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Case study—Embodied virtual agents: An analysis on reasons for failure

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  • Ben Mimoun, Mohammed Slim
  • Poncin, Ingrid
  • Garnier, Marion

Abstract

Despite very optimistic academic and professional literatures, embodied virtual agents (EVA) on commercial websites do not seem to keep all their promises. An update in December 2009 of a benchmark led by OrangeLab in 2007 on embodied agents displayed on French websites reveals that more than 60% of them have actually disappeared. This case study deals with understanding the disappearance of embodied virtual agents thanks to a literature review, a benchmark of 80 agents on French commercial websites and an analysis of experts' in-depth-interviews. This work identifies a series of common errors in the agents design – namely, appearance inadequacy and lack of intelligence and autonomy – that creates a gap between consumers' expectations and agents' performance explaining agents' lack of success. As a conclusion, this case study gives practitioners actionable advices to design future agents by highlighting the characteristics of the ideal virtual sales agent (VSA).

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Mimoun, Mohammed Slim & Poncin, Ingrid & Garnier, Marion, 2012. "Case study—Embodied virtual agents: An analysis on reasons for failure," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 605-612.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:19:y:2012:i:6:p:605-612
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.07.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ben Mimoun, Mohammed Slim & Poncin, Ingrid, 2015. "A valued agent: How ECAs affect website customers' satisfaction and behaviors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 70-82.
    2. Arsenyan, Jbid & Mirowska, Agata & Piepenbrink, Anke, 2023. "Close encounters with the virtual kind: Defining a human-virtual agent coexistence framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    3. Felipe Thomaz & Carolina Salge & Elena Karahanna & John Hulland, 2020. "Learning from the Dark Web: leveraging conversational agents in the era of hyper-privacy to enhance marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 43-63, January.
    4. Stephan Diederich & Alfred Benedikt Brendel & Lutz M. Kolbe, 2020. "Designing Anthropomorphic Enterprise Conversational Agents," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 62(3), pages 193-209, June.
    5. Garnier, Marion & Poncin, Ingrid, 2019. "Do enriched digital catalogues offer compelling experiences, beyond websites? A comparative analysis through the IKEA case," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 361-369.
    6. Laurent Busca & Laurent Bertrandias, 2020. "A Framework for Digital Marketing Research: Investigating the Four Cultural Eras of Digital Marketing," Post-Print hal-02391063, HAL.
    7. Busca, Laurent & Bertrandias, Laurent, 2020. "A Framework for Digital Marketing Research: Investigating the Four Cultural Eras of Digital Marketing," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-19.
    8. Lena Steinhoff & Denni Arli & Scott Weaven & Irina V. Kozlenkova, 2019. "Online relationship marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 369-393, May.

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