Comparative Study on Digital Transformation Modes of Technology Brand vs. Trendy Consumer Brand: A Dual-Case Analysis of Anker Innovations and Pop Mart
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70088/65vfr163Keywords:
Digital transformation, Technology brand, Trendy consumer brand, Anker Innovations, Pop Mart, Comparative case studyAbstract
Why do firms in different brand categories pursue such divergent digital transformation pathways, even when they operate under comparable macroeconomic conditions and possess similar access to technology? This question animates the present inquiry, which juxtaposes the digital transformation trajectories of two Chinese consumer-facing firms—Anker Innovations, a technology brand competing in consumer electronics, and Pop Mart, a trendy consumer brand specializing in designer toys and blind-box collectibles. Drawing on digital transformation theory and the dynamic capabilities perspective, we examine four analytical dimensions: digital strategy formulation, omnichannel architecture, supply chain digitalization, and customer data analytics. Our cross-case comparison reveals that technology brands tend toward a product-driven, platform-enabled mode, prioritizing R&D digitalization, AI-powered operations, and deep embedding within cross-border e-commerce platforms. Trendy consumer brands, by contrast, gravitate toward an IP-driven, community-centric mode, emphasizing emotional engagement, data-driven IP lifecycle management, and proprietary private-domain community building. The underlying mechanisms—dynamic capabilities, platform embeddedness, and emotional value creation—operate with different configurations across the two brand types. These findings carry implications for how scholars theorize brand-type contingency in digital transformation and how managers align digital investments with their firm's competitive logic.References
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Copyright (c) 2026 Yuyang Peng (Author)
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