Duan, Xingyu

Jiang, Yi

Yang, Xiangcheng

Zhang, Kang

Zheng, Tianqi

English

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Association for Information Systems AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) WHICEB 2023 Proceedings Wuhan International Conference on e-Business Summer 5-28-2023 How chatbots’ anthropomorphism affects user satisfaction: The mediating role of perceived warmth and competence Tianqi Zheng China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan HB 430078, CN Xingyu Duan China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan HB 430078, CN Kang Zhang China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan HB 430078, CN Xiangcheng Yang China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan HB 430078, CN Yi Jiang China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan HB 430078, CN, wuhanjoey@163.com Follow this and additional works at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/whiceb2023 Recommended Citation Zheng, Tianqi; Duan, Xingyu; Zhang, Kang; Yang, Xiangcheng; and Jiang, Yi, "How chatbots’ anthropomorphism affects user satisfaction: The mediating role of perceived warmth and competence" (2023). WHICEB 2023 Proceedings . 51. https://aisel.aisnet.org/whiceb2023/51 This material is brought to you by the Wuhan International Conference on e-Business at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in WHICEB 2023 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@aisnet.org. How chatbots’ anthropomorphism affects user satisfaction: The mediatingrole of perceived warmth and competenceTianqi Zheng1, Xingyu Duan1, Kang Zhang1, Xiangcheng Yang1 and Yi Jiang11 China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan HB 430078, CNwuhanjoey@163.com (Yi Jiang,corresponding author)1. INTRODUCTIONAND RESEARCH QUESTIONSChatbots are widely employed in various areas as an important product of artificial intelligence technology becausethey can simulate human conversations and satisfy business demands in various circumstances. However, users do notalways appear to be satisfied with chatbot anthropomorphism. Although previous studies have already discussed thatanthropomorphism has a positive impact on behavioral outcomes such as user satisfaction and persistent use intentions, thereare still a few studies that suggest otherwise. Existing research results have not been able to determine the boundaries oftechnology use and how to provide personalized services to meet user needs. At the same time, users no longer accept aone-size-fits-all service model. Chatbots should dynamically adjust their technical strength to suit the needs of specificindividuals for specific tasks, exhibiting tailored responses and services to enhance user perceptions and outcomes.This study proposes a dual pathway by which anthropomorphism of chatbots affects user satisfaction from a theoreticalperspective of task technology fit, and explores the key boundary conditions of individual characteristics and taskcharacteristics in shaping user satisfaction. Our research questions are as follows: (1) How the anthropomorphism ofchatbots shapes user satisfaction? (2) How does the path from anthropomorphism to user satisfaction for chatbots changewhen dealing with different users in different tasks?2. THEORYAND RESEARCH FRAMEWORKThe research framework of this paper is shown in Figure 1.Figure 1. Research frameworkA questionnaire study involving 615 participants and a between-groups experimental design in an e-commerce contexthave been investigated to answer the research questions.3. RESULTSAND MAJOR FINDINGSThis study observed some valuable and interesting findings: (1) Perceived competence and perceived warmth play afully mediating role in the relationship between anthropomorphism and user satisfaction. (2) Only social phobia positivelymoderates the relationship between anthropomorphism and perceived warmth. (3) When users employ a chatbot to perform acreative task, anthropomorphism is more likely to boost their perceptions of chatbot capabilities.4. CONTRIBUTIONSOur research provides an integrated perspective to analyze users’ perceptions of how well anthropomorphic matchestheir task needs in terms of both warmth and competence. Moreover, we propose an interaction among social personality,task creativity and technical features based on the task technology fit theory to provide a reference for future research on theapplication of task technology fit models in the context of artificial intelligence. From a management perspective, serviceproviders should focus their design on the two goals of improving the competence and warmth of chatbots, and useanthropomorphism properly to stimulate users to be infected by the intelligence and warmth of chatbots. Meanwhile,developers can mine information about the user’s behavior to determine the user’s social phobia level, allowing them totarget specific marketing to people with different personalities. In addition, we suggest that marketers concentrate onactivities that are more suited to their abilities and leave to AI those on which they underperform.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThis research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 71702176.REFERENCES1. Puntoni, S., Reczek, R. W., Giesler, M., and Botti, S. 2021. "Consumers and Artificial Intelligence: An ExperientialPerspective," Journal of Marketing (85:1), pp. 131-151.2. Shawar, B. A., and Atwell, E. S. 2005. "Using Corpora in Machine-Learning Chatbot Systems," International journal ofcorpus linguistics (10:4), pp. 489-516.3. Anderson, E. W., and Sullivan, M. W. 1993. "The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction for Firms,"Marketing Science (12:2), pp. 125-143.4. Murtarelli, G., Gregory, A., and Romenti, S. 2021. "A Conversation-Based Perspective for Shaping EthicalHuman-Machine Interactions: The Particular Challenge of Chatbots," Journal of Business Research (129), pp. 927-935.5. Goodhue, D. L. 1998. "Development and Measurement Validity of a Task ‐ Technology Fit Instrument for UserEvaluations of Information System," Decision sciences (29:1), pp. 105-138.6. Li, X. G., and Sung, Y. J. 2021. "Anthropomorphism Brings Us Closer: The Mediating Role of Psychological Distancein User-Ai Assistant Interactions," Computers in Human Behavior(118).7. Westerman, D., Cross, A. C., and Lindmark, P. G. 2019. "I Believe in a Thing Called Bot: Perceptions of theHumanness of “Chatbots”," Communication Studies (70:3), pp. 295-312.8. Li Y, Zhao P, and Jiang Y. 2014. " A literature review of information System user satisfaction: A case study of Erpsystem," Technological economy (33:3), pp. 119-131(in Chinese).9. Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., and Glick, P. 2007. "Universal Dimensions of Social Cognition: Warmth and Competence,"Trends in cognitive sciences (11:2), pp. 77-83.10. Aaker, J., Vohs, K. D., and Mogilner, C. 2010. "Nonprofits Are Seen as Warm and for-Profits as Competent: FirmStereotypes Matter," Journal of Consumer Research (37:2), pp. 224-237.11. Glikson, E., and Woolley, A. W. 2020. "Human Trust in Artificial Intelligence: Review of Empirical Research,"Academy of Management Annals (14:2), pp. 627-660.12. Aburoomi, R. J., and Malak, M. Z. 2021. "Evaluation of Social Phobia among Syrian Refugees’ Youth in Jordan,"Psychiatric Quarterly (92:3), pp. 1175-1185.13. Mimoun, M. S. B., Poncin, I., and Garnier, M. 2017. "Animated Conversational Agents and E-Consumer Productivity:The Roles of Agents and Individual Characteristics," Information & Management (54:5), pp. 545-559.14. Barron, F. 1955. "The Disposition toward Originality," The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology (51:3), p. 478.15. Edmonds, E., and Candy, L. 2002. 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How chatbots’ anthropomorphism affects user satisfaction: The mediating role of perceived warmth and competence

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How chatbots’ anthropomorphism affects user satisfaction: The mediating role of perceived warmth and competence

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