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Trust and Social Presence as Mediators in the Acceptance of Ai-based Chatbots among Millennials: Evidence from the Service Industry


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1 School of Management Studies and Research, KLE Technological University, Hubblli, Karnataka, India

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Chatbots are an innovative way for businesses to satisfy the requirements of millennial consumers. Chatbots are substituting human beings in several domains varying from education to manufacturing. The primary intention of the study was to know if the three identified antecedents namely Anthropomorphic cues, social presence, and empathy have a bearing on consumer acceptance of chatbots through trust and perceived interactivity in the realm of the service sector. We apply the theoretical framework stimulus organism response theory to test our hypotheses. A questionnaire was used to collect 400 responses from millennials, which were then examined by adopting structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The key outcomes indicate that social presence and trust mediated the relation between the three antecedents namely; anthropomorphic cues, perceived interactivity, responsiveness and the dependent variable, acceptance of chatbots among the users in the service industry. This study beefs up the Human-Computer literature by focusing on new interactive technology known as chatbots from the social lens. Unlike previous research studies that looked at AI-enabled chatbots in automated customer care situations solely from a technological standpoint, this research draws upon social and human perspectives by employing Stimulus-Organism-Response approach. The empirical research demonstrates the pivotal character of social presence and trust in chatbot adoption.

Keywords

Family-owned business, restaurants, firm performance.
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  • Trust and Social Presence as Mediators in the Acceptance of Ai-based Chatbots among Millennials: Evidence from the Service Industry

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Authors

Shashidhar Mahantshetti
School of Management Studies and Research, KLE Technological University, Hubblli, Karnataka, India
Ansumalini Panda
School of Management Studies and Research, KLE Technological University, Hubblli, Karnataka, India
G. S. Hiremath
School of Management Studies and Research, KLE Technological University, Hubblli, Karnataka, India

Abstract


Chatbots are an innovative way for businesses to satisfy the requirements of millennial consumers. Chatbots are substituting human beings in several domains varying from education to manufacturing. The primary intention of the study was to know if the three identified antecedents namely Anthropomorphic cues, social presence, and empathy have a bearing on consumer acceptance of chatbots through trust and perceived interactivity in the realm of the service sector. We apply the theoretical framework stimulus organism response theory to test our hypotheses. A questionnaire was used to collect 400 responses from millennials, which were then examined by adopting structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The key outcomes indicate that social presence and trust mediated the relation between the three antecedents namely; anthropomorphic cues, perceived interactivity, responsiveness and the dependent variable, acceptance of chatbots among the users in the service industry. This study beefs up the Human-Computer literature by focusing on new interactive technology known as chatbots from the social lens. Unlike previous research studies that looked at AI-enabled chatbots in automated customer care situations solely from a technological standpoint, this research draws upon social and human perspectives by employing Stimulus-Organism-Response approach. The empirical research demonstrates the pivotal character of social presence and trust in chatbot adoption.

Keywords


Family-owned business, restaurants, firm performance.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18311/jmmf%2F2023%2F34500