How AI-powered marketing technology use fosters strategic capability via cross-domain resource integration

Although AI-powered Marketing Technology (MARTECH) is widely adopted in the digital era, existing research has largely focused on its operational efficiency at the organizational level, leaving it unclear how individual employees leverage MARTECH to build strategic capability–a critical gap in the micro-foundations of digital transformation. Drawing on integrated self-control theory (ISCT), this study proposes a moderated mediation model in which work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) and nature exposure at work (NEAW) serve as sequential mediators, with creative self-efficacy (CSE) as a moderator. Using a three-wave research design and empirical evidence from a sample of 328 sales employees, this study reveals the cross-domain mechanism through which MARTECH use influences sales employees’ strategic capability. Results show that MARTECH use positively influences strategic capability, and this relationship is mediated both independently and sequentially by WCBA and NEAW–revealing an ‘outside-in’ cross-domain pathway from WCBA to NEAW. Moreover, CSE strengthens the positive effects of MARTECH use on both WCBA and NEAW. These findings demonstrate how employees integrate resources across work and non-work domains to build strategic capability, and offer practical guidance for organizations to support voluntary after-hours MARTECH use, incorporate nature into workplace design, and foster creative self-efficacy.