The role of absorptive capacity in the use of digital marketing analytics for effective marketing decisions

According to the literature, companies that use consumer data from digital marketing can have better results than those that do not. However, investments in analytics have gradually declined and most research does not place the use of data in strategic processes. Thus, this paper proposes a model to evaluate the incorporation of external knowledge generated by data, with the organization's internal knowledge, through the insertion of the absorptive capacity as a mediator between the use of digital marketing data and the effectiveness of marketing decision-making. To this end, a survey of 144 Brazilian retail companies was conducted and it was found that there is mediation, but it is partial. The findings suggest some insights into actions that can be taken to improve the use of data by the organization, such as the importance of disseminating marketing data, so that it can be used strategically by decision-makers.