How Technological Determinism Shapes International Marketing

Abstract

In the late 1990s, many firms - flush with cash from ‘irrationally exuberant’ investors - made huge investments in information and communications technologies (ICT) to extend market reach and increase revenues. Shortly after the dot com bust, only a few of these ardent technology adopters thrived, the technology investments of only a fractional few yielding substantive payoff. For many, it seemed all but certain that the concept of technological determinism was doomed. Through exploration of the (r)evolutionary role of ICT in global marketing strategies and positioning technology as an enhancer to the original four P’s of marketing, this paper develops a conceptual model integrating aspects of technological advancement within the context of international marketing strategy.