Designing a Model of Digital Transformation in Financial-Services Marketing

Yousif Merza, Aza; Seifollahi Anar, Naser; Zarei, Ghasem; Rahimi Kolour, Hossein

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.742529

Designing a Model of Digital Transformation in Financial-Services Marketing

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Aza Yousif Merza ¹

Naser Seifollahi Anar ²

Ghasem Zarei ²

Hossein Rahimi Kolour ²

¹ Ph.D. Student, Department of Business Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

² Professor, Department of Business Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

10.22034/ijumes.2026.742529

Abstract

This study designs and validates an integrated model of digital transformation in financial-services marketing for the banking sector of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It identifies the conditions that drive the phenomenon, the strategies required to enact it, and the consequences it produces, and then tests the structural relationships among these constructs. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was adopted. In the qualitative phase, a systematic grounded-theory procedure was applied to semi-structured interviews with twenty purposively selected banking managers and experts; data were analysed through open, axial and selective coding in MAXQDA, yielding a six-component paradigm model. In the quantitative phase, the model was validated with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS. The qualitative analysis produced 206 open codes, 16 axial categories and six paradigm components: causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, the core phenomenon (digital-marketing orientation), strategies and consequences. The measurement model satisfied reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. All five structural hypotheses were supported: the strongest path linked the core phenomenon to strategies (β = 0.752, t = 23.180), and the overall goodness-of-fit (GOF = 0.668) indicated a strong model. The paper offers one of the first context-sensitive, empirically validated models of digital transformation in financial-services marketing for an emerging, post-conflict regional economy, integrating a qualitative paradigm model with a confirmatory structural test to guide banks and policymakers.

Graphical Abstract

Designing a Model of Digital Transformation in Financial-Services Marketing

Highlights

• An integrated model of digital transformation in financial-services marketing is designed and validated for the banking sector of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

• An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design combines grounded-theory interviews with twenty experts and PLS-SEM validation.

• Open, axial and selective coding produced 206 open codes, 16 axial categories and a six-component paradigm model.

• All five structural hypotheses were supported, with the core phenomenon → strategies path the strongest (β = 0.752) and a strong overall fit (GOF = 0.668).

• Digital transformation emerges as a change of strategic logic toward data-driven, customer-centric value creation rather than mere technology adoption.

Keywords

Artificial intelligence

digital marketing

digital transformation

financial-services marketing

grounded theory

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