Find a flight for me, Oscar! Motivational customer experiences with chatbots.

Purpose. Drawing on the self-determination theory, the assemblage theory, and customer experience literature, we aim to develop a framework to understand motivational customer experiences with chatbots. Design/methodology/approach. We employ a multimethod approach to examine the interaction between individuals and airlines’ chatbots. Three components of self-determined interaction with the chatbot (competence, autonomy, and relatedness) and five components of the customer–chatbot experience (sensory, intellectual, affective, behavioral, and social) are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings. The findings confirm the direct influence of self-determined interaction on customer experience and the direct effects of these two constructs on participants’ attitudes toward and satisfaction with the chatbot. The model also supports the mediating roles of customer experience and attitude toward the chatbot. Practical Implications. We offer managers a broad understanding of individuals’ interactions with chatbots through three elements: motivation to use chatbots, experiential responses, and individuals’ valuation of whether the interactions have amplified (or limited) the outcomes obtained from the experience. Originality/value. We contribute to the hospitality and tourism literature with a hybrid approach that reflects on current theoretical developments regarding human- and interaction-centric interpretations of customer experience with chatbots.This research was funded by the (a) Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación de la Junta de Andalucía, Grupo SEJ-567; (b) the Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia (Spain); and (c) the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant number PID2020-113561RB-I00

Exploring the antecedents of customers’ willingness to use service robots in restaurants.

This study examines the willingness of customers to accept, and their intention to recommend, the services provided by service robots in restaurants. A mixed-methods research approach was taken to evaluate a theoretical model based on behavioural reasoning theory (BRT). The results demonstrated the important influence of positive attitudes and objections to the use of service robots on consumers’ willingness to use service robots, as well as their intention to recommend restaurants that use them. Among the main aspects that affect attitudes and objections, we found hedonic perceptions, perceived safety, interaction quality perception and anthropomorphism.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA. This research was supported by the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (PAIDI) of the Andalusian Government (Grant: Research Group SEJ-567) (Spain)

The effects of human-game interaction, network externalities, and motivations on players’ use of mobile casual games.

Purpose - This paper empirically examines the factors that influence the acceptance and use of mobile casual games. Methodology - A theoretical model is proposed based on the theory of reasonable action, the uses and gratifications theory, the network externalities paradigm and the human-computer interaction literature. An empirical study was conducted through an online survey of mobile casual gamers in Spain, using a convenience sample. The proposed model was tested by an analysis of the collected data through a structural equation model using the partial least squares (PLS) method. Findings - The results indicate that human-mobile game interaction and network externalities have a significant indirect impact on intention to play, through utilitarian, hedonic and relational motivations. In addition, the full mediation effect of attitude was found between these constructs and intention to play, which is a very important determinant of actual use. Originality/value - This study is among the few that focuses on users’ acceptance of mobile games apps, the features of which differ significantly from personal computer and console games. It highlights the effects of human-game interaction and network externalities on the adoption of mobile casual games. Hence, the study contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of the factors that lead users to adopt an entertainment mobile application.This work was supported by the Andalusia Regional Government [Excellence Research Project P12-SEJ-1980]; and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [Project ECO2012-39576]

Analyzing the effect of social support and community factors on customer engagement and its impact on loyalty behaviors toward social commerce websites.

While research into customer engagement receives much attention, few studies have examined why consumers engage in social commerce and the resulting consequences for companies. This study explores the influence of social support and community factors on customer engagement and the subsequent effects on customer loyalty toward social commerce websites. We propose a model to investigate the differences between the influence of social support and three community factors (community drivenness, community identification and community trust) on customer engagement, and the impact of customer engagement on four customer loyalty dimensions, one transactional (repurchase intention) and three non-transactional (willingness to co-create, stickiness intention and positive eWOM intention). We conducted a survey and collected data from 437 users of Facebook social commerce websites. The findings show that customer engagement is a key predictor of the four dimensions of customer loyalty toward social commerce websites. In addition, the results indicate that social support and two community factors significantly affect customer engagement. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications.This work was supported by the Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (convocatoria 2017), Grupo SEJ-567 (Spain)

Influencia de las prácticas de responsabilidad social corporativa en la actitud del consumidor: análisis comparado de Mercadona, Carrefour y Eroski

La implantación de prácticas de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) en las empresas es un tema relevante en los últimos años. Entre las cuestiones analizadas destaca la importancia de correlacionar la RSC con el comportamiento de los clientes por la influencia que puede tener en los beneficios de las empresas. Si bien diferentes investigaciones han estudiado esta relación previamente, son pocos los trabajos que han tratado la influencia de la RSC percibida en la actitud del consumidor en el sector de la distribución comercial minorista de España y menos aún en un contexto de crisis económica. En esta investigación se analiza la relación entre la RSC percibida y la actitud del consumidor de los tres grupos empresariales del sector minorista con mayor facturación en España: la empresa familiar Mercadona y las enseñas Carrefour y Eroski. Los resultados corroboran que las acciones de RSC influyen de manera directa y positiva en la actitud del consumidor, por lo que la investigación contribuye a consolidar el conocimiento de la relación entre estas dos variables y orienta a los gestores hacia la implantación de políticas de RSC para mejorar sus resultados.

