Trust me, I'm a bot – repercussions of chatbot disclosure in different service frontline settings

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nika Mozafari ◽  
Welf H. Weiger ◽  
Maik Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Customer Retention ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Outcomes ◽  
Levels Of Service ◽  
Positive Effect

PurposeChatbots are increasingly prevalent in the service frontline. Due to advancements in artificial intelligence, chatbots are often indistinguishable from humans. Regarding the question whether firms should disclose their chatbots' nonhuman identity or not, previous studies find negative consumer reactions to chatbot disclosure. By considering the role of trust and service-related context factors, this study explores how negative effects of chatbot disclosure for customer retention can be prevented.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents two experimental studies that examine the effect of disclosing the nonhuman identity of chatbots on customer retention. While the first study examines the effect of chatbot disclosure for different levels of service criticality, the second study considers different service outcomes. The authors employ analysis of covariance and mediation analysis to test their hypotheses.FindingsChatbot disclosure has a negative indirect effect on customer retention through mitigated trust for services with high criticality. In cases where a chatbot fails to handle the customer's service issue, disclosing the chatbot identity not only lacks negative impact but even elicits a positive effect on retention.Originality/valueThe authors provide evidence that customers will react differently to chatbot disclosure depending on the service frontline setting. They show that chatbot disclosure does not only have undesirable consequences as previous studies suspect but can lead to positive reactions as well. By doing so, the authors draw a more balanced picture on the consequences of chatbot disclosure.

Social capital and national innovation system: a cross-country analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepehr Ghazinoory ◽  
Ali Bitaab ◽  
Ardeshir Lohrasbi
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
National Level ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose – In the last two decades, researchers have paid much attention to the role of cultural values on economic and social development. In particular, the crucial role of different aspects of culture on the development of innovation has been stressed in the literature. Consequently, it is vital to understand how social capital, as a core cultural value, affects the innovation process and the innovative performance at the national level. However, to date, the impact of different dimensions of social capital and innovation has not been properly portrayed or explained. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of four different dimensions of social capital (institutional and interpersonal, associational life and norms) on two of the main functions of national innovation system (NIS) (entrepreneurship and knowledge creation) based on over 50,000 observations in 34 countries. Design/methodology/approach – In this regard, national-level data from the World Values Survey database was employed to quantify social capital. Entrepreneurship is, in turn, assumed to consist of three sub-indexes and 14 indicators based on the Global Entrepreneurship Index. Knowledge creation is also measured through US Patent Office applications. Also, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling approach were used to build the measurement model and investigate the impact that each factor of social capital had on entrepreneurship and knowledge application, respectively. Measurement and structural models were built and their reliability and validity were tested using various fit indices. Research findings suggest the strong positive effect of institutional trust and networking on entrepreneurship. Also, interpersonal trust and networks were shown to have high influence on knowledge development at the national level. Norms appear to have naïve to medium negative effects on both functions. Findings – Research findings suggest the strong positive effect of institutional trust and networking on entrepreneurship. Also, interpersonal trust and networks were shown to have high influence on knowledge development at the national level. Norms appear to have naïve to medium negative effects on both functions. Originality/value – However, to date, the impact of different dimensions of social capital and innovation has not been properly portrayed or explained.

