Power negotiation on the tango dancefloor: The adoption of AI in B2B marketing

Abstract Acknowledging the lack of empirical research on the adoption of AI in B2B marketing and the research gap in studying power from a network perspective, this paper explores how the drivers of AI adoption as marketing solutions affect network actors' power dynamics. Using data collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with business managers and engineers involved in AI adoption for B2B marketing activities, as well as academic experts in the field of AI, this paper discusses how AI adoption priorities and motives shape the power dynamics amongst the various network actors, including focal firms, AI suppliers and tech giant companies. The findings show that, in the context of AI adoption in B2B, both technology and expertise are key sources of power, and that data creates and perpetuates power negotiations and renegotiations in the network. We envisage this process as the movements on a busy dancefloor where groups of actors are engaged in what we refer to as the Power Tango. This paper contributes to the power dependence theory by showing that, through the adoption process, network actors' power is exchanged, exercised, counter-balanced and perpetuated, creating fluid network dynamics.