Extension and validation of a novel destination brand equity model.

This study develops and tests a novel destination brand equity model and compares its validity with Aaker’s (1991) brand equity model, which is popular in tourism. The data were collected in Indonesia (n = 250) and the United Kingdom (n = 246). The results confirm validity and hierarchical structure of the destination brand equity model. The destination brand equity model has seven dimensions: brand awareness, physical quality, service interaction quality, brand self-congruence, brand identification, destination brand trust, and destination brand loyalty. The first five brand equity dimensions exert positive influences on destination brand trust and destination brand loyalty. The findings show that the psychometric properties of the destination brand equity model outperform Aaker’s (1991) model. The study discusses theoretical and practical implications of the destination brand equity model for destination marketing and management.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by the European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme of Andalucia 2014-2020, in the frame of the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (PAIDI 2020) (Grant: P20_00457), and by the University of Malaga’s Research and Transfer Plan, Andalusia Tech (Spain)

How Chatbot Language Shapes Consumer Perceptions: The Role of Concreteness and Shared Competence

In service settings, chatbots frequently are associated with substandard care, depersonalization, and linguistic misunderstandings. Drawing on assemblage theory (i.e., the examination of how heterogeneous parts, through their ongoing interaction, create an emergent whole with new capacities that the parts themselves do not have), this paper investigates how chatbots’ language concreteness––the specificity of words used during interactions with consumers––can help improve satisfaction, willingness to use the chatbot, and perceived shopping efficiency. Across three experiments, the findings revealed a psychological mechanism driven by concrete chatbot language that makes chatbots seem competent and reinforces consumer self-competence, in turn boosting satisfaction, willingness to use the chatbot, and perceived shopping efficiency. This pattern of results contributes to consumer behavior by providing evidence of the chatbot language concreteness effect on consumer-chatbot interactions. For practitioners, we outline conversational designs that could help optimize implementation of chatbots in customer service

Brand personality: Current insights and future research directions

The aim of this study is to improve the understanding of the scientific contributions made by brand personality (BP) research, to identify its predominant themes and to propose a relevant research agenda. An analysis was undertaken of the 1051 brand personality-related articles published over the period 1987–2022 that are indexed in the Scopus scientific database. A bibliometric approach was adopted to systematically analyse the publications, and a performance analysis and science mapping were undertaken. The results showed that the motor themes of BP research related to its conceptualisation, dimensions and measurement, its impact on consumer-brand relationships and application in tourism destination-focused studies. Emerging BP-focused themes are its applications in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, service robots, storytelling and tourism segments, such as luxury. This study contributes by providing a better understanding of the state-of-the-art research on BP, and by identifying future research directionsThis study was supported by the European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme of Andalusia 2014-2020, through the Andalusian Research, Development and Innovation Plan (Plan Andaluz de Investigaci´on, Desarrollo e Innovación) PAIDI 2020 (Grant: P20_00457), and by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de España) (Grant: FPU20/00235). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

An overview of the scientific production on the application of AI in public transport.

This research aims to provide an overview of the scientific production on the application of AI in public transport, its thematic evolution, and emerging research niches and trends, to serve as a reference for future work by researchers and practitioners. To this end, a bibliometric analysis of all scientific production in the two major international databases, Web of Science and Scopus, was carried out. The present analysis comprises the most extensive study on the application of AI in public transport. The results show that AI applications are more prevalent in private vehicles than in public transport. Hence, future work has major challenges to address in order to delve into thematic niches within each transportation system.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Exploring the impacts of interactions, social presence and emotional engagement on active collaborative learning in a social web-based environment.

Política de acceso abierto tomada de: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/27886 (submitted version)This study examines the influence of social presence, interactions (student-student and teacher-student) and emotional engagement on active learning within the context of social web-based collaborative learning (SWBCL). In order to accomplish this objective, an empirical study was conducted with 416 students from two universities, organized into groups of 4 or 5 students, who were instructed to complete a collaborative project over the course of one semester. At the end of the project, the students filled out a questionnaire and the resulting data was analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results suggest that social presence and teacher-student interaction have a positive influence on students’ active learning, both directly and indirectly, through emotional engagement. This variable also mediates the influence of student-student interactions, which have a less significant impact on active learning than the other analyzed variables. Consequently, this study offers important contributions to the study and practice of active learning in a SWBCL environment.The authors would like to thank all the students who participated in this study. The work presented in this paper was supported by an internal grant at the Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech (Spain), Proyecto de Innovación Educativa [grant number PIE15-92]