Imperfect produce: retailer actions and service outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atmadeep Mukherjee ◽  
Amaradri Mukherjee ◽  
Pramod Iyer
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Outcomes ◽  
Patronage Intention ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Food waste is a big problem where millions of pounds of produce are discarded every year because they are imperfect or unattractive. Despite the societal implications of selling unattractive produce, limited research has been directed toward understanding the effect of imperfect produce on consumers’ evaluations of the produce and retailer outcomes. This paper aims to investigate why consumers tend to discard imperfect produce and how retailer interventions (i.e. anthropomorphized signage and packaging) can alleviate these negative effects. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to examine the postulations. Study 1 highlights the role of consumers’ embarrassment in the purchase decision of imperfect produce and retailer patronage intention. Studies 2 and 3 provide managerially relevant boundary conditions of anthropomorphic signage and opaque packaging. Findings Convergent results across three studies (n = 882) indicate that imperfect produce increases purchase embarrassment and reduces purchase intention and retailer patronage intention. Retailer interventions (i.e. anthropomorphic signage and opaque packaging) can allay this feeling of embarrassment and lead to an increased retailer patronage intention and higher service satisfaction. Practical implications This research provides guidance to retailers for effectively promoting imperfect produce. Social implications Retailers’ actions can benefit the well-being of farmers, suppliers, customers and the overall environment. Originality/value This research adds to the literature on unattractive produce by identifying new moderators, namely, anthropomorphic signages and opaque packaging. The research also shows that purchase embarrassment is a key process mechanism.

The bright and dark sides of humorous response to online customer complaint

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 2013-2047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunju Shin ◽  
Lindsay R.L. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Complaints ◽  
Customer Complaint

Purpose Displaying a sense of humour provides various interpersonal benefits including reducing tension and promoting conflict resolution, but should a firm use humour in response to publicly viewable online customer complaints after a service failure? The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that a firm’s use of humour in response to negative online consumer reviews has both positive and negative effects on perceptions of corporate image from a customer-as-onlooker perspective. Design/methodology/approach Three experimental studies are conducted and analysis of variance is used to empirically test the hypotheses. Findings Although humorous responses have an unfavourable influence on perceived trustworthiness of the firm, they have a favourable influence on perceived excitingness of the firm. The former influence is tied to lower perceived firm sincerity, whereas the latter is tied to higher perceived firm innovativeness and coolness. Furthermore, humour within the customer complaint itself is shown to moderate the influence of humorous responses on perceptions of the firm. Finally, regardless of the type of humour used (i.e. affiliative or aggressive humour) in the humorous response, the positive effect of humorous response remains strong, although aggressive humour further aggravates the negative impact of humorous response on trustworthiness. Research limitations/implications The experimental set-up may limit external validity of the study, and the research is limited to the variables examined. Practical implications Humorous response is identified as a non-traditional approach to online customer complaints that poses a double-edged sword for managers of service organizations. Firms should avoid using humour in online service recovery if perceptions of trustworthiness are critical or if complaints are written in a neutral tone. However, such responses may be successfully used when a firm wants to position itself as exciting and if complaints are also humorous. Finally, firms are advised to avoid aggressive humour. Originality/value The present research represents one of the few studies in marketing to examine the potential of injecting humour into complaint management and service recovery. In addition, this study considers the consumer-as-onlooker perspective inherent in social media.

Retail disturbances: how should employees respond?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron D. Arndt ◽  
Juliet F. Poujol ◽  
Béatrice Siadou-Martin
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Interactional Justice ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Retail Managers ◽  
Employee Responses ◽  
Employee Response

Purpose The customer retail experience is frequently interrupted by disturbances such as ringing phones and other people. Employees must be able to respond to retail disturbances effectively to ensure that customers have a satisfactory experience in the retailer. Using Affective Events Theory as a framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model for understanding how retail disturbances affect customers outcomes and how retail employee response mitigates the negative impact of retail disturbances. Design/methodology/approach The model was tested using a pre-study of retail managers and consumers, a survey study and four experimental studies. Findings Retail disturbances reduce interactional justice and customer positive emotions. Customers pay attention to how employees address retail disturbances, even when they are not directly involved. Research limitations/implications The research experiments focus on sound-based disturbances. Other stimuli (e.g. olfactory or visual) should be examined in more detail. Practical implications Employees can mitigate the negative effects of retail disturbances on customers with a positive response to the disturbance and to customers. Employee responses influence customers currently receiving service and nearby shoppers. Social implications The findings demonstrate the deleterious effect of solicitation calls on small retailers and provide recommendations for reducing solicitation calls. Originality/value This research shows that retail disturbances reduce customer outcomes, employee response becomes part of the disturbance event, and that it is possible for employees to address a group of nearby customers indirectly through unintentional observation.

