scholarly journals Conversational marketing as a framework for interaction with the customer: Development & validation of the conversational agent's usage scale

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-546
Author(s):  
Khalil Israfilzade
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Scale Validation ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
The Common ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Customer Development

Conversational agents are becoming an essential part of a growing number of personal and commercial encounters, bringing the issue of Conversational Marketing to a broader audience. A conversational agent is a developing technology that will be used in various fields throughout life, including e-commerce. The common characteristics of any conversational agent in whatever area are their capacity to engage in one-to-one personalised real-time dialogue with a human user and their availability 24 hours a day. Scale items for conversational agent phenomena have not been created scientifically or managerially in a business environment. The primary goal of this study was to develop and validate a new scale for conversational agents that could be used to quantify individual interactions in conversational marketing. As a result, the creation of a new scale for conversational agents with the objective of measuring individual customer interactions in conversational marketing was separated into two phases: Scale Development and Scale Validation. The Conversational Agent Usage Scale was developed and validated as a consequence of pilot studies. Additionally, this article discusses the practical consequences of conversational marketing, which can now be accomplished through the use of the Conversational Agent Usage Scale, which may be used by Customer Service & Support, Marketing, and Sales departments.

Balancing Accuracy of Promised Ship Data and IT Costs

2009 ◽  
pp. 620-634
Author(s):  
Young M. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Level ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Order Fulfillment ◽  
Business Decision ◽  
Customer Order ◽  
Customer Dissatisfaction ◽  
Time Availability ◽  
Static View

In an ideal e-business environment, when a customer order is scheduled and a ship date is computed, the availability should immediately be reserved and not be available for future orders. However, in reality the availability data that are used for the scheduling the orders are not real time availability (physical availability), but they are availability information stored in an IT system (system availability). The availability data in the IT system (static view of availability) is typically refreshed (synchronized with real time availability) only periodically since it is very expensive to update the database in real time. Due to this potentially inaccurate view of the availability, some orders cannot be shipped on the promised ship date. Therefore, for certain customer orders, products are shipped later than the promised ship date resulting in customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, one of key decisions in order fulfillment process is to properly balance IT system (e.g., IT expense) and accuracy of promised ship date. In this work, we study how availability fresh rate (IT system) impacts customer service level. The simulation model we develop helps making critical business decision on refresh rate of availability, and avoiding expensive IT investment.

A comparison between chatbot and human service: customer perception and reuse intention

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sut Ieng Lei ◽  
Haili Shen ◽  
Shun Ye
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Content Type

PurposeChatbot users’ communication experience with disembodied conversational agents was compared with instant messaging (IM) users’ communication experience with human conversational agents. The purpose of this paper is to identify what affects users’ intention to reuse and whether they perceive any difference between the two. Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model was developed based on computer-mediated communication (CMC) and interpersonal communication theories. Data were collected online from four different continents (North America, Europe, Asia and Australia). Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to examine the research model. FindingsThe findings mainly reveal that media richness and social presence positively influence trust and reuse intention through task attraction and social attraction; IM users reported significantly higher scores in terms of communication experience, perceived attractiveness of the conversational agent, and trust than chatbot users; users’ trust in the conversational agents is mainly determined by perceived task attraction. Research limitations/implicationsCustomers’ evaluation of the communication environment is positively related to their perceived competence of the conversational agent which ultimately affect their intention to reuse chatbot/IM. The findings reveal determinants of chatbot/IM adoption which have rarely been mentioned by previous work. Practical implicationsPractitioners should note that consumers in general still prefer to interact with human conversational agents. Practitioners should contemplate how to combine chatbot and human resources effectively to deliver the best customer service. Originality/valueThis study goes beyond the Computer as Social Actor paradigm and Technology Acceptance Model to understand chatbot and IM adoption. It is among one of the first studies that compare chatbot and IM use experience in the tourism and hospitality literature.

