IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jobman/v30y2023i1d10.1057_s41262-022-00292-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

AI service impacts on brand image and customer equity: empirical evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Chunlin Yuan

    (Henan University)

  • Shuman Wang

    (Business School of Henan University)

  • Yue Liu

    (Business School of Henan University)

Abstract

This paper examines the relations among AI service attributes, brand image, brand familiarity and customer equity. The proposed relationships were tested by structural equation modeling of survey data of 210 usable responses in China. Test results indicate that problem-solving ability, accuracy, and customization of AI service have significant positive effects on brand image; the three constructs of customer equity (value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity) are all positively and strongly affected by brand image. Moreover, brand familiarity moderates the effect of customization, interaction, and problem-solving ability on brand image. By bringing together AI literature and consumer behavior literature, this research sheds light on the effectiveness of AI service in enhancing brand image and customer equity. This has important theoretical value in enriching the streams of AI and brand research. Additionally, this research integrates the AI technology within a corporate brand management strategy and offers practitioners and marketers in post-COVID era with a model with which they can find new ways to meet consumer demands and improve brand image via AI technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Chunlin Yuan & Shuman Wang & Yue Liu, 2023. "AI service impacts on brand image and customer equity: empirical evidence from China," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(1), pages 61-76, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:jobman:v:30:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41262-022-00292-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41262-022-00292-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41262-022-00292-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41262-022-00292-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yurova, Yuliya & Rippé, Cindy B. & Weisfeld-Spolter, Suri & Sussan, Fiona & Arndt, Aaron, 2017. "Not all adaptive selling to omni-consumers is influential: The moderating effect of product type," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 271-277.
    2. Amin Ansary & Nik M. Hazrul Nik Hashim, 2018. "Brand image and equity: the mediating role of brand equity drivers and moderating effects of product type and word of mouth," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 969-1002, October.
    3. Sara Kim & Ann L. McGill, 2011. "Gaming with Mr. Slot or Gaming the Slot Machine? Power, Anthropomorphism, and Risk Perception," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(1), pages 94-107.
    4. Prentice, Catherine & Nguyen, Mai, 2020. "Engaging and retaining customers with AI and employee service," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. Yuan, Chun Lin & Kim, Juran & Kim, Sang Jin, 2016. "Parasocial relationship effects on customer equity in the social media context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3795-3803.
    6. Shanahan, Tyler & Tran, Trang P. & Taylor, Erik C., 2019. "Getting to know you: Social media personalization as a means of enhancing brand loyalty and perceived quality," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 57-65.
    7. Yuan, Chunlin & Zhang, Chenlei & Wang, Shuman, 2022. "Social anxiety as a moderator in consumer willingness to accept AI assistants based on utilitarian and hedonic values," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Fournier, Susan, 1998. "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(4), pages 343-373, March.
    9. Yi-Fen Chen & Shi-Han Chang, 2016. "The online framing effect: the moderating role of warning, brand familiarity, and product type," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 355-374, September.
    10. Hasan, Rajibul & Shams, Riad & Rahman, Mizan, 2021. "Consumer trust and perceived risk for voice-controlled artificial intelligence: The case of Siri," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 591-597.
    11. Libai, Barak & Bart, Yakov & Gensler, Sonja & Hofacker, Charles F. & Kaplan, Andreas & Kötterheinrich, Kim & Kroll, Eike Benjamin, 2020. "Brave New World? On AI and the Management of Customer Relationships," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 44-56.
    12. Fernando Branco & Monic Sun & J. Miguel Villas-Boas, 2016. "Too Much Information? Information Provision and Search Costs," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 605-618, July.
    13. Sheehan, Ben & Jin, Hyun Seung & Gottlieb, Udo, 2020. "Customer service chatbots: Anthropomorphism and adoption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 14-24.
    14. Wu, Paul C.S. & Yeh, Gary Yeong-Yuh & Hsiao, Chieh-Ru, 2011. "The effect of store image and service quality on brand image and purchase intention for private label brands," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 30-39.
    15. Eugene W. Anderson & Claes Fornell & Roland T. Rust, 1997. "Customer Satisfaction, Productivity, and Profitability: Differences Between Goods and Services," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 129-145.
    16. Nisreen Ameen & Ali Tarhini & Alexander Reppel & Amitabh Anand, 2021. "Customer experiences in the age of artificial intelligence," Post-Print halshs-03045430, HAL.
    17. Bearden, William O & Hardesty, David M & Rose, Randall L, 2001. "Consumer Self-Confidence: Refinements in Conceptualization and Measurement," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 28(1), pages 121-134, June.
    18. Philippe Aurier & Gilles Séré de Lanauze, 2011. "Impacts of in‐store manufacturer brand expression on perceived value, relationship quality and attitudinal loyalty," Post-Print hal-02133762, HAL.
    19. Campbell, Margaret C & Keller, Kevin Lane, 2003. "Brand Familiarity and Advertising Repetition Effects," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(2), pages 292-304, September.
    20. Yaping Chang & You Li & Jun Yan & V. Kumar, 2019. "Getting more likes: the impact of narrative person and brand image on customer–brand interactions," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1027-1045, November.
    21. Sung, Eunyoung (Christine) & Bae, Sujin & Han, Dai-In Danny & Kwon, Ohbyung, 2021. "Consumer engagement via interactive artificial intelligence and mixed reality," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    22. Oriol Iglesias & Stefan Markovic & Jatinder Jit Singh & Vicenta Sierra, 2019. "Do Customer Perceptions of Corporate Services Brand Ethicality Improve Brand Equity? Considering the Roles of Brand Heritage, Brand Image, and Recognition Benefits," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 441-459, January.
