As the digital economy reshapes how consumers interact with brands, companies are investing more and more in agile, tech-enabled marketing strategies to meet customer needs. But what if this marketing agility is undermining long-term customer loyalty? This is the central question of Professor Francesca Cabiddu’s current research project, conducted in collaboration with CIAS. 

Prof. Cabiddu is working as full professor at the Department of Business and Economics at the University of Cagliari (Italy), when she is also the Coordinator of the PhD program. She is on the board of Italian Society of Marketing (SIM). Her areas of expertise include: digital marketing, international marketing, and entrepreneurship. “My research is focused on how digital technologies, especially artificial intelligence, are transforming marketing strategies,” she explains. “I’m particularly interested in how these technologies affect consumer behaviour and company performance.” 

Her research project at CIAS — entitled “From flux to flow: Harmonising agile marketing with liquid dynamics” —, investigates a growing marketing dilemma: How digital engagement, while increasing user-friendliness and offering more tailor-made options, may also erode brand loyalty? This tension is described in the literature through the concept of “liquid consumption”, a term applied in their research by Prof. Cabiddu and her team, which includes collaborators from Italy and Hungary.  

“Liquid consumption means that customers now have the possibility to switch very easily from one company to another,” the researcher says. “This is enabled by digital technologies that allow them to compare offers instantly.” 

For example, when a consumer opens a food delivery app, they are presented with dozens of options — restaurants, menus, discounts —, all just a click away. This freedom of choice is empowering, but it also creates an unstable, non-binding relationship between customers and brands. 

“It’s a paradox,” the professor explains. “On one hand, companies use digital technologies to try to engage customers. But on the other hand, they give customers the possibility to move from one brand to another.” 

The research aims to help companies navigate this paradox by understanding the trade-offs between agility and loyalty. In today’s market, brands are expected to be responsive, offer tailored experiences, and resolve problems instantly. But such responsiveness may contribute to customer disloyalty if it becomes too easy to leave. 

“We are trying to provide guidelines to companies, to help them find a balance between agility and loyalty,” says Prof. Cabiddu about the purpose of the research. “It’s not just about being fast — it’s about being sustainable in the long run.”  

The first phase of the project focuses on the Hungarian food industry, a sector that exemplifies liquid consumption due to its transactional and digitalised nature. Prof. Cabiddu and her colleagues at CIAS have conducted qualitative interviews with food companies to understand how they perceive and respond to this issue. 

“Food is a sector where it’s very easy for consumers to switch,” she notes. “You can scroll through a delivery app and change your decision in seconds. That’s why it’s a perfect context for studying this phenomenon.”  

Interestingly, many companies were unaware of the problem before the interviews. “At first, they hadn’t really thought about it as a problem,” she says. “But when we explained the paradox, they realised it could impact their strategies more than they expected.” 

The project is still in progress, but early findings have already been presented at academic conferences in Italy and Hungary, and the team plans to submit a paper for publication this summer. Future phases of the study will expand to include Italian companies, enabling cross-country comparisons. 

“We want to understand if this is a global phenomenon or something more context-specific,” the professor underlines. “Testing the same patterns in different markets will give us valuable insight.” 

Prof. Cabiddu emphasises the originality of the research, noting that most studies focus on the positive effects of digital engagement, while few consider potential drawbacks. 

“What we are doing is different—we are trying to understand whether there might be negative consequences as well,” she explains. “Usually studies focus on how digital technologies help companies attract customers. We’re asking: is this always a good thing 

Prof. Francesca Cabiddu hopes her research will not only contribute to academic literature but also offer practical value to businesses navigating the complexities of the digital market.