IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v72y2023ics0969698923000115.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Chatbots or me? Consumers’ switching between human agents and conversational agents

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Chia-Ying
  • Zhang, Jin-Ting

Abstract

With the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in organizational frontlines, customers' service experiences have begun to shift from interactions with service personnel to those with technology. However, only a few studies have explored customers' behavioral switch from human-mediated services to technology-mediated ones with regard to the application of AI in frontline services. Based on the push–pull mooring framework, this study explored the determinants that affect consumers’ behavioral switch from using human agents to using AI-based conversational agents. Data collected from 441 users of banking services were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that both push effects—namely, low empathy and low adaptability—and pull effects, including anytime/anywhere connectivity, association, visibility, and personalization, have positive influences on switching behavior. Finally, in addition to having a direct influence on switching behavior, frequency of service use positively moderated the relationship between pull effects and switching behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:72:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923000115
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103264
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698923000115
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103264?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. Waseem Bahadur & Saira Aziz & Salman Zulfiqar, 2018. "Effect of employee empathy on customer satisfaction and loyalty during employee–customer interactions: The mediating role of customer affective commitment and perceived service quality," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1491780-149, January.
    2. Everett Lee, 1966. "A theory of migration," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 3(1), pages 47-57, March.
    3. Frasquet, Marta & Miquel-Romero, Maria-Jose, 2021. "Competitive (versus loyal) showrooming: An application of the push-pull-mooring framework," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Bock, Dora E. & Mangus, Stephanie M. & Folse, Judith Anne Garretson, 2016. "The road to customer loyalty paved with service customization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 3923-3932.
    6. Dong, Xueyan & Wang, Tienan, 2018. "Social tie formation in Chinese online social commerce: The role of IT affordances," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 49-64.
    7. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Canhoto, Ana Isabel & Clear, Fintan, 2020. "Artificial intelligence and machine learning as business tools: A framework for diagnosing value destruction potential," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 183-193.
    9. Nguyen, Anh Thi Van & McClelland, Robert & Thuan, Nguyen Hoang, 2022. "Exploring customer experience during channel switching in omnichannel retailing context: A qualitative assessment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Poushneh, Atieh, 2021. "Humanizing voice assistant: The impact of voice assistant personality on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    11. Pan, Jing Yu & Truong, Dothang, 2018. "Passengers’ intentions to use low-cost carriers: An extended theory of planned behavior model," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 38-48.
    12. Amanda Beatson & Nick Lee & Leonard V. Coote, 2007. "Self-Service Technology and the Service Encounter," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 75-89, January.
    13. Paul M. Leonardi, 2014. "Social Media, Knowledge Sharing, and Innovation: Toward a Theory of Communication Visibility," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 796-816, December.
    14. Hussain, Shahid & Seet, Pi-Shen & Ryan, Maria & Iranmanesh, Mohammad & Cripps, Helen & Salam, Abdul, 2022. "Determinants of switching intention in the electricity markets - An integrated structural model approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    15. Sun, Yuan & Fang, Shuyue & Zhang, Zuopeng (Justin), 2021. "Impression management strategies on enterprise social media platforms: An affordance perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    16. Campbell, Colin & Sands, Sean & Ferraro, Carla & Tsao, Hsiu-Yuan (Jody) & Mavrommatis, Alexis, 2020. "From data to action: How marketers can leverage AI," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 227-243.
    17. Singh, Reema & Rosengren, Sara, 2020. "Why do online grocery shoppers switch? An empirical investigation of drivers of switching in online grocery," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    18. Chung, Minjee & Ko, Eunju & Joung, Heerim & Kim, Sang Jin, 2020. "Chatbot e-service and customer satisfaction regarding luxury brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 587-595.
    19. Daniel Belanche & Luis V. Casaló & Carlos Flavián, 2021. "Frontline robots in tourism and hospitality: service enhancement or cost reduction?," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(3), pages 477-492, September.
    20. 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.
    21. Aswin Sangpikul, 2022. "Obtaining An In-Depth Understanding Of The Assurance Dimension Of Servqual In The Spa Industry: A Case Of Spas In Bangkok," Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, vol. 28(2), pages 381-396, August.