Authenticity, rapport and interactional justice in frontline service: the moderating role of need for uniqueness

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina K. Lindsey-Hall ◽  
Susana Jaramillo ◽  
Thomas L. Baker ◽  
Julian M. Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Interactional Justice ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Need For Uniqueness ◽  
Conditional Effects ◽  
Service Outcomes ◽  
Related Service

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how perceptions of employee authenticity and customer–employee rapport influence customers’ interactional justice assessments and related service evaluations, and how customers’ need for uniqueness impacts these relationships. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method, three-study design is used to test the research model. Specifically, structural equation modeling provides tests of the main hypotheses, and two supplemental experimental studies tease out conditional effects providing insightful managerial contributions. Findings Results indicate that customers’ perceptions of employee authenticity affect customers’ interactional justice evaluations, particularly when customers identify high levels of customer–employee rapport. Additionally, the aforementioned relationships are contingent upon customers’ need for uniqueness, such that customers with higher levels of need for uniqueness experience lower levels of customer–employee rapport and, consequently, provide poorer interactional justice assessments. Finally, conditional effects are found given the type of provider and frequency of visit. Originality/value This research extends prior efforts to understand how customer–employee dynamics influence customers’ service encounter evaluations. In particular, it furthers understanding of authentic FLE–customer encounters, explores drivers of interactional justice and explicates how consumers’ varying levels of need for uniqueness have differential effects on service outcomes.

scholarly journals Gender stereotypes in advertising have negative cross-gender effects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Åkestam ◽  
Sara Rosengren ◽  
Micael Dahlén ◽  
Karina T. Liljedal ◽  
Hanna Berg
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Stereotypes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate cross-gender effects of gender stereotypes in advertising. More specifically, it proposes that the negative effects found in studies of women’s reactions to stereotyped female portrayals should hold across gender portrayal and target audience gender. Design/methodology/approach In two experimental studies, the effects of stereotyped portrayals (vs non-stereotyped portrayals) across gender are compared. Findings The results show that advertising portrayals of women and men have a presumed negative influence on others, leading to higher levels of ad reactance, which has a negative impact on brand-related effects across model and participant gender, and for gender stereotypes in terms of physical characteristics and roles. Research limitations/implications Whereas previous studies have focused on reactions of women to female stereotypes, the current paper suggests that women and men alike react negatively to stereotyped portrayals of other genders. Practical implications The results indicate that marketers can benefit from adapting a more mindful approach to the portrayals of gender used in advertising. Originality/value The addition of a cross-gender perspective to the literature on gender stereotypes in advertising is a key contribution to this literature.

Overcoming counter-knowledge through telemedicine communication technologies

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 730-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Cegarra-Sanchez ◽  
Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro ◽  
Anthony Wensley ◽  
Jose Diaz Manzano
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Regional Hospital ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Exploration And Exploitation ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Knowledge acquired from sources of unverified information such as gossip, partial truths or lies, in this paper it is termed as “counter-knowledge.” The purpose of this paper is to explore this topic through an exploration of the links between a Hospital-in-the-Home Units (HHUs) learning process (LP), counter-knowledge, and the utilization of communication technologies. The following two questions are addressed: Does the reduction of counter-knowledge result in the utilization of communication technologies? Does the development of counter-knowledge hinder the LP? Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the relevance of communication technologies to the exploration and exploitation of knowledge for 252 patients of a (HHU) within a Spanish regional hospital. The data collected was analyzed using the PLS-Graph. Findings To HHU managers, this study offers a set of guidelines to assist in their gaining an understanding of the role of counter-knowledge in organizational LPs and the potential contribution of communication technologies. Our findings support the proposition that the negative effects of counter-knowledge can be mitigated by using communication technologies. Originality/value It is argued in this paper that counter-knowledge may play a variety of different roles in the implementation of LPs. Specifically, the assignment of communication technologies to homecare units has given them the means to filter counter-knowledge and prevent users from any possible problems caused by such counter-knowledge.

