive that these products do not have any value addition in their experience of the product. In the long term, these issues will be tackled with technological advancements, reduced wastage with more sustainable processes, etc., which will make these products more affordable to the masses. Sustainable Distribution The physical distribution policy has both direct and indirect impacts on ecology. To minimize the adverse impact on the environment, distribution channels must be modified or replaced. It enables a reduction in economic, social, and environmental costs, which is one of the main objectives of the sustainable management of flow in distribution channels. In practice, factors determining the implementation of sustainable marketing ideas include cooperation in distribution channels taking into account the requirements of environmental protection, the choice of suppliers who have appropriate certificates certifying their activities, sustainable development, the reduction of energy consumption in the process of supplying products, re-using or recycling, responsible policy related to the design, construction and recycling of packaging and cooperation with customers in the field of environmental protection, e.g., through arrangements for collection of used products at the places of sale points (Rudawska et al., 2016). Sustainable Promotion Businesses are investing heavily in their promotional strategy not only to sell their products, but also to inform and educate consumers about their sustainable products and product lines and the necessity of sustainable products for social well-being. Promotional activities encourage consumers to adopt sustainable behaviors.

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Nevertheless, the creative modern society appears to have a critical view of the ethical and sustainable marketing activities of companies, but once a company proves to be reliable in its actions, these consumers become very loyal to the corresponding company (Rahbar & Wahid, 2011). Kotler et al. (2010) proposed that a way to tackle a skeptical society is to find creative influencers of the society and involve them to promote sustainable activities and products to create positive word of mouth. Companies such as McDonald, Domino, and Unilever, through their promotional strategies, are already promoting sustainability. Case Examples of Sustainable Marketing Initiatives Unilever employs different methods and means to remove plastics from their products and packaging. They use a range of alternative materials such as bamboo toothbrushes, fully recyclable paper food sachets for Colman’s, Dove single bar soaps that are plastic-free, etc., to make biodegradable facial cleansing wipes from sustainably sourced wood pulp and plant fibers. Domino, Mc Donald, to name a few, are now offering and including in their menu healthier food options to counterweigh the issue of obesity among customers and face an increased pressure to provide healthier food options among fast food chains. DHL World’s leading logistics company provides a comprehensive portfolio of green logistics solutions to its customers to make their supply chains more sustainable and help them achieve their environmental targets. They developed a Go-Green solution to make the client supply chain more eco-friendly by minimizing logistics-related emissions, waste, and other environmental hazards. Coca Cola in its initiative called “World Without Waste” to tackle the global plastic waste crisis has three fundamental goals: first making 100% of its packaging recyclable globally by 2025 and using at least 50% recycled material in their packaging by 2030; secondly, collecting and recycling a bottle or can for each one they sell by 2030; and finally bringing people together to support a healthy, debris-free environment. Mahindra and Mahindra launched the “Mahindra Hariyali” initiative in 2007 to plant more and more trees to increase green cover and contribute to natural carbon sinks. Since then, the group has been planting one million trees every year to create a sustainable future and

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enrich the lives of communities. The group has also implemented paperless manufacturing at the Zaheerabad plant, where all processes except statutory were converted to paperless, saving 1.1 tons of paper per year and equivalent trees.

Creating Value for All Business activities have a significant impact on the planet and its resources. If economic activities continue, they will result in expansive environmental and socioeconomic consequences. Marketing is about creating more demand and looking for non-existent consumers. Consumers are confused about the difference between “Need” and “Want.” They are continuously fed slogans such as Yeh Dil Mange More (Pepsi) and Gimme More (Britney Spears). Market exploitation damages the social fabric. We are experiencing changing lifestyles, consumption habits, and cultures. However, businesses are now becoming more agile and focus on adopting sustainable practices in their entire value chain from procurement to consumption [Production > Supply Chain > Distribution > Marketing > Sales > Employee Satisfaction > Customer Satisfaction > Profitability]. In this supply chain, all stakeholders are becoming more aware and informed about environmental and social issues that have led businesses to pursue sustainable marketing, which creates more value for all. Sustainable marketing delivers customers, businesses and society at large, sustained value in the rapidly changing economy and environment (Irwin & Schneider, 2020). Value for Business For businesses, value creation improves their environmental and social performance. By integrating sustainable practices throughout an organization, businesses can create more revenue, improve future opportunities, spend less money, reduce risks, and increase overall business value. While businesses may not see specific short-term or quarterly revenue spikes, sustained value marketing provides cash flow over time that supports the longevity of the business (Winston, 2014). Sustainable marketing provides customer solutions that can create value and promote well-being for all stakeholders. This will reduce the risk to the business, limit resource consumption, reduce the wastage of resources on excessive promotion, and ensure revenue and cash flow.