    22. Leung, Chi Hong & Yan Chan, Winslet Ting, 2020. "Retail chatbots: The challenges and opportunities of conversational commerce," Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, Henry Stewart Publications, vol. 8(1), pages 68-84, June.
    23. Tang, Zhenya & Chen, Leida, 2020. "An empirical study of brand microblog users’ unfollowing motivations: The perspective of push-pull-mooring model," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    24. Manuel Becerra & Anil K. Gupta, 2003. "Perceived Trustworthiness Within the Organization: The Moderating Impact of Communication Frequency on Trustor and Trustee Effects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 32-44, February.
    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. 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.
    27. Campo, Katia & Breugelmans, Els, 2015. "Buying Groceries in Brick and Click Stores: Category Allocation Decisions and the Moderating Effect of Online Buying Experience," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 63-78.
    28. Sean Valentine & Gary Fleischman & Lynn Godkin, 2018. "Villains, Victims, and Verisimilitudes: An Exploratory Study of Unethical Corporate Values, Bullying Experiences, Psychopathy, and Selling Professionals’ Ethical Reasoning," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 135-154, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Markovitch, Dmitri G. & Stough, Rusty A. & Huang, Dongling, 2024. "Consumer reactions to chatbot versus human service: An investigation in the role of outcome valence and perceived empathy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Nitin Upadhyay & Aakash Kamble, 2024. "Why can’t we help but love mobile banking chatbots? Perspective of stimulus-organism-response," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 855-872, September.
    3. Chakraborty, Debarun & Polisetty, Aruna & G, Sowmya & Rana, Nripendra P. & Khorana, Sangeeta, 2024. "Unlocking the potential of AI: Enhancing consumer engagement in the beauty and cosmetic product purchases," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    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. Lee, Kuo-Wei & Li, Chia-Ying, 2023. "It is not merely a chat: Transforming chatbot affordances into dual identification and loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Li, Chia-Ying & Fang, Yu-Hui & Chiang, Yu-Hung, 2023. "Can AI chatbots help retain customers? An integrative perspective using affordance theory and service-domain logic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Chenyu Gu & Yu Zhang & Linhao Zeng, 2024. "Exploring the mechanism of sustained consumer trust in AI chatbots after service failures: a perspective based on attribution and CASA theories," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Justina Sidlauskiene & Yannick Joye & Vilte Auruskeviciene, 2023. "AI-based chatbots in conversational commerce and their effects on product and price perceptions," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Mariani, Marcello M. & Hashemi, Novin & Wirtz, Jochen, 2023. "Artificial intelligence empowered conversational agents: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. 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.
    9. 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).
    10. Blömker, Jan & Albrecht, Carmen-Maria, 2024. "Psychographic segmentation of multichannel customers: investigating the influence of individual differences on channel choice and switching behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    11. Rizomyliotis, Ioannis & Kastanakis, Minas N. & Giovanis, Apostolos & Konstantoulaki, Kleopatra & Kostopoulos, Ioannis, 2022. "“How mAy I help you today?” The use of AI chatbots in small family businesses and the moderating role of customer affective commitment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 329-340.
    12. Li, Meichan & Wang, Rui, 2023. "Chatbots in e-commerce: The effect of chatbot language style on customers’ continuance usage intention and attitude toward brand," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Ayat Sami ODEIBAT, 2021. "The Effect Of Technology Evolution On The Future Of Jobs," Network Intelligence Studies, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 17, pages 57-67, June.
    14. Min Qin & Wei Zhu & Shiyue Zhao & Yu Zhao, 2022. "Is Artificial Intelligence Better than Manpower? The Effects of Different Types of Online Customer Services on Customer Purchase Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    15. Oliveira, Guilherme Gouvea de & Lizarelli, Fabiane Letícia & Teixeira, Jorge Grenha & Mendes, Glauco Henrique de Sousa, 2023. "Curb your enthusiasm: Examining the customer experience with Alexa and its marketing outcomes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. 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.
    17. Darima Fotheringham & Michael A. Wiles, 2023. "The effect of implementing chatbot customer service on stock returns: an event study analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 802-822, July.
    18. 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).
    19. Tao Zhang & Chao Feng & Hui Chen & Junjie Xian, 2022. "Calming the customers by AI: Investigating the role of chatbot acting-cute strategies in soothing negative customer emotions," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 2277-2292, December.
    20. Hasan Al-Banna & Izra Berakon, 2024. "From bank to P2P lending: switching intention of SME’s: evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(2), pages 568-581, June.

    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:eee:joreco:v:72:y:2023:i:c:s0969698923000115. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    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.