Artificial intelligence at the intersection of innovation and marketing: A conceptual model and research propositions

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the theory and practice of innovation and marketing, yet its deployment at their intersection remains only partially understood. Existing literature has not thoroughly examined which AI capabilities (analytical, generative) are more appropriate during different stages of the new product development (NPD) process, how a core marketing factor, customer involvement, conditions the outcomes of these capabilities, or how AI-related risks and governance mechanisms shape NPD performance across stages. This study addresses these gaps by proposing a novel conceptual framework that links the two distinct AI capability types to specific NPD stages, examines how customer involvement moderates the relationship between AI capabilities and NPD outcomes, integrates AI hallucination risk as a formal boundary condition differentiating the failure modes of AI capabilities across stages, and extends the framework to NPD governance mechanisms including gate evaluations, feedback loops, and cross-functional coordination. The paper contributes to research and practice by (1) offering a set of propositions regarding AI’s role at the intersection of innovation and marketing, (2) providing theoretically derived guidance for managers on deploying AI capabilities during NPD while recognizing the marketing imperative of customer involvement, and (3) outlining a future research agenda on AI-enabled innovation which is of crucial importance for the future of business. Collectively, the paper advances a more theoretically rigorous and practically relevant understanding of AI’s transformative role in innovation and marketing.