IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v59y2021ics0969698920314090.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The happy virtual agent and its impact on the human customer in the service encounter

Author

Listed:
  • Soderlund, Magnus
  • Oikarinen, Eeva-Liisa
  • Tan, Teck Ming

Abstract

Few existing virtual agents (VAs) that customers interact with in service encounters can experience emotions, but they can be (and often are) designed so that they appear to have this capability. The purpose of this study was to assess VAs' display of happiness in service encounters when the only means they have to express themselves is the text that they transmit. Linguistic elements that influence the perceived happiness of a (human) sender of text messages were identified in a pilot study, and they were used to manipulate VA display of happiness in two experiments. In addition, a field study was carried out to capitalize on customers’ existing experience of service encounters with VAs in bona fide commercial settings. The experiments showed that VA text manipulated to signal VA happiness boosts overall VA evaluations, and the field study showed that perceived VA happiness is positively associated with overall VA evaluations. Taken together, the findings indicate that we humans are so hardwired for interactions with other humans that we react to VA display of happiness in ways that resemble our reactions when we are exposed to happy humans. The findings also provide designers of VAs and service marketers with a set of easily implemented linguistic elements that can be employed to make VAs appear happy in service encounters.

Suggested Citation

  • Soderlund, Magnus & Oikarinen, Eeva-Liisa & Tan, Teck Ming, 2021. "The happy virtual agent and its impact on the human customer in the service encounter," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:59:y:2021:i:c:s0969698920314090
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102401
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698920314090
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102401?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. Prentice, Catherine & Nguyen, Mai, 2020. "Engaging and retaining customers with AI and employee service," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    2. Kim, Jong Min & Jun, Mina & Kim, Chung K., 2018. "The Effects of Culture on Consumers' Consumption and Generation of Online Reviews," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 134-150.
    3. 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.
    4. Söderlund, Magnus & Sagfossen, Sofie, 2017. "The depicted service employee in marketing communications: An empirical assessment of the impact of facial happiness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 186-193.
    5. Nicholas Epley, 2018. "A Mind like Mine: The Exceptionally Ordinary Underpinnings of Anthropomorphism," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(4), pages 591-598.
    6. 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.
    7. Smith, Leah Warfield & Rose, Randall L., 2020. "Service with a smiley face: Emojional contagion in digitally mediated relationships," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 301-319.
    8. Puccinelli, Nancy M. & Deshpande, Rohit & Isen, Alice M., 2007. "Should I stay or should I go? Mood congruity, self-monitoring and retail context preference," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 640-648, June.
    9. Rese, Alexandra & Ganster, Lena & Baier, Daniel, 2020. "Chatbots in retailers’ customer communication: How to measure their acceptance?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    10. Han, Nah Ray & Baek, Tae Hyun & Yoon, Sukki & Kim, Yeonshin, 2019. "Is that coffee mug smiling at me? How anthropomorphism impacts the effectiveness of desirability vs. feasibility appeals in sustainability advertising," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 352-361.
    11. Hartmann, Jochen & Huppertz, Juliana & Schamp, Christina & Heitmann, Mark, 2019. "Comparing automated text classification methods," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 20-38.
    12. Golossenko, Artyom & Pillai, Kishore Gopalakrishna & Aroean, Lukman, 2020. "Seeing brands as humans: Development and validation of a brand anthropomorphism scale," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 737-755.
    13. Anne-Madeleine Kranzbühler & Alfred Zerres & Mirella H. P. Kleijnen & Peeter W. J. Verlegh, 2020. "Correction to: Beyond valence: a meta-analysis of discrete emotions in firm-customer encounters," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1254-1256, November.
    14. Pankaj Aggarwal & Ann L. McGill, 2007. "Is That Car Smiling at Me? Schema Congruity as a Basis for Evaluating Anthropomorphized Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(4), pages 468-479, June.
    15. Anne-Madeleine Kranzbühler & Alfred Zerres & Mirella H. P. Kleijnen & Peeter W. J. Verlegh, 2020. "Beyond valence: a meta-analysis of discrete emotions in firm-customer encounters," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 478-498, May.
