Digital Transformation and Data-Driven Decision Making in Marketing: A Literature Review

Digital transformation has become an important factor influencing marketing strategies and organizational decision-making processes in the digital era. The development of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, machine learning, and digital platforms has encouraged organizations to shift from intuition-based decision making toward data-driven decision-making approaches. However, despite rapid technological advancement, many organizations still face challenges related to data quality, analytical capabilities, organizational readiness, and the integration of technology into business processes. In addition, previous studies tend to discuss digital transformation, marketing, and data-driven decision making separately, resulting in limited comprehensive understanding of the relationship among these aspects. Therefore, this study aims to analyze research trends, identify key themes, and reveal research gaps related to digital transformation and data-driven decision making in marketing. This study employed the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method using the PRISMA approach. A total of 50 selected articles published between 2020 and 2026 from reputable academic databases were analyzed systematically. The findings indicate that digital transformation significantly improves marketing effectiveness, organizational agility, customer engagement, and business performance through the utilization of digital technologies and marketing analytics. However, the successful implementation of data-driven decision making depends not only on technology adoption but also on organizational readiness, leadership support, and human resource capabilities. The study also identified several research gaps, particularly regarding managerial behavior, the balance between data and intuition, and limited empirical studies in SME contexts and developing countries.