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For marketers, it is also a way to secure a strong brand image, improve consumer loyalty, and increase sales and profitability. With the surfacing of environmental and social issues and increased consumer awareness, sustainable marketing is no longer an option, but a necessity to compete in the market. Value for Customers In customer-centerd marketing orientation, the customer is the king where the marketer strives to provide him with whatever he needs and wants. However, this approach does not create value for all customers equally, nor does it reduce overconsumption or over-advertising. Sustainable marketing treats customers as human beings, where the marketer identifies their real problems and provides sustainable solutions that enhance social well-being and do not have a negative environmental impact. Value for Society Sustainable marketing can contribute to the well-being of society and the environment by reducing the consumption of unnecessary products, reducing the carbon footprint, providing clean water to the community, developing efficient waste disposal systems, and conserving natural resources. Marketing creates value by intentionally aligning a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals with decisions about what products are created, how they are distributed, how they are priced, and what promotion methods are used. Different types of companies may choose to address different sustainability initiatives, such as zero waste, carbon reduction, and human rights. There is not one set of sustainability strategies that fits all companies or market opportunities. By setting specific criteria associated with meeting CSR goals, marketing professionals can determine which markets or products to pursue that will also create value for society (Irwin & Schneider, 2020).

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Sustenance Versus Consumption The main questions that arise in this process are: (i) Who is responsible and Who needs to be responsible? (ii) What needs to be done as Government, Society, Consumers/Customers, Individuals, Media, and Educational Institutions? (iii) What lessons have we learned from WWII? The planet has 19,000 nuclear warheads, Hydrogen Bombs, and Biological Weapons, which can destroy life on Earth and make it uninhabitable. An important aspect of sustainable development is the promotion of sustainable consumption and production. Today, customers are aware of the impact of the consumption of products on health issues, pollution, depletion of natural resources, and the impact on people or society. With the increasing global population, there will be additional pressure on natural resources, energy, and wider socioeconomic systems. Business plays an important role in innovating and providing sustainable solutions for consumption; as a result, there is an increased focus on sustainable consumption policies and practices in the provision of goods and services. The Sustainable Development report (WBCSD, 2011) on sustainable consumption visualized the five key elements of sustainable consumption (Fig. 7.4). According to this vision, products will deliver more value to their consumers, in the form of functional utility, durability, environmental profile, and physical and emotional well-being; consumers will be more aware, better informed, and better able to make sustainable choices; signals—and value itself—will pass more efficiently between all actors in the value chain, unleashing innovation and allowing the most sustainable products and services to compete effectively; and the economic measures related to consumption will be redefined. New measures of success will be applied, and there will be constant dialogue between all the actors in the system.

Role of Government Increasingly, Governments, through their policies, rules, and laws, impede the environmental impacts of unsustainable business practices. Policymakers use different sustainability assessment frameworks to decide upon initiatives and policies to create a more sustainable society. For example, internationally, the European Union uses integrated assessment to identify the probable positive and negative impacts of proposed policy actions,

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Fig. 7.4 The five elements of a vision for sustainable consumption in 2050 (Source Vision for sustainable consumption—Innovation, collaboration, and management of choice (2011), a report published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development)

enabling informed political judgments to be made about them and identify trade-offs in achieving competing objectives (Commission of the European Communities, 2002). Research further states that the absence of a central agency that can certify green accreditations of a company is one of the major factors that led to greenwashing, which allowed companies that did not act on sustainable business behavior to call themselves sustainable or environmental-friendly (Ghosh, 2010; Walker & Wang, 2012). Therefore, the government must take the lead in this regard. Many governments have already set targets regarding zero carbon emissions; for example, the United States has committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, whereas China targets it by 2060. The EU Green Deal and Climate Law aims to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. A press release of PIB states that India, at the 26th session of the

