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POSTING TYPE: Calls: Journals
INTEREST CATEGORY: MARKETING STRATEGY

Posted by: V Kumar

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Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Call for Papers for a Special Issue

Transformative Marketing Strategies: Embracing the Future

Guest Editors

V. Kumar (VK), Goodman School of Business, Brock University, ON, Canada
Philip Kotler, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA
Ajay Kumar, EMLYON Business School, France

Submission Window: July 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026

Introduction and Background

Transformative Marketing Strategies (TMS) refers to a dynamic and adaptive approach to marketing that integrates transformative product innovation, pricing, selling, distribution, and market entry to address the evolving needs of transformative consumers, preferences, and marketplaces (Kumar, 2018). TMS focuses on leveraging emerging technologies, e.g., quantum computing, generative artificial intelligence (GAI), Agentic AI, machine learning, metaverse, internet of things (IoTs), AI, robots, drones, and blockchain, etc. and innovative practices to create customer-centric solutions, enabling businesses to navigate disruptive environments, deliver unique value propositions, and succeed in rapidly changing global markets (Kumar and Kotler, 2024).

Companies that fall behind learning how to use GAI, or machine learning, or the metaverse or other tools to generate transformative marketing strategies will be at a distinct disadvantage (Kumar et al., 2024). Our digital footprints-including browsing behavior, social media activity, search history, app usage, location data, purchase history, cookies, and trackers-are continuously analyzed by algorithms used by e-commerce companies to better understand our behaviors and preferences, from the websites we visit to the products we buy. These insights are then used to deliver personalized experiences ranging from customized products and services personalized to individual needs. Moreover, the rise of social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), search engines (e.g., Google, Bing), and e-commerce websites (e.g., Amazon) have significantly reshaped the way businesses identify, reach and engage with their target users, enabling more personalized, data-driven, and interactive marketing techniques (Kumar, 2018). Traditional marketing platforms like print ads and TV commercials are now often complemented-and at times overtaken-by digital marketing. Digital marketing is more cost-effective and offers greater reach and accessibility, provides measurable results through real-time analytics, and allows for precise personalization and targeting compared to traditional marketing (Kumar et al., 2019).

All new-age transformative marketing strategies have significantly reshaped digital marketing by enhancing personalization, automation, and content creation, offering scalable and intelligent solutions, and engaging customers in new and innovative ways. (Kumar and Kotler, 2024). While new-age transformative marketing tools present significant opportunities, they also introduce challenges that marketers must address, including ethical concerns, data privacy, content authenticity, misinformation, loss of human creativity, algorithmic bias, fairness issues, technical complexity, integration with traditional tools, and intellectual property and ownership concerns. To maximize the benefits of these tools while mitigating risks, marketers must understand and navigate these challenges (Kumar et al., 2024).

In both industry-academia collaborations and industrial practice, CMOs, advertising agencies, consultants, marketing managers, and researchers are seeking answers to pressing questions about emerging new age marketing tools in the digital and AI age—and how to effectively leverage them to develop transformative marketing strategies (Kumar et al., 2025). In response to these questions, it is essential to integrate new-age technologies (e.g., AI, quantum computing, GAI, metaverse, drones, and blockchain) with innovative marketing strategies to navigate the rapidly evolving future and drive sustainable success (Noble and Mende, 2023; Grewal et al., 2024; Kotler, Kartajaya, and Setiawan, 2024). Most importantly, this special issue will highlight the critical need to combine human insights with AI to develop AI-augmented intelligence-based transformative marketing strategies to deliver more data-driven insights, optimize customer engagement while enhancing the power and precision of systems, enabling better and more informed decision-making.

The use of new-age tools for transformative marketing strategies is an emerging area with several unexplored dimensions. While prior research (Plangger et al., 2022; Tan, and Saraniemi, 2023; Grewal et al., 2024) has established a conceptual foundation, significant gaps remain unaddressed. Existing studies primarily focus on theoretical frameworks or conceptual models, lacking sufficient empirical validation of how these technologies influence consumer attitudes, decision-making, and purchasing behavior. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirical research quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of integrating these advanced technologies into marketing campaigns. Previous research has also not thoroughly examined the tension between hyper-personalized marketing (enabled by GAI) and consumer privacy concerns, particularly in the context of Blockchain’s ability to ensure data traceability. This special issue aims to encourage researchers to explore some of these critical issues and bridge the existing research gaps.

