Creating time, over time - A study of marketing, artificial intelligence, efficiency and value creation

Abstract: This article focuses on how artificial intelligence (AI) has potential to make marketing procurement more effective and efficient. Creating more time for marketing buyers gives them opportunities to engage in value creating strategy work benefiting the brand. Volvo Cars is used as a case study from which a qualitative discourse study is performed. The study consists of 27 interviews divided among marketing buyers, marketing managers and AI experts. With value creation theory in mind, I question marketing work to be consisting of administration in general and sourcing in particular when there is technology available to deal with such matters. The findings elucidate an information sourcing system based on AI and with emphasis on personal digital movements, market scans, internal data gathering and a chat bot. These findings will ultimately allow a bigger share of marketing work to consist of making strategic, value creating decisions. In the conclusion, I thus discuss how these findings prove AI to be necessary for marketing work efficiency and effectiveness.