Volkmar, Gioia ValentinaGioia ValentinaVolkmar2023-04-132023-04-132022-09-19https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/108283Although an increasing number of companies are already using or planning to implement AI for various marketing applications (e.g., managerial decision making), our understanding of how marketing managers can thrive in the age of AI and cope with the psychological and ethical barriers of managerial decisions induced by AI is still limited. In particular the human factor remains unclear, that is, a marketing managers perspective amid the interplay of (1) technology (AI), (2) marketing management and managerial decisions, (3) psychology and individual perceptions of AI, and (4) ethics. This dissertation addresses, and seeks to close, this gap through four distinct investigations. Together, these studies aim to better understand managerial decisions, to stimulate further research on this topic, and to apply an interdisciplinary and mixed-methods approach, which is necessary given the complex and constantly evolving nature of the topic. Moving along the field of marketing (management), the four articles of this dissertation focus on managerial decisions and emphasize the importance of human reactions to AI. The first article uses an exploratory approach to identify opportunities and challenges related to AI in marketing. Building on these findings, and taking a managerial perspective, the second article implements a mixed-methods approach to examine the drivers, barriers, and future developments of AI in marketing management. This article formulates research propositions to stimulate interdisciplinary research (at the intersection of the four fields mentioned above). As a result, the third and fourth articles answer the call for additional research and shed a more nuanced light on two research propositions (i.e., perception of responsibility and explainability) by suggesting important boundary conditions, which need to be taken into consideration to improve AI acceptance. This research represents a significant advance in the theoretical and practical understanding of the drivers, barriers, and future development of AI in marketing management as well as of the individual managers perceptions when interacting with AI. Marketing organizations should manage the potential tensions between humans and AI not only internally (i.e., to improve processes, collaboration, and decisions), but also externally (i.e., in interactions with their customers), in order to create competitive advantages. Together, the four articles are intended to close the existing research gap and to initiate further research on the intersection of technology, marketing, organizational behavior, psychology, and ethics.enMarketingMarketingmanagementKünstliche IntelligenzEntscheidungsfindungEthikEDIS-5258decision-makingmanagementArtificial intelligenceethicsmarketingdoctoral thesis