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Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, intensified its climate action by presenting to the world five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of India’s climate action. This update is a step toward achieving India’s long-term goal of reaching net zero by 2070 to India’s existing Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and translates the “Panchamrit” announced at COP 26 into enhanced climate targets. The Panchamrit vision is in addition to achieving aggressive nearterm emission reductions and renewable energy (RE) targets. As per the Economic Times report dated January 6, 2023, the GOI also approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which will transform India into an innovative global hub for the production and export of green hydrogen (GH), the clean energy. Thus, through various rules, regulations, policies, and financial measures, governments support the transformation of energy and industrial systems, improve energy efficiency, tackle environmental pollution, and protect and replenish natural capital. The government levies green taxes on harmful environmental activities, tighter regulations and new environmental standards, loans and grants for green investments, and certifications for energy performance, emissions, and pollutants, including tax rebates, to meet these standards. Subsidies and tax rebates are used as additional tools to boost the demand for green products and services, such as EVs, solar panels, and renewable energy. Governments also offer subsidies and grant funding to research institutes, academic institutions, and private R&D firms to boost innovation and develop transformative technologies, such as renewable energy, carbon capture, waste management, and energy efficiency. However, government measures are still falling short and the implementation of action plans needs to be monitored. This requires a baseline and clear, consistent measures to monitor status and report on progress, both internal and external. The measures must reflect the contribution of public, private and third-sector entities to maximize accountability for results (Atalla et al., 2022). India is following a holistic approach toward its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals by launching various schemes and policies which include the Swachh Bharat Mission, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana, Smart Cities, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Namami Gange Mission, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojana, among others. The Indian government also launched the National Clean Air Programme in 2019 to address

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increasing air pollution across the country (Source: Government of India Press Release, 2019).

Issues and Challenges The recently hit global pandemic COVID-19 is still around, and we are experiencing waves after waves and have lost millions of lives. Vaccine Diplomacy has cost Governments billions of dollars and pharma companies like Pfizer and Moderna kept many nations on the tenterhook. India did not produce single PPE kit-ventilators and masks but started exporting the same in a few months. India did not produce a single dose of vaccine and suddenly became the world’s largest producer of vaccines with companies such as the Serum Institute (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin). India saved billions in the forex and a billion lives with the world’s largest vaccination drive at no cost to citizens. We have started manufacturing PAXLOVID pills under license from Pfizer and also Nasal Sprays Fabispray by Glenmark for COVID. Sustainable marketing practices are expensive to implement, as a lot of capital investment is needed for R&D, new technology adoption, product development, and product acceptability, and this is a long-run concept. Practices such as recycling waste and switching to eco-friendly raw materials increase the cost, resulting in a higher price of green products. In developing countries such as India, the income levels of people are quite low, so most people are not able and willing to afford such products. Therefore, companies neglect sustainable marketing practices, as they hinder their financial goals and profit-making strategies. Although urban consumers are becoming aware of the benefits of sustainable products, this is still a new concept for the masses, especially for people in rural areas. Thus, marketers need to educate and make consumers aware of the benefits of such products, but this will take a lot of time and effort. Marketers and consumers should understand the long-term benefits of sustainable products and marketing. Some marketers practice greenwashing to gain a competitive advantage. Their efforts are ingenuine toward society’s well-being and the improvement of ecology. Marketers try to appear green to maintain their profits. This has resulted in people becoming skeptical about the claims, credibility, usage, and validity of sustainable marketing. Research shows that companies are confronted with a problem that consumers do

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not believe in the company’s sustainable offerings and marketing practices. This harms businesses that are seriously and honestly engaged in sustainable business practices. The success of sustainable marketing practices depends on the involvement of all stakeholders, such as employers, suppliers, customers, government, and NGOs. It is difficult to determine environmental benefits, as there are different measuring tools to measure the impact on the carbon footprint, measuring emissions from their operations, etc. There are different laws, rules, regulations and fiscal incentives in various countries, and still, there is a need for a globally binding agreement on climate change.

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CHAPTER 8

#BoycottLaalSinghChaddha: Failure to Leverage Twitter Archana Parashar, Sudhir Rana, and Sanjeev Prashar

Opening “More than 200,000 tweets have been shared since last month calling for people to spurn the movie with the hashtag #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha,” reported The New Indian Express, a prominent newspaper, on August 5, 2022. Just a week before the commercial release of Laal Singh Chaddha, an Indian Hindi language movie, the internet was flooded with boycott calls against it. The resurfacing of a video clip with an old interview of Aamir Khan, the producer and actor of the movie, had flared the anguish among the masses against the actor and the movie (The New Indian Express, 2022). The boycott calls were making to the Twitter trend list every day (NDTV Movies, 2022).

