Digital transformation in market research in Peru
a quantitative analysis of process optimization, technological innovation, and customer empowerment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2555.2025Keywords:
Digital transformation, Process optimization, Technological Innovation, Customer developmentAbstract
Goal: This study explores the impact of digital transformation on market research companies in Huancayo, Peru, focusing on three critical dimensions: process optimization, technological innovation, and customer empowerment. The objective is to understand how these elements collectively enhance competitiveness and organizational adaptability in dynamic and resource-constrained environments.
Design / Methodology / Approach: A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed, utilizing multiple regression and correlation analyses. Data were collected from 30 companies, representing the majority of market research firms in Huancayo, where the total population does not exceed 50. The methodological framework incorporated structured surveys and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimations, with robust validation procedures and adherence to statistical assumptions. A power analysis based on Cohen’s criteria confirmed a high level of statistical power despite the modest sample size.
Results: The findings reveal that 88.7% of the variability in process optimization is explained by independent variables, with technological innovation showing the strongest impact (coefficient: 0.743, p<0.001). Customer empowerment, with the highest mean (17.87) and a strong correlation to digital technologies (0.859), underscores the shift towards customer-centric strategies.
Limitations of the Investigation: The cross-sectional nature of the study restricts causal inference, and the limited sample size—though representative of the local population—may reduce generalizability and sensitivity to subtle effects. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs and larger samples across multiple regions to validate and extend these results.
Practical Implications: The study underscores the importance of integrating digital tools to enhance operational efficiency, foster continuous innovation, and strengthen client engagement. For firms in emerging markets like Peru, particularly in mid-sized cities such as Huancayo, cultivating a culture of digital adaptability and investing in human capital are essential steps toward sustainable competitiveness in the digital era.
Originality / Value: By analyzing digital transformation through a multi-dimensional lens, this research contributes to the literature by providing actionable insights into leveraging technology for operational efficiency and customer empowerment in a developing economy context.
Downloads
References
Agustian, K., Mubarok, E.S., Zen, A., Wiwin, W. and Malik, A.J. (2023), "The impact of digital transformation on business models and competitive advantage", Technology and Society Perspectives (TACIT), Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 79–93. https://doi.org/10.61100/tacit.v1i2.55
Aldoseri, A., Al-Khalifa, K. and Hamouda, A. (2023), "A roadmap for integrating automation with process optimization for AI-powered digital transformation", Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1055.v1
Aldoseri, A., Al-Khalifa, K.N. and Hamouda, A.M. (2024), "AI-powered innovation in digital transformation: key pillars and industry impact", Sustainability, Vol. 16, No. 5, p. 1790. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051790
Auh, S., Menguc, B., Katsikeas, C.S. and Jung, Y.S. (2019), "When does customer participation matter? An empirical investigation of the role of customer empowerment in the customer participation–performance link", Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 56, No. 6, pp. 1012–1033. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243719866408
Bag, S., Dhamija, P., Luthra, S. and Huisingh, D. (2023), "How big data analytics can help manufacturing companies strengthen supply chain resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 1141–1164. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-02-2021-0095
Barbosa, A.M.C. and Saisse, M.C.P. (2019), "Hybrid project management for sociotechnical digital transformation context", Brazilian Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 316–332. https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2019.v16.n2.a12
Basit, A., Wang, L., Nazir, S., Mehmood, S. and Hussain, I. (2023), "Managing the COVID-19 pandemic: enhancing sustainable supply chain performance through management innovation, information processing capability, business model innovation and knowledge management capability in Pakistan", Sustainability, Vol. 15, No. 18, p. 13538. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813538
Bresciani, S., Huarng, K.-H., Malhotra, A. and Ferraris, A. (2021), "Digital transformation as a springboard for product, process and business model innovation", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 128, pp. 204–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.003
Cohen, J. (1992), "A power primer", Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 112, No. 1, pp. 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155
Ajiga, D., Okeleke, P.A., Folorunsho, S.O. and Ezeigweneme, C. (2024), "The role of software automation in improving industrial operations and efficiency", International Journal of Engineering Research Updates, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 022–035. https://doi.org/10.53430/ijeru.2024.7.1.0031