Market responsiveness: antecedents and the moderating role of external supply chain integration

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuan Luu
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Integration ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Market Responsiveness ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Ambidextrous Leadership

Purpose The interaction between opening and closing behaviors of ambidextrous leadership produces “change” force throughout the organization in proactive response to market forces. This research aims to assess the role of ambidextrous leadership in fostering entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market responsiveness. The research also seeks an insight into how external supply chain integration moderates the positive effect of EO on market responsiveness. Design/methodology/approach Research data were collected from 327 meso-level managers and 517 subordinates from chemical manufacturing companies in the Vietnam business context. Findings Research findings shed light on the positive effect of ambidextrous leadership on EO, which in turn contributes to market responsiveness. The moderation role that external supply chain integration plays on the EO–market responsiveness linkage was also grounded on the data set. Originality/value Through the identification of the predictive roles of ambidextrous leadership and EO for market responsiveness, the current research indicates the convergence between leadership, EO and market responsiveness research streams.

Corporate social responsibility and employee organizational citizenship behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongqiang Gao ◽  
Wei He
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose An increasing number of studies have demonstrated a positive effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), but little attention has been paid to the mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying this effect. The purpose of this paper is to propose a trickle-down model and examine the mediating role of supervisor ethical leadership and the moderating role of perceived organizational distributive justice in the CSR-OCB relationship. Design/methodology/approach To test the arguments, the authors collected field data in four companies located in a central city of China. Through a multi-wave data collection design, a total of 187 employees reported their perceptions toward firms’ CSR and organizational justice at Time 1, and reported their direct supervisors’ ethical leadership behaviors, and their own OCBs at Time 2 (four weeks later). Findings Empirical findings demonstrated that CSR had a positive effect on employee OCB, as mediated by supervisors’ ethical leadership. In addition, this mediation effect was found to be moderated by perceived organizational distributive justice such that the mediation relationship was stronger when perceived organizational distributive justice was lower than when it was higher. Originality/value The present study makes three major contributions. First, it contributes to the CSR literature by revealing the underlying mechanism of ethical leadership through which CSR will lead to increased employee OCB in the workplace. Second, the moderation findings of the study add a new piece of empirical evidence suggesting the boundary condition of organizational distributive justice affecting the positive effect of CSR on employee OCB. Finally, the trickle-down theoretical model demonstrates the pivotal role of leadership in transforming CSR into positive employee outcomes, providing valuable insights into future research that examines why CSR motivates in-organization employees at work.

How does renqing influence purchase intentions in the Chinese business-to-business context?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhang ◽  
Biao Xu ◽  
Jun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Chinese Business ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mechanism of its impact in the Chinese business-to-business (B2B) context. Design/methodology/approach Renqing in China has played an important role in business relationships and has been receiving increased attention in both practice and theory. However, little is known about whether it can influence purchase intentions in a rational B2B condition. This research aims to examine the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mechanism of its impact in the Chinese B2B context. Based on a survey of 1,010 industry buyers from 468 Chinese downstream buyer companies, the empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mediating role of long-term orientation (LTO) for increasing purchase intentions. In addition, this study also finds that product involvement (PI) has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions, which means that renqing has a big positive effect on purchase intentions in low PI conditions. The results highlight several implications for B2B companies that sell products to Chinese enterprises. Findings The empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between renqing and purchase intentions and the mediating role of LTO for increasing purchase intentions. In addition, this study also finds that PI has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between renqing and purchase intentions, which means that renqing has a big positive effect on purchase intentions in low PI conditions. Originality/value First of all, by answering the research question, this study shows that renqing has a positive effect on purchase intentions in Chinese B2B context. Second, this study elucidates the influence mechanism of renqing on purchase intention and identifies the mediating effect of LTO and the moderating effect of PI.

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