A. Parashar (B) · S. Prashar Indian Institute of Management Raipur, Raipur, India e-mail: [email protected] S. Rana Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_8

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Besides the cost of making the movie, the lives and aspirations of thousands of artisans and others were also on stake. At a pre-release event, Khan pleaded. I feel sad that some of the people…believe that I am someone who doesn’t like India. That’s not the case. Please don’t boycott my film. Please watch my film. (The New Indian Express, 2022)

But there was no way visible to contain the online storm.

Laal Singh Chaddha: Introduction Slated for commercial release on August 11, 2022, across the globe, Laal Singh Chaddha was a Hindi movie that had Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh, and Naga Chaitanya as lead actors (Zee News, 2022). One of the most anticipated movies of the year, the film was directed by Advait Chandan and had been produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Studios (ET Brand Equity.com, 2019). Also, dubbed in two other south Indian languages—Tamil and Telugu, the movie was an official remake of Tom Hanks starrer Forrest Gump, a 1994 Hollywood film, which itself was an adaptation of a novel written by Winston Groom (Mint, 2022; Zee News, 2022). The film unfolded select events from Indian history through the perspectives of its emotional protagonist Laal Singh Chaddha, who was a dim-witted soldier (WION, 2022). Officially announced the commencement of the project on March 14, 2019, the movie had already taken two decades of planning. While Atul Kulkarni, its screenplay writer, took a decade adapting the script to the Indian context, the producers had to wait for “another 7–8 years to get the remake rights from Paramount Pictures” (Views on Views, 2022). The final launch of the movie was further delayed because of multiple cancelations of shooting and allied work, owing to Covid-19 pandemic and Indo-China conflict at the border, where the shooting had to happen (The Quint, 2020). Made with whopping INR 210 crores (US$ 26.25 million), the film was accorded PG-13 rating by Motion Pictures Association (The Economic Times, 2022; Film Rating.com, 2022). Even its commercial launch, earlier announced for December 25, 2020, and later for December 24, 2021, had been postponed. Khan reduced his weight by twenty kilograms to be fit for the role (NDTV

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Movies, 2022). Finally, the producers released the trailer for the movie at Indian Premier League Finale on May 29, 2022 (India ). The worldwide release of the movie had been strategically planned to coincide with a period of a longer holiday—a Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan and national celebrations of Independence of India (The Times of India, 2022).

Say “No to Laal Singh Chaddha” Much before its release, the film was making headlines. It had already courted controversy. Netizens were heavily campaigning against the movie using #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha (CNBC18, 2022). Soon this hashtag was trending on Twitter. Importantly, it wasn’t much to do with the film’s content (The Times of India, 2022). The resurfacing of the producer’s interview from 2015 had fueled the campaign. In that interview, Khan had said, Our country is very tolerant, but there are people who spread ill-will.

Khan had made a public statement that his then-wife had fears for her child and had suggested the family to move out of India owing to “growing intolerance” in the country (Zee News, 2022). This had snowballed into a huge controversy. Within a short span, the ambit of accusations spread to other allegations too. In his 2014 movie PK, Khan had made fun of Hindu Gods and religious rituals (The Times of India, 2022). Khan’s visit to Turkey was another issue that was adding to the fury. He had met the Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan in August 2020, the period when India had heightened tension with its neighbor Pakistan, and Turkey was a notable ally of Pakistan. India had also accused Turkey of radicalizing Muslim youth in India in collusion with Pakistan (Zee News, 2022; The Print, 2022). (Refer Exhibit 8.1 for select tweets with #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha). Not only the crisis was around Khan. Kareena Kapoor, another lead actor from the movie, was also accused of throwing attitude on the critics. Upon being questioned about her being the product of nepotism in the film industry, she had retorted, not to watch the film. (OpIndia, 2022)

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Exhibit 8.1

Tweets Against “Laal Singh Chaddha” Before the Launch

The social media was also loaded with the stories about Atul Kulkarni, the film’s play writer, of having supported the campaign against Sardar Sarovar Dam. This had antagonized a large section of public, specially

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from the Indian province of Gujarat, that would have deprived them of water (OpIndia, 2022). There wasn’t any respite for the movie. On August 13, 2022, Times of India reported that a legal suit had been filed against the movie for “disrespecting Indian Army” and “hurting sentiments” (Times of India, 2022). A section of the social media users believed that there was a coordinated effort behind the trolling of the movie and the producer. Accordingly, the trolls were being paid to garner attention for the film. The media had reported people were being paid to troll Aamir Khan to create a buzz around the upcoming film that releases on August 11. (Hindustan Times, 2022a, 2022b)