Espina-Romero, L., Chafloque-Céspedes, R., Izaguirre Olmedo, J., Albarran Taype, R. and Ochoa-Díaz, A. (2025), "Driving digital transformation in Lima’s SMEs: unveiling the role of digital competencies and organizational culture in business success", Administrative Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15010019
Flores-Vilcapoma, L.-R., Ibengrin-Mendoza, C.-P.A., Gomez-Rojas, G.-B., Sánchez-Solis, Y. and Vicente-Ramos, W. (2022), "Influence of the key account manager in the provisioning management: evidence from staple companies during the events of COVID-19", Accounting, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 161–170. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ac.2021.7.006
Fuchs, C. and Schreier, M. (2011), "Customer empowerment in new product development", Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2010.00778.x
Gong, C. and Ribiere, V. (2021), "Developing a unified definition of digital transformation", Technovation, Vol. 102, p. 102217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2020.102217
Gouveia, S., de la Iglesia, D.H., Abrantes, J.L. and López Rivero, A.J. (2024), "Transforming strategy and value creation through digitalization?", Administrative Sciences, Vol. 14, No. 11, p. 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14110307
Han, S., Zhang, D., Zhang, H. and Lin, S. (2025), "Artificial intelligence technology, organizational learning capability, and corporate innovation performance: evidence from Chinese specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprises", Sustainability, Vol. 17, No. 6, p. 2510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062510
Hotha, K.K. (2023), "Unleashing the power of innovation in CDMOs through customer-centricity and culture of service", American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 234–246. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2023.134016
Jagatheesaperumal, S.K., Rahouti, M., Ahmad, K., Al-Fuqaha, A. and Guizani, M. (2022), "The duo of artificial intelligence and big data for Industry 4.0: applications, techniques, challenges, and future research directions", IEEE Internet of Things Journal, Vol. 9, No. 15, pp. 12861–12885. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2021.3139827
Javaid, M., Haleem, A., Singh, R.P. and Suman, R. (2022), "Artificial intelligence applications for Industry 4.0: a literature-based study", Journal of Industrial Integration and Management, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 83–111. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2424862221300040
Kraus, S., Jones, P., Kailer, N., Weinmann, A., Chaparro-Banegas, N. and Roig-Tierno, N. (2021), "Digital transformation: an overview of the current state of the art of research", Sage Open, Vol. 11, No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211047576
Lamberton, C. and Stephen, A.T. (2016), "A thematic exploration of digital, social media, and mobile marketing: research evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an agenda for future inquiry", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 80, No. 6, pp. 146–172. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0415
Lang, V. (2021), "Digitalization and digital transformation", in Lang, V. (Ed.), Digital Fluency, Apress, Cham, pp. 1–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-6774-5_1
Li, H., Yang, Z., Jin, C. and Wang, J. (2023), "How an industrial internet platform empowers the digital transformation of SMEs: theoretical mechanism and business model", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-09-2022-0757
Lin, S. and Lin, J. (2023), "How organizations leverage digital technology to develop customization and enhance customer relationship performance: an empirical investigation", Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 188, p. 122254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122254
Martínez-Peláez, R., Escobar, M.A., Félix, V.G., Ostos, R., Parra-Michel, J., García, V., Ochoa-Brust, A., Velarde-Alvarado, P., Félix, R.A., Olivares-Bautista, S., Flores, V. and Mena, L.J. (2024), "Sustainable digital transformation for SMEs: a comprehensive framework for informed decision-making", Sustainability, Vol. 16, No. 11, p. 4447. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114447
Matarazzo, M., Penco, L., Profumo, G. and Quaglia, R. (2021), "Digital transformation and customer value creation in Made in Italy SMEs: a dynamic capabilities perspective", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 123, pp. 642–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.033
Muneer, S., Singh, A., Choudhary, M.H. and Alshammari, A.S. (2024), "The mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relationship between digital transformation, innovative work behavior, and organizational financial performance", Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15010005
Nakano, D. (2019), "Digital music, online outlets and their business models", Brazilian Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 581–591. https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2019.v16.n4.a4
Omol, E.J. (2024), "Organizational digital transformation: from evolution to future trends", Digital Transformation and Society, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 240–256. https://doi.org/10.1108/DTS-08-2023-0061
