B2B MARKETING TRANSFORMATION: THE IMPACT OF DIGITALIZATION ON MARKETING AND RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN B2B SERVICES

Digitalization has brought profound changes to the contemporary business landscape, revolutionizing traditional practices across industries. While a lot of research has examined these changes in the business-to-consumer (B2C) context, this study aims to shift its focus toward the relatively less explored business-to-business (B2B) domain. The scope of this dissertation is to understand how marketing activities and relationship management practices in B2B companies have been impacted by the introduction of new digital tools, and to what extent have these tools been integrated into the practices of the companies. This investigation is divided in two phases. The initial one involves an exhaustive review and analysis of existing literature within the field, and the second one, the collection and subsequent examination of empirical data acquired through semi-structured interviews and case studies. The findings of this study allowed to derive insights on how digital tools enhance the operations of B2B companies, yielding various advantages in their daily functions. However, unlike B2C businesses, the influence of human interactions remains essential, and digitalization, while impactful, does not entirely overshadow this fundamental aspect.