FINANCIAL CONTROLLING IN THE SYSTEM OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-141
Author(s):  
Petya Yordanova – Dinova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
And Control

This paper explores the comparative analysis of the financial controlling, who is a result from the common controlling concept and the financial management. In the specialized literature, financial controlling is seen as an innovative approach to financial management. It is often presented as the most promising instrument of financial diagnostics. Generally speaking, financial controlling is seen as a process of managing the company`s assets which are valued in monetary measures. The difference between the financial management and the financial controlling is that the second covers all functions of management, analysis and control of finances, aiming at maximizing their effective use and increasing the value of the enterprise. Financial controlling is often seen as a function of the common practice of financial management. Its objective is to preserve the financial stability and financial sustainability of enterprises operating in a highly aggressive business environment.

Real-Time Tailoring of Depression Counseling by Conversational Agent

Iproceedings ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. e27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazlo Ring ◽  
Timothy Bickmore ◽  
Paola Pedrelli
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Conversational Agent

scholarly journals Gaze awareness and metacognitive suggestions by a pedagogical conversational agent: an experimental investigation on interventions to support collaborative learning process and performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yugo Hayashi
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Collaborative Process ◽  
And Performance

AbstractResearch on collaborative learning has revealed that peer-collaboration explanation activities facilitate reflection and metacognition and that establishing common ground and successful coordination are keys to realizing effective knowledge-sharing in collaborative learning tasks. Studies on computer-supported collaborative learning have investigated how awareness tools can facilitate coordination within a group and how the use of external facilitation scripts can elicit elaborated knowledge during collaboration. However, the separate and joint effects of these tools on the nature of the collaborative process and performance have rarely been investigated. This study investigates how two facilitation methods—coordination support via learner gaze-awareness feedback and metacognitive suggestion provision via a pedagogical conversational agent (PCA)—are able to enhance the learning process and learning gains. Eighty participants, organized into dyads, were enrolled in a 2 × 2 between-subject study. The first and second factors were the presence of real-time gaze feedback (no vs. visible gaze) and that of a suggestion-providing PCA (no vs. visible agent), respectively. Two evaluation methods were used: namely, dialog analysis of the collaborative process and evaluation of learning gains. The real-time gaze feedback and PCA suggestions facilitated the coordination process, while gaze was relatively more effective in improving the learning gains. Learners in the Gaze-feedback condition achieved superior learning gains upon receiving PCA suggestions. A successful coordination/high learning performance correlation was noted solely for learners receiving visible gaze feedback and PCA suggestions simultaneously (visible gaze/visible agent). This finding has the potential to yield improved collaborative processes and learning gains through integration of these two methods as well as contributing towards design principles for collaborative-learning support systems more generally.

Knowledge-Based System supported by Chatbot to assist the Risk Classification Process of Patients in Hospital Emergency care (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marciane Mueller ◽  
Rejane Frozza ◽  
Liane Mählmann Kipper ◽  
Ana Carolina Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Risk Classification ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Knowledge Based System ◽  
Knowledge Based

BACKGROUND This article presents the modeling and development of a Knowledge Based System, supported by the use of a virtual conversational agent called Dóris. Using natural language processing resources, Dóris collects the clinical data of patients in care in the context of urgency and hospital emergency. OBJECTIVE The main objective is to validate the use of virtual conversational agents to properly and accurately collect the data necessary to perform the evaluation flowcharts used to classify the degree of urgency of patients and determine the priority for medical care. METHODS The agent's knowledge base was modeled using the rules provided for in the evaluation flowcharts comprised by the Manchester Triage System. It also allows the establishment of a simple, objective and complete communication, through dialogues to assess signs and symptoms that obey the criteria established by a standardized, validated and internationally recognized system. RESULTS Thus, in addition to verifying the applicability of Artificial Intelligence techniques in a complex domain of health care, a tool is presented that helps not only in the perspective of improving organizational processes, but also in improving human relationships, bringing professionals and patients closer. The system's knowledge base was modeled on the IBM Watson platform. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained from simulations carried out by the human specialist allowed us to verify that a knowledge-based system supported by a virtual conversational agent is feasible for the domain of risk classification and priority determination of medical care for patients in the context of emergency care and hospital emergency.

scholarly journals “Impact of Training on Employees Performance” (Evidence from Pharmaceutical Companies in Karachi, Pakistan)

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uzma Hafeez ◽  
Waqar Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
The Impact

