ROLD: The Potential of Transformative Marketing in Industry 5.0

The shaping of the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 is highlighting an increasing importance being accorded to digital, environmental and social issues by the universities, business world, institutions and society more generally. Megatrends characterizing the business landscape have influenced the emerging of Transformative Marketing, defined by Kumar (2018) as a set of marketing strategies, activities, metrics, that respond to changes shaping the current market and future trends to generate greater value for customers, stakeholders, and the company itself. Transformative marketing, founded on the outside-in perspective, supports the wider marketing innovation. In this context, the ROLD case study explores how transformative marketing can support changes in a company’s marketing strategies in the light of megatrends. Focusing on a holistic perspective of marketing innovation, the case analyzes the changes that shaped ROLD differentiation-positioning strategy to handle the challenges of the business landscape and its impact on business model configuration. ROLD, founded as a manufacturer of home appliance components, has combined its historical business with a digital business, positioning itself as a technology player and system integrator. ROLD has been included in the Global Lighthouse Network of advanced manufacturers that stand out for the application of typical Industry 4.0 technologies with a view to operability, sustainability and environmental impact. Moreover, ROLD has introduced R-Lab and R-Academy providing innovative solutions by configuring a new value proposition. According to the findings, transformative marketing sustains, and requires, networking with heterogeneous stakeholders to reconfigure the value proposition, and make the differentiation-positioning strategy feasible.