Actor-Network Relations in Modern Retail Markets amid the Emergence of New Technologies and Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22441/marcommers.v15i1.2728Keywords:
Actor-Network Theory, Modern Retail, Digital Transformation, Marketing Communication, Social Commerce, OmnichannelAbstract
Digital transformation in modern retail is frequently described as a shift from offline stores to online commerce, but such a linear explanation overlooks the heterogeneous relations through which markets are reorganised. This study examines how interactions among human and non-human actors shape the formation and stabilisation of new technology and media networks in Indonesia's modern retail ecosystem and identifies the implications for marketing communication. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), the study employs qualitative document analysis of seven purposively selected public documents published between 2023 and 2025, including government regulation, official statistics, central-bank reports, digital-economy reports, and platform-related policy documentation. Data were coded by actor type, interests, mediating objects, relational ties, and Callon's four moments of translation: problematization, interessement, enrolment, and mobilization. The findings show that retail digitalisation is not produced by technology alone. Retailers and MSMEs, consumers, regulators, platform firms, payment and logistics providers interact with non-human actants such as mobile applications, algorithms, data, smartphones, QR-based payments, digital rules, and physical stores. Platform architecture, algorithmic visibility, payment infrastructure, and regulation operate as particularly influential mediators because they redistribute access, visibility, transaction capability, and bargaining positions. The resulting network is hybrid rather than purely online: physical and digital channels are increasingly connected through omnichannel and social-commerce practices. The study contributes by operationalising ANT for marketing communication and by showing that communication in digital retail is jointly performed by people, platforms, data, interfaces, payment systems, and regulatory arrangements. Practically, retailers and MSMEs should manage actor alignment and channel integration rather than treating digital media merely as promotional tools.
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