Pereira de Moraes, C.A., Bezerra Pimentel, L. and Esteves Lattanzi, I. (2018), "Organizational skills development: the context of information technologies", Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 143–150. https://doi.org/10.14488/bjopm.2018.v15.n1.a13
Bharadiya, J.P. (2023), "A comparative study of business intelligence and artificial intelligence with big data analytics", American Journal of Artificial Intelligence. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajai.20230701.14
Rane, N. (2023), "Enhancing customer loyalty through artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and big data technologies: improving customer satisfaction, engagement, relationship, and experience", SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4616051
Raqui-Ramirez, C.E., Aliaga-Miranda, A., Flores-Vilcapoma, L.R., Huaroc-Ponce, N.M. and Chavarry-Becerra, W.S. (2025), "Impact of teachers’ digital competence on educational performance in public higher education in Peru: a quantitative analysis", International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 1967–1977. https://doi.org/10.53894/ijirss.v8i2.5588
Reuschl, A.J., Deist, M.K. and Maalaoui, A. (2022), "Digital transformation during a pandemic: stretching the organizational elasticity", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 144, pp. 1320–1332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.088
Sayyadi, M. (2024), "How to improve data quality to empower business decision-making process and business strategy agility in the AI age", Business Information Review, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 124–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/02663821241264705
Schneider, S. and Kokshagina, O. (2021), "Digital transformation: what we have learned (thus far) and what is next", Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 384–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12414
Sheng, J., Amankwah‐Amoah, J., Khan, Z. and Wang, X. (2021), "COVID‐19 pandemic in the new era of big data analytics: methodological innovations and future research directions", British Journal of Management, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 1164–1183. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12441
Sui, P., Duede, E., Wu, S. and So, R. (2024), "Confabulation: the surprising value of large language model hallucinations", Proceedings of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (Volume 1: Long Papers), pp. 14274–14284. https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2024.acl-long.770
Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. (2004), "Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 68, No. 1, pp. 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.1.1.24036
Veile, J.W., Schmidt, M.-C. and Voigt, K.-I. (2022), "Toward a new era of cooperation: how industrial digital platforms transform business models in Industry 4.0", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 143, pp. 387–405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.062
Warner, K.S.R. and Wäger, M. (2019), "Building dynamic capabilities for digital transformation: an ongoing process of strategic renewal", Long Range Planning, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 326–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2018.12.001
Wielgos, D.M., Homburg, C. and Kuehnl, C. (2021), "Digital business capability: its impact on firm and customer performance", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 762–789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-021-00771-5
Yang, L., Huo, B., Tian, M. and Han, Z. (2021), "The impact of digitalization and inter-organizational technological activities on supplier opportunism: the moderating role of relational ties", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 41, No. 7, pp. 1085–1118. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-09-2020-0664
Yang, Z., Hu, D. and Chen, X. (2024), "The role of omnichannel integration and digital value in building brand trust: a customer psychological perception perspective", Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-06-2023-0464
Zhang, J., Zhao, W., Cheng, B., Li, A., Wang, Y., Yang, N. and Tian, Y. (2022), "The impact of digital economy on the economic growth and the development strategies in the post-COVID-19 era: evidence from countries along the 'Belt and Road'", Frontiers in Public Health, Vol. 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.856142
Zhao, X., Chen, Q., Yuan, X., Yu, Y. and Zhang, H. (2024), "Study on the impact of digital transformation on the innovation potential based on evidence from Chinese listed companies", Scientific Reports, Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 6183. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56345-2
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Paulo César Callupe-Cueva, Augusto Aliaga-Miranda, Luis Ricardo Flores-Vilcapoma, Christian Efrain Raqui-Ramirez, Bernabé Teodoro Vila-Hinojo, Wilmar Salvador Chavarry-Becerra

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors must have a written permission from any third-party materials used in the article, such as figures and graphics. The permission must explicitly allow authors to use the materials. The permission should be submitted with the article, as a supplementary file.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after BJO&PM publishes it (See The Effect of Open Access).