Touch versus Tech: When Technology Functions as a Barrier or a Benefit to Service Encounters

Giebelhausen, Michael; Robinson, Stacey G.; Sirianni, Nancy J.; Brady, Michael K.

doi:10.1509/jm.13.0056

Cited by 222 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(73 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

118

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Three items (uncomfortable, bothered, and self‐critical) adapted from Elliot and Devine () measured psychological discomfort (α = 0.84) on 7‐point Likert‐type scales. Consistent with past research by Giebelhausen and colleagues (), filler items for positive and negative affect, including good, happy, optimistic, disappointed, annoyed, and guilty (Spangenberg, Sprott, Grohmann, & Smith, ) masked the three psychological discomfort items. Past research suggests that variations in trait self‐esteem may affect consumers’ responses to a self‐threat (Brown & Dutton, ; Park & Maner, ; Taylor & Stanton, ), so a five‐item abbreviated version of Rosenberg's () scale captured trait self‐esteem on 7‐point Likert‐type scales (α = 0.74): “I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others,” “I feel that I have a number of good qualities,” “All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure” (reverse coded), “I take a positive attitude toward myself,” and “I certainly feel useless at times” (reverse coded).…”

Section: Studysupporting

confidence: 82%

Do you want to talk about it? When word of mouth alleviates the psychological discomfort of self‐threat

Thomas

Saenger

Bock

2017

Psychology and Marketing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When consumers experience a self-threat due to receiving negative information that calls the positivity of their self-concept into question, psychological discomfort ensues, motivating consumers to seek a resolution. This research examines how consumers use word of mouth to overcome this discomfort and cope with a self-threat. The psychological discomfort associated with a self-threat generally influences consumers to refrain from spreading word of mouth in order to avoid the potential for further negative evaluations. However, a self-threat can encourage the spread of word of mouth if consumers perceive a brand as possessing attributes positively associated with the threatened aspect of the self, signaling sufficiency in the threat domain. Furthermore, this research demonstrates that spreading word of mouth about a brand that signals sufficiency in the threat domain is an effective coping tactic that alleviates the psychological discomfort caused by the self-threat. Overall, the present research deepens the current understanding of the relationships among self-threat, symbolic brands, and word of mouth by revealing that a brand's symbolic associations shape the effect of the self-threat on word of mouth.

show abstract

Section: Studysupporting

confidence: 82%

Do you want to talk about it? When word of mouth alleviates the psychological discomfort of self‐threat

Thomas

Saenger

Bock

2017

Psychology and Marketing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…New technologies often alter customer behavior (e.g., Giebelhausen et al 2014;Groom et al 2011;Hoffman and Novak 2018;Moon 2003), and we expect that AI will do so as well. We propose three research topics, related to AI adoption, AI usage, and post-adoption issues.…”

Section: Ai and Customer Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing

Davenport

Guha

Grewal

et al. 2019

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

1,043

645

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the future, artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to substantially change both marketing strategies and customer behaviors. Building from not only extant research but also extensive interactions with practice, the authors propose a multidimensional framework for understanding the impact of AI involving intelligence levels, task types, and whether AI is embedded in a robot. Prior research typically addresses a subset of these dimensions; this paper integrates all three into a single framework. Next, the authors propose a research agenda that addresses not only how marketing strategies and customer behaviors will change in the future, but also highlights important policy questions relating to privacy, bias and ethics. Finally, the authors suggest AI will be more effective if it augments (rather than replaces) human managers.

show abstract

“…In the low physical/digital, high social environment, service researchers are studying interactions between customers and frontline service employees that incorporate some use of digital technology, such as tablets or kiosks. For example, when an employee attempts to establish rapport with the customer, technology can forestall a customer's response to the employee's rapport buildingthereby decreasing the customer's holistic evaluation of the service encounter (Giebelhausen et al, 2014). In contrast, when an employee does not attempt to establish rapport, technology can serve as an alternative way for a customer to navigate the service encounterthereby increasing the customer's holistic evaluation of the service encounter.…”

Section: Substitution Of Digital and Social Resources For Physical Rementioning

confidence: 99%

Customer experience challenges: bringing together digital, physical and social realms

Bolton

McColl‐Kennedy

Cheung

et al. 2018

JOSM

558

358

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to explore innovations in customer experience at the intersection of the digital, physical and social realms. It explicitly considers experiences involving new technology-enabled services, such as digital twins and automated social presence (i.e. virtual assistants and service robots). Design/methodology/approach-Future customer experiences are conceptualized within a three-dimensional spacelow to high digital density, low to high physical complexity and low to high social presenceyielding eight octants. Findings-The conceptual framework identifies eight "dualities," or specific challenges connected with integrating digital, physical and social realms that challenge organizations to create superior customer experiences in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. The eight dualities are opposing strategic options that organizations must reconcile when co-creating customer experiences under different conditions. Research limitations/implications-A review of theory demonstrates that little research has been conducted at the intersection of the digital, physical and social realms. Most studies focus on one realm, with occasional reference to another. This paper suggests an agenda for future research and gives examples of fruitful ways to study connections among the three realms rather than in a single realm. Practical implications-This paper provides guidance for managers in designing and managing customer experiences that the authors believe will need to be addressed by the year 2050. Social implications-This paper discusses important societal issues, such as individual and societal needs for privacy, security and transparency. It sets out potential avenues for service innovation in these areas. Originality/value-The conceptual framework integrates knowledge about customer experiences in digital, physical and social realms in a new way, with insights for future service research, managers and public policy makers.

show abstract

Touch versus Tech: When Technology Functions as a Barrier or a Benefit to Service Encounters

Cited by 222 publications

References 53 publications

Do you want to talk about it? When word of mouth alleviates the psychological discomfort of self‐threat

Do you want to talk about it? When word of mouth alleviates the psychological discomfort of self‐threat

How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing

Customer experience challenges: bringing together digital, physical and social realms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About