Kangana Ranaut, a celebrated actor from Bollywood, had claimed that Khan himself must have planned such campaign for boycotting the movie. According to Instagram Stories, I think all the negativity around the upcoming release Laal Singh Chaddha is skillfully curated by mastermind Aamir Khan Ji himself. This year, no Hindi films has worked (barring one exception of a comedy sequel) only south films deeply rooted in Indian culture or with local flavor have worked. A Hollywood remake would have not worked any way. (Hindustan Times, 2022a, 2022b)

Further, Ranaut noted, But now they will call India intolerant, Hindi films need to understand the pulse of audiences it’s not about being a Hindu or a Muslim. Even after Aamir Khan ji made Hinduphobic PK or called India intolerant, he gave the biggest hits of his life. Please stop making it about religion or ideology. It takes away from their bad acting and bad film. (Hindustan Times, 2022a, 2022b)

Upon the issue of harm such boycotts do to the film industry people other than actors like Khan and Kapoor, Surjeet Singh Rathore, a film producer and a leader of one of the groups that had led such boycotts noted,

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These artists and technicians are suffering because of Aamir Khan. He says he feels scared in the country and then he asks people to watch his film. Why should Indians watch his film? In fact, producers should not invest money in such people, only then will they learn a lesson. (Times of India, 2022)

Further opposing Khan’s view, Rathore observed, It is wrong. It’s the Indian masses who have made Aamir a superstar, and they can bring him down as well. Actors should not do politics; they should just entertain. (Times of India, 2022)

As Khan Responds… Having realized the risk that lied ahead, Khan noted at a media event in Delhi, If I had hurt someone’s heart with something, I feel sad for that, I don’t want to hurt anyone. Those who don’t wish to see the film, I will respect their decision. What else I can say? (India Today, 2022a, 2022b)

Reacting to the massive negativity against the film, Khan reacted That Boycott Bollywood….Boycott Aamir Khan…Boycott Laal Singh Chadda….I feel sad also because a lot of people who are saying this is in their hearts believe that I am someone who doesn’t like India…In the their hearts they believe that…and that’s quite untrue. I really love India. That’s how I am. It is rather unfortunate if some people feel the way. I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films, please watch my films. (Hindustan Times of India, 2022; Times, 2022a, 2022b)

While apologizing, disheartened Khan asked his fans to “look beyond him and watch the film in theaters.” (Republic World, 2022). Kapoor, however, was relatively defiant. In a statement to India Today, she said, There are different platforms. Everyone has an opinion. So now, if that is going to be there, then you have to learn to ignore certain things.

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Otherwise, it will just become impossible to live your life. And that’s why I don’t take any of this like seriously. (Zee News, 2022)

Since the film industry involved a vast pool of artists, technicians, musicians, vendors and alike, there were pleas against such boycott from select sections of the society. As per Komal Nahta, a trade analyst, Film industry is not just about the stars. It is about lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people who depend on the industry. A film has a crew of about 3000-4000 people working on it. By boycotting ‘Laal Singh Chaddha,’ you are not only boycotting Aamir Khan, you are also boycotting thousands of people. (Times of India, 2022)

Adding further, Nahta noted I don’t know why this ‘culture’ is thriving. People are enjoying this trend. Vandalism causes huge losses. What if a life is lost? I am appalled at the fact that how can somebody not be allowed to do business in this country. (Times of India, 2022)

Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia observed, Trolling a film because a cast or crew member’s ideology differs from yours is unfair to the other hundreds who have worked hard to make the film. They have also pinned their hopes on the success of the film to help realize their dreams. Spare a though. (Times of India, 2022)

Quoting an insider, The Times of India, one of the widely circulated newspapers, reported in its Entertainment Times. The film industry is very vulnerable when their content is put into public domain for the verdict of the people. As it is, this is a business of uncertainty and the strike rate is very poor. When a film in which so much is invested, is fighting not only the uncertain post Covid times with the number of people visiting theaters having fallen drastically, it is also forced to combat anti-publicity. A film being dismissed even before anybody has led eyes on it contributes to great uncertainty, and particularly the individuals who are connected to that particular film feel vulnerable and exposed. (Times of India, 2022)

It was further reported by the newspaper that Khan must.

