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Social- or task-oriented: how does social crowding shape consumers' preferences for chatbot conversational styles?

Jiaji Zhu (School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China) (Zhengzhou Business University, Gongyi, Henan, China) (Service Science and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China) (Yibin Research Institute, Southwest Jiaotong University, Yibin, China)
Yushi Jiang (School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China) (Service Science and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China) (Yibin Research Institute, Southwest Jiaotong University, Yibin, China)
Xiaoxuan Wang (School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China) (Yibin Research Institute, Southwest Jiaotong University, Yibin, China)
Suying Huang (School of Economics and Management, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China) (Yibin Research Institute, Southwest Jiaotong University, Yibin, China)

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing

ISSN: 2040-7122

Article publication date: 30 August 2023

Issue publication date: 20 October 2023

861

Abstract

Purpose

Driven by artificial intelligence technology, chatbots have begun to play an important customer service role in the online retail environment. This study aims to explore how conversational styles improve the interaction experience between consumers and chatbots in different social crowding environments, and the moderating role of product categories is considered.

Design/methodology/approach

Three studies are conducted to understand the influences of conversational styles, social crowding and product categories on consumer acceptance, assessed using situational experiments and questions.

Findings

In a low social crowding environment, consumers prefer chatbots with a social-oriented (vs. task-oriented) conversational style, while in a high social crowding environment, consumers prefer a task-oriented (vs. social-oriented) conversational style, and warmth and competence mediate these effects. The moderating effect of product categories is supported.

Originality/value

This study expands the application of the stereotype content model to improve the interaction experience level between consumers and chatbots in online retail. The findings can provide managerial suggestions for retailers to select a chatbot's conversational style and promote a more continuous interaction between consumers and chatbots.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the editor and reviewers for insightful comments that significantly improved the paper.

Funding: This research was supported by the two funds: (1) Humanities and Social Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (no. 21YJA6,3003) and (2) National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 7,2172,129).

Disclosure statement: The authors report no potential conflicts of interest in this study.

Citation

Zhu, J., Jiang, Y., Wang, X. and Huang, S. (2023), "Social- or task-oriented: how does social crowding shape consumers' preferences for chatbot conversational styles?", Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 17 No. 5, pp. 641-662. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-01-2022-0007

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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