Abstract

Marketing technologies (MarTech) are central to firms’ digital innovation strategies, with novelty in MarTech often viewed as a path to competitive advantage. However, novel technologies may increase ambiguity and legitimacy pressures, driving firms toward strategic conformity. Drawing on the resource-based view and institutional theory, this study examines how novelty in MarTech shapes firms’ strategic conformity with industry norms. Using a longitudinal dataset of over 4,3 firm-year observations from 32 U.S. manufacturing firms (24–219), we measure MarTech novelty as the newness of IT applications relative to peers and strategic conformity as adherence to six standardized strategic dimensions. Fixed-effects regression analyses reveal that higher MarTech novelty significantly increases strategic conformity, suggesting that visibility and uncertainty around novel systems prompt firms to mimic industry practices. These findings challenge assumptions about digital innovation as a driver of differentiation and highlight the need for firms to manage legitimacy pressures when adopting novel MarTech.

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