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gather all the people on the team and do the silent protest. They too are a part of the film, and they haven’t wronged anybody. Why are their livelihoods impacted because of a statement Aamir made years ago? (Times of India, 2022)

Finally…. Reacting to the Twitter trends, Milind Soman, actor and a film producer, opined that good films can’t be hindered by the trolls (NDTV Movies, 2022). Amit Khanna, a noted filmmaker observed, Not everyone is influenced by these virtual wars but it does vitiate the atmosphere. (Times of India, 2022).

In the words of Raj Bansal, a film analyst and distributor, although a good film does not have any reason to worry about the impact of these campaigns. But yes, actors have been soft targets of late. (Times of India, 2022)

Addressing the trolls, Khan asked people to “forgive him if he has hurt them” (India Today, 2022a, 2022b) He noted ….I really love the country….That’s how I am. It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way. (NDTV Movies, 2022)

Still, Khan had no way ahead….

References CNBC18. (2022, August 10). #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha and the perils of cancel culture. https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/boycott-laalsingh-chaddha-aamir-khan-kareena-kapoor-movie-release-twitter-14432332. htm. Accessed on August 19, 2022. ET Brand Equity.com. (2019, June 21). Viacom18 Studios and Aamir Khan Productions announce upcoming film ‘Laal Singh Chaddha. https://brande quity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/media/viacom18-studios-andaamir-khan-productions-announce-upcoming-film-laal-singh-chaddha/698 94171. Accessed on August 18, 2022.

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Film Rating.com & Laal Singh Chaddha, (2022). https://www.filmratings. com/Search?filmTitle=laal+singh+chaddha&x=0&y=0. Accessed on August 22, 2022 Hindustan Times. (2022a, August 3). Kangana Ranaut says ‘mastermind’ Aamir Khan is behind boycott Laal Singh Chaddha trend: ‘Skillfully curated by himself’. https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/kan gana-ranaut-claims-mastermind-aamir-khan-is-behind-the-boycott-laal-singhchaddha-trend-101659519945184.html. Accessed on August 18, 2022. Hindustan Times. (2022b, August 9). Laal Singh Chaddha director seemingly takes jibe at Kangana Ranaut: ‘I’m told people are being paid to troll Aamir https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/laalKhan’. singh-chaddha-director-seemingly-takes-a-jibe-at-kangana-ranaut-101660021 174679.html. Accessed on August 18, 2022. India Today. (2022a, August 10). Aamir Khan reacts to Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha trend, says ‘agar maine dil dukhaya hai to maaf karna’. https:// www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/aamir-khan-reacts-to-boycottlaal-singh-chaddha-trend-says-agar-maine-dil-dukhaya-hai-to-maaf-karna-198 6039-2022a-08-10. Accessed on August 18, 2022. India Today. (2022b, May 25). Aamir Khan reveals Laal Singh Chaddha trailer will release on May 29 in funny video. Watch. https://www.indiatoday.in/ movies/bollywood/story/aamir-khan-reveals-laal-singh-chaddha-trailer-willrelease-on-may-29-in-funny-video-watch-1953736-2022b-05-25. Accessed on August 21, 2022. Mint. (2022, August 13). Laal Singh Chaddha Box Office Collection: Aamir Khan’s Movie Beats Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan on Day 2. https:/ /www.livemint.com/news/india/laal-singh-chaddha-box-office-collectionaamir-khan-s-movie-beats-akshay-kumar-s-raksha-bandhan-on-day-2-116603 62273843.html. Accessed on August 19, 2022. NDTV Movies. (2022, August 10). Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha will still eelease at Christmas—Just not this one. https://www.ndtv.com/entertain ment/aamir-khans-laal-singh-chaddha-will-still-release-at-christmas-just-notthis-one-2277092. Accessed on August 22, 2022. NDTV Movies. (2022, August 3). What Milind Soman Tweeted about trolls Amid ‘Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha’. https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/ amid-boycott-laal-singh-chaddha-trend-milind-soman-tweets-trolls-cant-stopa-good-film-3220151. Accessed on August 18, 2022. OpIndia. (2022, August 7). Punishing a ‘collective art’ like a movie for one artist’s politics—why this seemingly unfair practice gets support. https://www. opindia.com/2022/08/bollywood-laal-singh-chaddha-boycott-calls-aamirkhan-secular/. Accessed on August 19, 2022. Republic World. (2022, August 10). ‘Respect those who don’t..’ Aamir Khan Reacts To Viral ‘boycott Laal Singh Chaddha’ Trend, ‘If I Have Hurt

