IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v161y2023ics0148296323002217.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

I am attracted to my Cool Smart Assistant! Analyzing Attachment-Aversion in AI-Human Relationships

Author

Listed:
  • Guerreiro, João
  • Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia

Abstract

The conversation between humans and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled intelligent voice assistants (IVA) can create bonds that go beyond a mere utilitarian purpose. The emotional cues in a Human-AI conversation can lead consumers to feel connected with the AI-agents and even consider such a relationship as cool. Although brand coolness is known to affect consumer behavior, little is known about how consumers perceive a close relationship with IVAs and what the drivers of their use or avoidance are. Therefore, the current paper adds to the literature by analyzing how AI-enabled voice assistant experience affects IVA coolness and customer-brand relationships using the attachment-aversion (A-A) theory. A total of 308 consumers showed that affective, behavioral, and intellectual experiences with the intelligent voice assistant affect IVA coolness. IVA coolness was also found to affect A-A relationships positively, influencing consumers’ motivational strength to adopt, maintain and enhance the relationship in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Guerreiro, João & Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia, 2023. "I am attracted to my Cool Smart Assistant! Analyzing Attachment-Aversion in AI-Human Relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:161:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323002217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113863
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296323002217
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113863?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sarstedt, Marko & Ringle, Christian M. & Smith, Donna & Reams, Russell & Hair, Joseph F., 2014. "Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): A useful tool for family business researchers," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 105-115.
    2. McLean, Graeme & Al-Nabhani, Khalid & Wilson, Alan, 2018. "Developing a Mobile Applications Customer Experience Model (MACE)- Implications for Retailers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 325-336.
    3. Yuksel, Atila & Yuksel, Fisun & Bilim, Yasin, 2010. "Destination attachment: Effects on customer satisfaction and cognitive, affective and conative loyalty," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 274-284.
    4. J.J. Brakus & B.H. Schmitt & L. Zarantonello, 2009. "Brand Experience: What Is It? How Do We Measure It? And Does It Affect Loyalty?," Post-Print hal-00799102, HAL.
    5. Im, Subin & Bhat, Subodh & Lee, Yikuan, 2015. "Consumer perceptions of product creativity, coolness, value and attitude," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 166-172.
    6. Blommerde-Winters, Tadhg, 2022. "The roles of NSD performance and standardized service development processes in the performance of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 56-68.
    7. McLean, Graeme & Osei-Frimpong, Kofi & Barhorst, Jennifer, 2021. "Alexa, do voice assistants influence consumer brand engagement? – Examining the role of AI powered voice assistants in influencing consumer brand engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 312-328.
    8. Verhoef, Peter C. & Stephen, Andrew T. & Kannan, P.K. & Luo, Xueming & Abhishek, Vibhanshu & Andrews, Michelle & Bart, Yakov & Datta, Hannes & Fong, Nathan & Hoffman, Donna L. & Hu, Mandy Mantian & No, 2017. "Consumer Connectivity in a Complex, Technology-enabled, and Mobile-oriented World with Smart Products," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-8.
    9. Tiwari, Amit Anand & Chakraborty, Anirban & Maity, Moutusy, 2021. "Technology product coolness and its implication for brand love," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    10. Fournier, Susan, 1998. "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(4), pages 343-373, March.
    11. Chin-Lung Hsu & Judy Chuan-Chuan Lin, 2020. "Understanding continuance intention to use online to offline (O2O) apps," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 30(4), pages 883-897, December.
    12. Kasilingam, Dharun Lingam, 2020. "Understanding the attitude and intention to use smartphone chatbots for shopping," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    13. Johar, Gita V. & Sengupta, Jaideep & Aaker, Jennifer L., 2005. "Two Roads to Updating Brand Personality Impressions: Trait versus Evaluative Inferencing," Research Papers 1884r, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    14. Hasan, Rajibul & Shams, Riad & Rahman, Mizan, 2021. "Consumer trust and perceived risk for voice-controlled artificial intelligence: The case of Siri," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 591-597.
    15. Thomas P. Novak & Donna L. Hoffman, 2019. "Relationship journeys in the internet of things: a new framework for understanding interactions between consumers and smart objects," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 216-237, March.
    16. Klaus, Phil & Zaichkowsky, Judith Lynne, 2022. "The convenience of shopping via voice AI: Introducing AIDM," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Giovanis, Apostolos N. & Athanasopoulou, Pinelopi, 2018. "Consumer-brand relationships and brand loyalty in technology-mediated services," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 287-294.
    18. Caleb Warren & Margaret C. Campbell, 2014. "What Makes Things Cool? How Autonomy Influences Perceived Coolness," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 543-563.
    19. repec:ucp:bkecon:9780226316529 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Berinsky, Adam J. & Huber, Gregory A. & Lenz, Gabriel S., 2012. "Evaluating Online Labor Markets for Experimental Research: Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 351-368, July.
    21. repec:cup:judgdm:v:5:y:2010:i:5:p:411-419 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Fuller, Christie M. & Simmering, Marcia J. & Atinc, Guclu & Atinc, Yasemin & Babin, Barry J., 2016. "Common methods variance detection in business research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 3192-3198.
