The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility

This thesis explores how artificial intelligence (AI) enhances marketing agility (MA) in Finnish business-to-business (B2B) organizations. As dynamic markets and increasing data complexity challenge traditional marketing approaches, agility has emerged as a critical capability. Marketing agility ref...

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Päätekijät: Harju, Lotta, Viertamo, Veera
Muut tekijät: Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu, Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, Jyväskylän yliopisto, University of Jyväskylä
Aineistotyyppi: Pro gradu
Kieli:eng
Julkaistu: 2025
Aiheet:
Linkit: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/103351
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author Harju, Lotta Viertamo, Veera
author2 Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_facet Harju, Lotta Viertamo, Veera Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä Harju, Lotta Viertamo, Veera Jyväskylän yliopiston kauppakorkeakoulu Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
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description This thesis explores how artificial intelligence (AI) enhances marketing agility (MA) in Finnish business-to-business (B2B) organizations. As dynamic markets and increasing data complexity challenge traditional marketing approaches, agility has emerged as a critical capability. Marketing agility refers to a firm’s ability to sense changes, respond rapidly, iterate continuously, and make data-driven decisions. Despite growing interest in AI, its specific role in supporting these agility dimensions in B2B settings remains under-researched. To address this gap, the study adopts a qualitative field research design, drawing on nine semi-structured interviews with marketing professionals from large Finnish B2B firms across various industries. The findings show that AI contributes most significantly to speed and sensemaking, enabling faster content creation, deeper customer insights, and more efficient campaign execution. Its role in iteration and decision-making is also changing, though still constrained by organizational barriers such as skill gaps, fragmented data systems, and cultural resistance. The study develops a practical framework illustrating how AI technologies interact with the four core dimensions of marketing agility. Furthermore, it identifies key barriers that inhibit AI’s integration and scalability. The results highlight that while AI can support agile marketing practices, its impact is highly context-dependent and shaped by internal capabilities, leadership, and strategic alignment. Pro gradu -tutkielmamme tarkastelee, miten tekoäly (artificial intelligence, AI) voi tukea markkinoinnin ketteryyttä (marketing agility, MA) suomalaisissa B2B-yrityksissä. Ketteryys on noussut keskeiseksi kyvykkyydeksi nopeasti muuttuvissa liiketoimintaympäristöissä, joissa vaaditaan jatkuvaa markkinatiedon tulkintaa, nopeaa reagointia, jatkuvaa kehitystä ja datalähtöistä päätöksentekoa. Vaikka kiinnostus tekoälyyn kasvaa, sen konkreettinen rooli markkinoinnin ketteryyden tukemisessa B2B-kontekstissa on edelleen puutteellisesti tutkittu. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena kenttätutkimuksena, ja sen aineisto koostuu yhdeksästä puolistrukturoidusta haastattelusta suurten suomalaisten B2B-yritysten markkinoinnin asiantuntijoiden kanssa. Tulokset osoittavat, että tekoäly edistää erityisesti nopeutta ja ymmärryksen rakentamista, kuten syvällisempää asiakasymmärrystä ja tehokkaampaa sisällöntuotantoa. Sen rooli iteroinnissa ja päätöksenteossa on kasvussa, mutta kehitystä hidastavat organisatoriset esteet, kuten osaamisvajeet, hajanaiset dataratkaisut ja muutosvastarinta. Tutkimuksen tuloksena kehitettiin käytännön viitekehys, joka kuvaa tekoälyn vaikutuksia markkinoinnin ketteryyden neljään osa-alueeseen. Lisäksi tunnistettiin keskeisiä esteitä, jotka rajoittavat tekoälyn hyödyntämistä ja skaalautuvuutta. Tulokset korostavat, että tekoälyn vaikutukset ketterään markkinoin-tiin ovat kontekstisidonnaisia ja riippuvat organisaation sisäisistä kyvykkyyksistä, johtamisesta ja strategisesta suuntautumisesta.
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spellingShingle Harju, Lotta Viertamo, Veera The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility Master's Degree Programme in Digital Marketing and Corporate Communication Markkinointi Marketing
title The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility
title_full The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility
title_fullStr The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility
title_short The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility
title_sort role of artificial intelligence in finnish b2b marketing agility
title_txtP The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Finnish B2B Marketing Agility
topic Master's Degree Programme in Digital Marketing and Corporate Communication Markkinointi Marketing
topic_facet Marketing Markkinointi Master's Degree Programme in Digital Marketing and Corporate Communication
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/103351 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202506105151
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