Institutional technologies and the new frontiers of international marketing and global supply chain management
Ismail Golgeci, Paavo Ritala, Goksel Yalcinkaya, Ahmad ArslanPurpose
This paper introduces the concept of institutional technologies as the socio-technical and interorganizational mechanisms and practices that enable the governance and coordination of economic exchange. We argue that emerging institutional technologies, such as digital platforms, distributed ledgers, smart contracts and digital traceability systems, are reshaping the foundations of international marketing and global supply chain management (SCM) by changing how firms create, substantiate and deliver value across borders.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a conceptual and integrative approach, this paper examines how emerging institutional technologies alter the conditions under which firms create, substantiate and deliver value propositions and engage in economic exchange. We develop a framework that links institutional technologies to the governance, accountability and legitimacy processes that shape the international marketing–global SCM interface.
Findings
We argue that institutional technologies are reordering coordination, accountability, legitimacy and value capture across borders. We further suggest that the international marketing–global SCM interface has become a site of joint institutional work, where firms shape technology-enabled standards, proofs and governance arrangements that underpin contemporary cross-border exchange. Building on this perspective, this paper proposes five directions for future research: traceability as a market promise; platformization of international marketing; automation and smart contracts in relation to relational repair; algorithmic coordination as institutional technology; and the interplay between institutional technologies, regulation, geopolitics and infrastructures. We develop five propositions that link each cluster of institutional technologies to the forms of institutional work it performs, the outcomes it influences and the institutional conditions that shape these relationships.
Originality/value
This paper advances a more technologically grounded understanding of the interface between international marketing and global SCM. It offers a novel conceptual foundation for examining how the technological architectures and governance models of cross-border exchange are being fundamentally recast.