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Someone...’. https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/bollyw ood-news/aamir-khan-reacts-to-viral-boycott-laal-singh-chaddha-trend-if-ihave-hurt-someone-dot-articleshow.html. Accessed on August 19, 2022. The Economic Time. (2022, August 16). Bollywood horror show: Big stars lose sparkle, experts blame lack of creativity. https://economictimes.indiat imes.com/industry/media/entertainment/bollywood-horror-show-big-starslose-sparkle-experts-blame-lack-of-creativity/articleshow/93577733.cms. Accessed on August 19, 2022. The New Indian Express. (2022, August 5). Hindu Nationalists Push Boycott of Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. https://www.newindianexpress. com/entertainment/hindi/2022/aug/05/hindu-nationalists-push-boycottof-aamir-khans-laal-singh-chaddha-2484413.html. Accessed on August 18, 2022. The Print. (2022, August 16). Aamir Khan meets Turkey’s First Lady in Istanbul, to film Laal Singh Chaddha there from Oct. https://theprint.in/ india/aamir-khan-meets-turkeys-first-lady-in-istanbul-to-film-laal-singh-cha ddha-there-from-oct/483065/. Accessed on August 19, 2022 The Quint. (2020, July 6). ’Laal Singh Chaddha’ Ladakh Schedule Cancelled? https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/bollywood/laal-singh-chaddhaladakh-schedule-reportedly-cancelled-due-to-galwan-valley-incident. Accessed on August 19, 2022. The Times of India. (2022, August 6). Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan boycott: Cancel culture is destroying films—#BigStory.https://timesofindia. indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/laal-singh-chaddhaand-raksha-bandhan-boycott-the-cancel-culture-of-movies-needs-to-be-cancel led-bigstory/articleshow/93378865.cms. Accessed on August 19, 2022 The Times of India. (2022, February 15). “Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ to clash with Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’ on August 14,” https:// timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/aamirkhans-laal-singh-chaddha-to-clash-with-akshay-kumars-raksha-bandhan-onaugust-14/articleshow/89597870.cms. Accessed on August 19, 2022 The Times of India. (2022, August 13). Complaint against Aamir Khan for ‘disrespecting Indian Army’ and ‘hurting sentiments’ in ‘Laal Singh https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bol Chaddha,’ lywood/news/complaint-against-aamir-khan-for-disrespecting-indian-armyand-hurting-sentiments-in-laal-singh-chaddha/articleshow/93530822.cms. Accessed on August 18, 2022 Views on Views. (2022, August 1). “Forrest Gump, the Bollywood Version,” https://viewsonnewsonline.com/the-forrest-gump-laal-singh-chaddha-aamirkhan-viacom18-studios/. Accessed on August 19, 2022.

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WION. (2022, August 11). ’Laal Singh Chaddha’ movie review: Kareena Kapoor and the story outshine Aamir Khan. https://www.wionews.com/entertain ment/bollywood/news-laal-singh-chaddha-movie-review-kareena-kapoorand-the-story-outshine-aamir-khan-505855. Accessed on August 19, 2022. Zee News. (2022, August 2 ). Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha controversy: Why is Twitter fuming over Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor’s ambitious project? https://zeenews.india.com/people/boycott-laal-singh-chaddha-controversywhy-is-twitter-fuming-over-aamir-khan-kareena-kapoors-ambitious-project2492269.html. Accessed on August 19, 2022.

Correction to: Contemporary Trends in Marketing Aarti Saini, Justin Paul, and Satyanarayana Parayitam

Correction to: A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8 The original version of book was previously published without incorporating some corrections and the affiliation of the editor ‘Satyanarayana Parayitam’ city name for Chapter 1 and Front matter copy right page which have now been updated. The correction to the book has been updated with the changes.