Employees are major assets of every organization. The accomplishment of the industry depends on its employee performance. Therefore, upper management knows the significance of expense in training for the advantage of improving employee performance and also places them to get the challenges of the today’s competitive business environment. This research also aims to see the “Impact of Training on Employee Performance in Pharmaceutical Industry in Karachi Pakistan”, in which Training consider as independent whereas dependent variable ‘Employee Performance‘ having its Performance areas i.e.; demonstrating team work, communication skill, customer service, interpersonal relationship and reduced absenteeism and its Developments areas i.e.; job-satisfaction, employee motivation, new technologies, efficiencies in process and innovation in strategies as its levers. The paper presents a concise summary of the literature on the value of training in improving the performance of the employees. Four pharmaceutical companies are selected. A survey of 356 employees via self administrated questionnaire with the help of random sampling technique is conducted with the response rate of 96%. Two sets of hypothesis are developed which relate directly to the research questions. SPSS 19 is used to perform reliability, descriptive, correlation and regression analysis. The analysis shows a positive significant relationship between them and the results reveal that the more the employee gets training, the more efficient their level of performance would be. The last section of the paper concludes along with recommendation to give guidelines for future research.

How to Evaluate the Economic Value Added of Innovative Interface Technologies in a Booming Cyber Commerce Environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 467-469 ◽  
pp. 1006-1011
Author(s):  
Ming Yuan Hsieh ◽  
Chung Hsing Huang ◽  
Wen Ming Wu
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Economic Value Added ◽  
Social Community ◽  
Priority Vector ◽  
Network Process ◽  
Four Levels

Beginning in the 21st century, e-business enterprises need to take vigorous tactics in facing greater challenges in a booming cyber commerce era. In today’s e-business environment, innovative interface technologies change with each passing day, customers’ (users’) satisfaction are more and more discerning, and market demands can fluctuate unpredictably. While facing constant changes in the lower-profit and high customer-service cyber commerce environment, it is important to know how to break through the current Information Technology (IT) industrial situation, maintain the enterprises’ owned advantage and continuously make a profit under a booming transition. In this research, nineteen sub-criteria are categorized into five factors (criteria) by the measurement of factor analysis. Three basic types of innovative business websites (portals, cyber commerce and social community) in an e-business environment are then evaluated by nineteen assessable criteria of five characteristics of innovation interface technology through the use of the Analytical Network Process (ANP) approach. The specific feature of the ANP model is to establish a pairwise comparative matrix and furthermore, to calculate the priority vector weights (eigenvector) of each assessable characteristic, criteria and sub-criteria. The factor analysis can utilize more measure matrix to benefit the deviation of ANP approach due to less data from expert’s opinions. Additionally, in the content, the analytical hierarchical relations are definitely expressed in four levels among each characteristic of innovative interface technology (IIT), criterion and sub-criteria. Moreover, based on the empirical analysis, the enterprises are able to choose the best potential business website with highest economic value added (EVA) through this research in order to maximize financial profits and benefits from an innovative perspective. Finally, some suggestions for managers and researchers are inductively formed to further determine the best development of innovative interface technologies in a thriving cyber commerce environment.

scholarly journals A Modular System Oriented to the Design of Versatile Knowledge Bases for Chatbots

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pilato ◽  
Agnese Augello ◽  
Salvatore Gaglio
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Callosum ◽  
Knowledge Representation ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Knowledge Bases ◽  
Modular System ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Specific Domain ◽  
Representation Techniques

The paper illustrates a system that implements a framework, which is oriented to the development of a modular knowledge base for a conversational agent. This solution improves the flexibility of intelligent conversational agents in managing conversations. The modularity of the system grants a concurrent and synergic use of different knowledge representation techniques. According to this choice, it is possible to use the most adequate methodology for managing a conversation for a specific domain, taking into account particular features of the dialogue or the user behavior. We illustrate the implementation of a proof-of-concept prototype: a set of modules exploiting different knowledge representation methodologies and capable of managing different conversation features has been developed. Each module is automatically triggered through a component, named corpus callosum, that selects in real time the most adequate chatbot knowledge module to activate.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document