1. Specific Focus of the Special Issue (suggested topics/research questions)

A Sample of Research Questions Based on Two Themes: Tool-Based and Substantive Based Approaches

The tool-based approach focuses on adopting and leveraging advanced tools, platforms, and technologies to transform marketing processes, enhance customer engagement, and predict customer behavior, drive data-informed decision-making (Grewal et al., 2024; Kumar et al., 2024). Substantive-Based Transformative Marketing Strategies focuses on core strategic changes and purpose-driven marketing that aligns with customer needs and social good, and reshape the value proposition, customer experience, and business model. It emphasizes meaningful customer engagement and long-term value creation beyond technological tools (Kumar et al., 2024).

(a) Tools-based Transformative Marketing Strategies

Using Artificial Intelligence

How can text mining and social media data increase customer engagement, and how can companies use online customer reviews to improve their customer engagement strategies?

How does the use of AI technology in customer experience management (CEM) influence customer loyalty and brand perception in different industries?

How can AI technologies be strategically integrated into customer experience management (CEM) to enhance customer satisfaction and operational efficiency?

What are the key challenges and ethical considerations in implementing AI-driven customer experience management strategies, and how can organizations address them?

Using Generative Artificial Intelligence/Agentic AI

How can generative AI/Agentic AI enhance personalized marketing strategies to improve customer engagement and satisfaction compared to traditional AI?

How can companies ethically use generative AI/Agentic AI in marketing while ensuring they design responsible AI systems?

What impact does AI-generated content have on consumer perception and brand identity?

What is the ROI of implementing generative AI/Agentic AI in marketing campaigns, and what KPIs are most relevant for evaluating the success of generative AI-driven marketing initiatives?

Using Robotics and Drones

What are the ways can drones provide the last-mile delivery options better? Would customers then engage with the firms better? Would firms be able to generate profitable growth?

What kind of capabilities would Robots require for implementation in the marketplace to deliver superior customer service? How would that affect customer engagement?

Using Blockchain

What are the preferred ways to integrate Blockchain applications in consumer buying behavior, and will that enhance the preferences for luxury brands vs. regular household brands? National brands vs. store brands? Multinational brands vs. domestic brands?

Will blockchain based authentication of originality in manufacturing sufficient to enhance preference for luxury brands or the product material (e.g., real leather vs. synthetic leather) still be an influencing factor in affecting the preference for luxury brands? If so, how will brands navigate the world of sustainability to maintain the luxury brand status?

Using Metaverse

What are the reasons for consumer resistance to metaverse and how to overcome the challenges in adoption so that the practice of marketing is enhanced?

Using Quantum Computing

Can quantum computing improve the efficiency and granularity of customer segmentation models, particularly for big datasets in digital marketing, and how it could impact strategic decision-making in dynamic, high-uncertainty environments?

What could be the advantages of quantum-safe encryption in protecting consumer data and ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations in digital marketing?

(b) Substantive-based Transformative Marketing Strategies

Which transformative pricing strategies (e.g., name your own price, bidding, dynamic pricing, congestion pricing, etc.) will be preferred under what conditions?

What moderating or mediating factors will enhance the effectiveness of transformative pricing strategies?

With the instant spread of information across borders, will the new age tech tools help to make the product introductions realize a higher degree of success? If so, under what conditions? And in which types of markets?

Which transformative distribution strategies (e.g., expedited direct delivery, store pick up, last mile delivery, etc.) will work under what conditions and for what type of products?

Submission Guidelines

Papers targeting this special issue should be submitted through the JAMS submission system

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and will undergo a similar review process as regularly submitted papers but will be managed by the guest editors for this issue. Submissions for the special issue begin July 1, 2026, with the final deadline for submissions being August 31, 2026. Please direct questions pertaining to the special issue to either V Kumar (VK) (vk@brocku.ca) or Ajay Kumar (akumar@em-lyon.com). Estimated publication date for this issue is early 2028.

The Special Issue Call for Papers will be supported with panel/paper sessions related to TMS at the ��������� Annual Conference, Savannah, GA, May 12 – 14, 2026 to generate more awareness and interest about TMS.