The updated original version of this book can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_9

C1

Index

A academic citizenship, 21 AI-based customer interfaces, 102 AI-based services, 98 AI integration, 103 algorithm, 97, 98, 105 anti-publicity, 141 artificial intelligence (AI), 32, 42, 43, 46–49, 94–101, 103, 105, 106 future marketing, 3, 5, 7 automated customer service, 102 automation, 96 autonomous service systems, 103

B big data, 44, 48 blockchain, 44, 46–48 #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha, 135, 137

C catalyzing disruption, 14, 21, 24 CDR calculus, 100, 101

CDR (Corporate Digital Responsibility), 100–102, 105 CDR practices, 100, 101 chatbots, 32 ChatGPT, 32 co-creation, 44–46 consumer behavior, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48 consumer decision journey (CDJ), 33, 34, 37 coronavirus pandemic, 41 cost savings, 94 COVID-19, 32, 36, 95, 98, 130 creating value, 125 customer empowerment, 98 customer experience, 94, 100, 105 customer loyalty, 98 customer relationship management, 45, 47 D data and analytics, 98 data mining, 46 data security, 46

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 A. Saini et al. (eds.), Contemporary Trends in Marketing, Palgrave Studies in Marketing, Organizations and Society, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8

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148

INDEX

dehumanization, 99 demand-side advertising platforms, 35 diffusion, 42, 43, 45 digital, 32, 35–37 marketing, 3–7, 11 digital commerce, 42, 43 digital innovation, 44 digitalization, 42, 43, 45, 49 digitally immersed consumer, 42 digital marketing, 47, 48 digital payments, 42 digital service revolution, 98, 103 digital solutions, 42 digital technology, 99, 100 digital transformation, 43, 94, 103 digital wallet, 47 disinformation, 64, 65, 67–70, 72–76, 88 disjunction, 15, 18–20, 23–26 disruptive technology, 42–44, 48, 49 E emotional touch, 102 employee skills, 102, 103 end-to-end (E2E) automation, 94, 96 environmental, 111–114, 116–120, 122–129, 131 environmental-social-governance (ESG), 114, 116 ethical dilemmas, 100 ethical principles, 101 Europe, 44 external regulations, 101 F frontline employees, 96, 102 future marketing, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11 G genuine emotions, 102, 104

Global Reporting Initiatives, 114 green marketing, 112, 119 H healthcare, 32–34, 36, 37 health delivery, 36 hope, 21–24 human-robot collaboration, 104 human-to-human interaction, 102 I incremental cost, 96, 103 Industry 4.0, 42–44, 46, 48, 49 infodemic, 59, 64–66, 72 Information and Communications Technology (ICTs), 43, 45 innovation, 42, 94, 95 intelligent automation (IA), 94, 96 Internet of Things, 44 L learning fluency, 23 liminal, 17–24 liminality, 18–21, 23–27 liminal space, 18, 19, 23 lockdowns country, 1, 2, 9 long-tail effect., 32 M machine learning, 47 marketing citizenship, 21 mass customization, 45 Millennium, 113 model of sustained consumption, 112 N narrative, 33, 38 nation branding, 56–58, 71, 76

INDEX

O online shopping, 42 online storm, 136 organizational frontline, 103 P pandemic, 130 CORONA Virus, 1–4, 6–11 pedagogy, 19, 22, 23 People, 117 personalized services, 98 Phygital, 7, 32–36 physical future marketing, 3–5, 7 postdigital, 15–18, 23, 27 privacy, 98, 100 product concept, 119 production concept, 118 productivity, 98, 103, 105 promotion, 123 R resilience, 23, 24, 26 S self-regulation, 99, 101 semantic web, 45, 46, 48 service firms, 100, 101 service organizations, 100–103 service revolution, 93, 94, 96, 102, 103, 105 service robots, 94–99, 102, 104–106 smart manufacturing, 44 social media, 59–64, 66–68, 70, 75, 76 soft power, 56–62, 67–71, 73, 76 standard of living, 94, 105 substantially, 32 supply chain, 32, 42, 44, 48 sustainability, 112, 114, 117, 119–121, 124, 126, 127

149

sustainable development goals (SDGs), 112–117 sustainable lifestyles, 111 sustainable marketing, 111, 112, 120–126, 130, 131 symbiotic web, 46 system-based approach, 102 T technological innovation, 44, 46 technology, 32, 36, 94, 96, 99, 101, 103 teleconsultation., 37 telemedicine, 36 traditional service delivery, 102 transformation, 21, 118, 121, 129 transitional learning, 15, 17–19, 21–27 transitional learning spaces, 17, 18, 21, 23, 26 Triple Bottom Line (TBL), 117, 118, 120 trolling, 139, 141 Twitter trend, 135, 142 U United Nations, 113, 114, 129 V Verifiable credential (VC), 47 W wayfinding, 24–26 Web 1.0, 45 Web 2.0, 42, 45, 46 Web 3.0, 42, 43, 45–49 Web 4.0, 46, 49 Web 5.0, 46, 49 well–being, 126 will-finding, 24–26