How do chatbots influence the firm-consumer relationship?

Principal Investigator: Lindsay McShane, Marketing
Project Title: Chatbot or Live Agent? The Effects of Relational Value Threat on Consumer Receptivity to Chatbots
Funder: SSHRC Explore

Companies are increasingly using chatbots as a way to manage their online customer service interactions with consumers and their incorporation represents a significant cost savings for the company (Adam et al. 2021). Yet, current research indicates that consumers prefer interacting with live agents (Press 2019). The main goal of this research is to address this gap by developing a more clear and systematic understanding of consumers’ responses to chatbots and how these reactions shape their relationship with a company. Emerging research on consumers’ reactions to chatbot examines the issue primarily from the perspective that chatbot receptiveness is shaped by how efficiently consumers can achieve their service encounter goals. Instead, this research examines the potentially critical role of how such encounters influence the extent to which consumers’ feel valued and respected by the firm.