    23. Naresh K. Malhotra & Sung S. Kim & Ashutosh Patil, 2006. "Common Method Variance in IS Research: A Comparison of Alternative Approaches and a Reanalysis of Past Research," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(12), pages 1865-1883, December.
    24. Xiaopu Shang & Runtong Zhang & Ying Chen, 2012. "Internet of Things (IoT) Service Architecture and its Application in E-Commerce," Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations (JECO), IGI Global, vol. 10(3), pages 44-55, July.
    25. Donna L Hoffman & Thomas P Novak & Eileen FischerEditor & Robert KozinetsAssociate Editor, 2018. "Consumer and Object Experience in the Internet of Things: An Assemblage Theory Approach," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(6), pages 1178-1204.
    26. Aaron C. Ahuvia, 2005. "Beyond the Extended Self: Loved Objects and Consumers' Identity Narratives," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 171-184, June.
    27. Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia & Jiménez-Barreto, Jano & Romero, Jaime, 2020. "Enhancing brand coolness through perceived luxury values: Insight from luxury fashion brands," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rohit, Kumar & Shankar, Amit & Katiyar, Gagan & Mehrotra, Ankit & Alzeiby, Ebtesam Abdullah, 2024. "Consumer engagement in chatbots and voicebots. A multiple-experiment approach in online retailing context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro, 2023. "Overview of the brand journey and opportunities for future studies," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(2), pages 179-206, June.
    2. Rodrigues, Mariana Berga & Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia & Romero, Maria Inês Relvas, 2024. "Luxury fashion games are so cool! Predicting awareness, perceived quality, and loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Rokonuzzaman, Md & Kim, Kyoungmi (Kate) & Dugar, Kranti Kumar & Fox, Jennine, 2022. "What makes an object smart? Conceptualization, development, and validation of a scale to measure the Smartness of a Thing (SoT)," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 337-354.
    4. Lv, Zhe & Zhao, Wenjia & Liu, Yu & Wu, Jie & Hou, Mutian, 2024. "Impact of perceived value, positive emotion, product coolness and Mianzi on new energy vehicle purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Chiara Bartoli, 2022. "Consumer self-concept and digitalization: what does this mean for brands?," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(4), pages 419-437, December.
    6. László SEER, 2020. "Toward A Threshold Model Of Consumer Autonomy For Human-Smart System Interactions: A Qualitative Study," Network Intelligence Studies, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 15, pages 57-69, June.
    7. Ferreira Pedro & Rodrigues Paula & Rodrigues Pedro, 2019. "Brand Love as Mediator of the Brand Experience-Satisfaction-Loyalty Relationship in a Retail Fashion Brand," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 14(3), pages 278-291, September.
    8. Lucy Gill-Simmen & Deborah J. MacInnis & Andreas B. Eisingerich & C. Whan Park, 2018. "Brand-self connections and brand prominence as drivers of employee brand attachment," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 8(3), pages 128-146, December.
    9. Emmanuel Silva Quaye & Cleopatra Taoana & Russell Abratt & Peter Anabila, 2022. "Customer advocacy and brand loyalty: the mediating roles of brand relationship quality and trust," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(4), pages 363-382, July.
    10. Attié, Elodie & Meyer-Waarden, Lars, 2022. "The acceptance and usage of smart connected objects according to adoption stages: an enhanced technology acceptance model integrating the diffusion of innovation, uses and gratification and privacy ca," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    11. Lucia-Palacios, Laura & Pérez-López, Raúl, 2021. "Effects of Home Voice Assistants' Autonomy on Instrusiveness and Usefulness: Direct, Indirect, and Moderating Effects of Interactivity," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 41-54.
    12. Mariani, Marcello M. & Hashemi, Novin & Wirtz, Jochen, 2023. "Artificial intelligence empowered conversational agents: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    13. Henkens, Bieke & Verleye, Katrien & Larivière, Bart, 2021. "The smarter, the better?! Customer well-being, engagement, and perceptions in smart service systems," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 425-447.
    14. Chaturvedi, Rijul & Verma, Sanjeev & Das, Ronnie & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2023. "Social companionship with artificial intelligence: Recent trends and future avenues," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    15. Slaton, Kelcie & Testa, Danielle & Bakhshian, Sonia & Fiore, Ann Marie, 2020. "The small, inventory free retail format: The impact on consumer-based brand equity and purchase behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    16. Ioannis Rizomyliotis & Athanasios Poulis & Kleopatra Konstantoulaki & Apostolos Giovanis, 2021. "Sustaining brand loyalty: The moderating role of green consumption values," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3025-3039, November.
    17. Cuesta-Valiño, Pedro & Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Pablo & Núnez-Barriopedro, Estela & García-Henche, Blanca, 2023. "Strategic orientation towards digitization to improve supermarket loyalty in an omnichannel context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    18. Rohit, Kumar & Shankar, Amit & Katiyar, Gagan & Mehrotra, Ankit & Alzeiby, Ebtesam Abdullah, 2024. "Consumer engagement in chatbots and voicebots. A multiple-experiment approach in online retailing context," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    19. Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Tan, Garry Wei-Han & Cham, Tat-Huei & Raman, Ramakrishnan & Ooi, Keng-Boon, 2022. "Alexa, what's on my shopping list? Transforming customer experience with digital voice assistants," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    20. Molinillo, Sebastian & Aguilar-Illescas, Rocío & Anaya-Sánchez, Rafael & Carvajal-Trujillo, Elena, 2022. "The customer retail app experience: Implications for customer loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:161:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323002217. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.