    23. Ho, Mia Hsiao-Wen & Chung, Henry F.L., 2020. "Customer engagement, customer equity and repurchase intention in mobile apps," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 13-21.
    24. Fetscherin, Marc & Heinrich, Daniel, 2015. "Consumer brand relationships research: A bibliometric citation meta-analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 380-390.
    25. Robinson, Stacey & Orsingher, Chiara & Alkire, Linda & De Keyser, Arne & Giebelhausen, Michael & Papamichail, K. Nadia & Shams, Poja & Temerak, Mohamed Sobhy, 2020. "Frontline encounters of the AI kind: An evolved service encounter framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 366-376.
    26. Kim, Woohyoung & Kim, Hyun & Hwang, Jinsoo, 2020. "Sustainable growth for the self-employed in the retail industry based on customer equity, customer satisfaction, and loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    27. Thomas Davenport & Abhijit Guha & Dhruv Grewal & Timna Bressgott, 2020. "How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 24-42, January.
    28. Yuan, Chun Lin & Moon, Hakil & Kim, Kyung Hoon & Wang, Shuman, 2021. "The influence of parasocial relationship in fashion web on customer equity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 610-617.
    29. Kim, Kyung Hoon & Jeon, Byung Joo & Jung, Hong Seob & Lu, Wei & Jones, Joseph, 2011. "Effective employment brand equity through sustainable competitive advantage, marketing strategy, and corporate image," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(11), pages 1207-1211.
    30. Xu, Yingzi & Shieh, Chih-Hui & van Esch, Patrick & Ling, I-Ling, 2020. "AI customer service: Task complexity, problem-solving ability, and usage intention," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 189-199.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuan, Chunlin & Zhang, Chenlei & Wang, Shuman, 2022. "Social anxiety as a moderator in consumer willingness to accept AI assistants based on utilitarian and hedonic values," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    2. Baabdullah, Abdullah M. & Alalwan, Ali Abdallah & Algharabat, Raed S. & Metri, Bhimaraya & Rana, Nripendra P., 2022. "Virtual agents and flow experience: An empirical examination of AI-powered chatbots," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    3. Li, Chia-Ying & Zhang, Jin-Ting, 2023. "Chatbots or me? Consumers’ switching between human agents and conversational agents," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Alabed, Amani & Javornik, Ana & Gregory-Smith, Diana, 2022. "AI anthropomorphism and its effect on users' self-congruence and self–AI integration: A theoretical framework and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    5. Kull, Alexander J. & Romero, Marisabel & Monahan, Lisa, 2021. "How may I help you? Driving brand engagement through the warmth of an initial chatbot message," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 840-850.
    6. Gunjan Malhotra & Vimi Jham & Nidhi Sehgal, 2022. "Does Psychological Ownership Matter? Investigating Consumer Green Brand Relationships through the Lens of Anthropomorphism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Eliza Nichifor & Adrian Trifan & Elena Mihaela Nechifor, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence in Electronic Commerce: Basic Chatbots and Consumer Journey," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(56), pages 1-87, February.
    8. Zhang, Yaqiong & Wang, Shifu, 2023. "The influence of anthropomorphic appearance of artificial intelligence products on consumer behavior and brand evaluation under different product types," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Chen Yang & Jing Hu, 2022. "When do consumers prefer AI-enabled customer service? The interaction effect of brand personality and service provision type on brand attitudes and purchase intentions," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(2), pages 167-189, March.
    10. Rahman, Muhammad Sabbir & Bag, Surajit & Hossain, Md Afnan & Abdel Fattah, Fadi Abdel Muniem & Gani, Mohammad Osman & Rana, Nripendra P., 2023. "The new wave of AI-powered luxury brands online shopping experience: The role of digital multisensory cues and customers’ engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Maduku, Daniel K. & Mpinganjira, Mercy & Rana, Nripendra P. & Thusi, Philile & Ledikwe, Aobakwe & Mkhize, Njabulo Happy-boy, 2023. "Assessing customer passion, commitment, and word-of-mouth intentions in digital assistant usage: The moderating role of technology anxiety," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    12. Huang, Yu-Shan (Sandy) & Dootson, Paula, 2022. "Chatbots and service failure: When does it lead to customer aggression," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    13. Maria Vernuccio & Michela Patrizi & Maja Šerić & Alberto Pastore, 2023. "The perceptual antecedents of brand anthropomorphism in the name-brand voice assistant context," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 302-317, July.
    14. Erik Hermann, 2022. "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Marketing for Social Good—An Ethical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 43-61, August.
    15. Yuanyuan Zhou & Zhuoying Fei & Yuanqiong He & Zhilin Yang, 2022. "How Human–Chatbot Interaction Impairs Charitable Giving: The Role of Moral Judgment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 849-865, July.
    16. Blut, Markus & Chowdhry, Nivriti & Mittal, Vikas & Brock, Christian, 2015. "E-Service Quality: A Meta-Analytic Review," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(4), pages 679-700.
    17. Zhang, Chu-Bing & Zhang, Zhuo-Ping & Chang, Ying & Li, Tian-Ge & Hou, Ru-Jing, 2022. "Effect of WeChat interaction on brand evaluation: A moderated mediation model of para-social interaction and affiliative tendency," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Silvia Biraghi & Rossella Chiara Gambetti & Angela Antonia Beccanulli, 2020. "Achieving cultural relevance in technomediated platforms: instant cultural branding and controversial clicktivism," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2020(2), pages 163-187, September.
    19. Anwar Sadat Shimul, 2022. "Brand attachment: a review and future research," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(4), pages 400-419, July.
    20. Zhu, Yimin & Zhang, Jiemin & Wu, Jifei & Liu, Yingyue, 2022. "AI is better when I'm sure: The influence of certainty of needs on consumers' acceptance of AI chatbots," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 642-652.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:jobman:v:30:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41262-022-00292-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.