All contributors to JAMS are expected to adhere to the AMS Code of Publishing Ethics. The guidelines can be accessed here:

Biographies

V. Kumar (VK) is the Professor of Marketing, and the Goodman Academic-Industry Partnership Professor, Goodman School of Business, Brock University, ON, Canada. He has held/holds several Distinguished Endowed Faculty Positions in the U.S., and Distinguished Fellowships across universities worldwide, including the Chang Jiang Scholar, HUST, China; and the Hagler Fellow, Texas A&M University, USA. VK has been honored as a Legend in Marketing through the 10-Volume Legends in Marketing series (Sage Publications) with commentaries from scholars worldwide. VK has published over 300 papers in scholarly journals and 35 books; received over 20 Lifetime Achievement Awards; and 25 Research and Teaching Excellence Awards. VK has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Marketing (2014-2018) and serves/served as the Department Editor of POM, the Consulting Editor of JIBS, and the Senior Consulting Editor of Elsevier Publishers. Global Fortune 500 firms have implemented VK’s ideas and models which have produced multi-billion dollars gain. To honor his commitments to the doctoral student mentorship, the ��������� has instituted the “V. Kumar Doctoral Student Mentorship Award” which is given out to recognize academics in the field of marketing who are productive scholars and who have been instrumental in developing doctoral students in marketing.

Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing (emeritus) at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He received his Master’s Degree at the University of Chicago and PhD Degree at MIT, both in economics. He did post-doctoral work in mathematics at Harvard University and in behavioral science at the University of Chicago. He published more than 90 books including Marketing Management; Principles of Marketing; Marketing Models; Social Marketing; Marketing Places; Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism; Kotler on Marketing; Ten Deadly Marketing Sins; Corporate Social Responsibility; Confronting Capitalism, Democracy in Decline, He published 170 articles in leading journals. He won The “Leader in Marketing Thought” ��������� award 1975; The 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from Thinkers 50; The 2022 “#1 Guru in Management” award; The 9 volume “Legends in Marketing” award. Professor Kotler consulted IBM, GE, AT&T, Honeywell, Bank of America, and Merck. He has been a Director of the ���������; a Trustee of the Marketing Science Institute; a Member of the Advisory Board of the Drucker Foundation. He received 22 honorary doctoral degrees from abroad. He taught in Europe, Asia and South America. He advised governments on developing stronger public images and performance.

Ajay Kumar is an Associate Professor of Business Analytics at EMLYON Business School, France. He has published or has forthcoming articles in prestigious journals such as Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, Production & Operations Management, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Research in Marketing, INFORMS Journal on Computing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Information Technology, European Journal of Information Systems, British Journal of Management, and Journal of Product Innovation Management. Ajay currently serves as an Associate Editor for prestigious journals such as Management Science (Replicability, Code and Data Department), Information Systems Journal, and Decision Sciences. Previously, he has also held guest associate editor role for special issues in journals, including INFORMS Journal on Computing, Journal of Management Information Systems, and Decision Support Systems.

References

Grewal, D., Satornino, C. B., Davenport, T., & Guha, A. (2024). How generative AI Is shaping the future of marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1-21.

Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., & Setiawan, I. (2021). Marketing 5.0: Technology for humanity.

Kotler P., Kartajaya H., and Setiawan I. (2024). Marketing 6.0: The Future Is Immersive

Kumar, V. (2018). Transformative marketing: The next 20 years: Journal of Marketing, Vol 82 (4), pp. 1-12.

Kumar, V., and Kotler, P. (2024), “Transformative Marketing: Combining New Age Technologies and Human Insights”, Palgrave – Macmillan, USA.

Kumar, V., Kotler, P. and Kumar, Ajay (2025), “Transformative Marketing Strategies: Principles, Plan, Purpose, and Practice”, Working Paper.

Kumar, V., Kotler, P., Gupta, S., & Rajan, B. (2025). Generative AI in Marketing: Promises, Perils, and Public Policy Implications. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 44(3), pp. 309-331.

Kumar, V., Rajan, Bharath, Venkatesan, Rajkumar and Jim Lecinski (2019). “Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Personalized Engagement Marketing,” California Management Review, Vol. 61 (4), pp. 135-155.

Noble, S. M., & Mende, M. (2023). The future of artificial intelligence and robotics in the retail and service sector: Sketching the field of consumer-robot-experiences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 51(4), 747-756.

Plangger, K., Grewal, D., de Ruyter, K., & Tucker, C. (2022). The future of digital technologies in marketing: A conceptual framework and an overview. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(6), 1125-1134.

Tan, T. M., & Saraniemi, S. (2023). Trust in blockchain-enabled exchanges: Future directions in blockchain marketing. Journal of the Academy of marketing Science, 51(4), 914-939.

Xiao, L and Kumar, V. (2021). “Robotics for Customer Service: A Useful Complement or an Ultimate Substitute?”, Journal of Service Research. Volume 24 Issue 1, pp. 9-29.