Strategizing in response to Market-related Emergence
(A2026-133768)

AUTHORS

Kaisa Koskela-Huotari, Stockholm School of Economics; Katrien Verleye, Ghent University; SUVI NENONEN

ABSTRACT

Systemic risks increasingly characterize markets, destabilizing them and challenging the relevance of traditional strategic marketing tools. Building on recent work that positions markets as complex, multi-actor systems characterized by emergent outcomes, this paper examines the implications of such emergence for market strategizing. Using a meta-synthesis of 165 studies, we explore how emergence manifests within market systems and how actors can strategically engage with such emergent dynamics. Our findings reveal that market-related emergence takes three forms—initial market emergence, within-market emergence, and cross-market emergence—and elaborate on four types of strategizing in response to them.