Version 1.0, October 2026. 98 constructs in 18 families across 7 eras, with 18 imported theories below. Selecting a cell reveals its family, era, block, tier, and anchor works, each anchoring reference linking to the publisher’s page. Explore the 18 Family Deep Dives for granular sub-tables, or visit Resources to use the four interactive analytical tools.
Each cell: number, influence pips, block code, then symbol, construct, and anchor works
open frontier position
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Detached series · Theories imported from adjacent fields, each set near the families it feeds
Series
T
Imported Theories
96ENV
Ai
AI in Marketing
Family
16. Digital, Data, and Technology (VI · Context)
Era
Period 7: Frontier, 2020s
Block
ENV · Environment and context
Tier
Landmark
Cell card
Description
Davenport et al. proposed a framework for how artificial intelligence will change marketing strategy and customer behavior, and Huang and Rust developed a three-stage framework of mechanical, thinking, and feeling AI for strategic use across marketing research, strategy, and action.
Managerial Implications
AI will change marketing in stages, from mechanical automation to thinking and feeling tasks, and the right division of labor between AI and humans shifts with the task. Managers should map which marketing tasks are standardized enough to automate, which benefit from AI-supported human judgment, and which depend on empathy. Begin with the first, invest in the second, and protect the third, while governing data and bias from the start.
How to read. Down a column follows one research stream through time. Across a row shows what the field studied in an era. Color marks the strategy domain, after Morgan et al. (2019). Pips give an influence tier. Numbers run by era, then family. Placements, anchors, and tiers are editorial judgments, and anchors are entry points rather than a complete record of any stream. Anyone who uses or adapts this table is responsible for verifying its contents against the original works.