    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. Gao, Wei & Jiang, Ning & Guo, Qingqing, 2023. "How do virtual streamers affect purchase intention in the live streaming context? A presence perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Söderlund, Magnus, 2022. "Service robots with (perceived) theory of mind: An examination of humans’ reactions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    3. Pashchenko, Yana & Rahman, Mst Farjana & Hossain, Md Shamim & Uddin, Md Kutub & Islam, Tarannum, 2022. "Emotional and the normative aspects of customers’ reviews," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Tran, Anh D. & Pallant, Jason I. & Johnson, Lester W., 2021. "Exploring the impact of chatbots on consumer sentiment and expectations in retail," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Mehrotra, Ankit & Agarwal, Reeti & Khalil, Ashraf & Alzeiby, Ebtesam Abdullah & Agarwal, Vaishali, 2024. "Nitty-gritties of customer experience in metaverse retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Pathak, Kanishka & Prakash, Gyan, 2023. "Exploring the role of augmented reality in purchase intention: Through flow and immersive experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    7. Li, Li & Chen, Xiaoting & Zhu, Peng, 2024. "How do e-commerce anchors' characteristics influence consumers’ impulse buying? An emotional contagion perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Yang, Defeng & Zhang, Jiaen & Sun, Yu & Huang, Zan, 2024. "Showing usage behavior or not? The effect of virtual influencers’ product usage behavior on consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Huang, Yu-Shan (Sandy) & Dootson, Paula, 2022. "Chatbots and service failure: When does it lead to customer aggression," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. Kautish, Pradeep & Purohit, Sonal & Filieri, Raffaele & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2023. "Examining the role of consumer motivations to use voice assistants for fashion shopping: The mediating role of awe experience and eWOM," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(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. Söderlund, Magnus, 2020. "Employee encouragement of self-disclosure in the service encounter and its impact on customer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    2. Ruth N. Bolton & Anders Gustafsson & Crina O. Tarasi & Lars Witell, 2022. "Designing satisfying service encounters: website versus store touchpoints," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 85-107, January.
    3. Darima Fotheringham & Michael A. Wiles, 2023. "The effect of implementing chatbot customer service on stock returns: an event study analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 802-822, July.
    4. Aubel Martin & Pikturniene Indre & Joye Yannick, 2022. "Risk Perception and Risk Behavior in Response to Service Robot Anthropomorphism in Banking," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(2), pages 26-42, June.
    5. Qi, Ji (Miracle) & Wang, Sijun & Lindsey Hall, Kristina K., 2023. "Bridging employee engagement and customer engagement in a service context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Gunjan Malhotra & Vimi Jham & Nidhi Sehgal, 2022. "Does Psychological Ownership Matter? Investigating Consumer Green Brand Relationships through the Lens of Anthropomorphism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Alvarez, Claudio & David, Meredith E. & George, Morris, 2023. "Types of Consumer-Brand Relationships: A systematic review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    8. 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).
    9. Eliza Nichifor & Adrian Trifan & Elena Mihaela Nechifor, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence in Electronic Commerce: Basic Chatbots and Consumer Journey," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(56), pages 1-87, February.
    10. Velasco, Franklin & Yang, Zhiyong & Janakiraman, Narayanan, 2021. "A meta-analytic investigation of consumer response to anthropomorphic appeals: The roles of product type and uncertainty avoidance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 735-746.
    11. Lane Peterson Fronczek & Martin Mende & Maura L. Scott & Gergana Y. Nenkov & Anders Gustafsson, 2023. "Friend or foe? Can anthropomorphizing self-tracking devices backfire on marketers and consumers?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 1075-1097, September.
    12. Aubel Martin & Pikturniene Indre & Joye Yannick, 2022. "Risk Perception and Risk Behavior in Response to Service Robot Anthropomorphism in Banking," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(1), pages 26-42, June.
    13. van Esch, Patrick & Arli, Denni & Gheshlaghi, Mahnaz Haji & Andonopoulos, Vicki & von der Heidt, Tania & Northey, Gavin, 2019. "Anthropomorphism and augmented reality in the retail environment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-42.
    14. 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.
    15. van Esch, Patrick & Cui, Yuanyuan (Gina) & Sledge, April & Das, Gopal & Pala, Erol, 2023. "Preference for partner or servant brand roles depends on consumers’ power distance belief," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    16. Huang, Yu-Shan (Sandy) & Dootson, Paula, 2022. "Chatbots and service failure: When does it lead to customer aggression," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Ramakrishna Salagrama & Sanjeev Prashar & T. Sai Vijay, 2021. "Do customers exhibit gratitude after service recovery? Understanding the moderating role of relationship type," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 15(4), pages 757-779, December.
    18. Maria Vernuccio & Michela Patrizi & Maja Šerić & Alberto Pastore, 2023. "The perceptual antecedents of brand anthropomorphism in the name-brand voice assistant context," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 302-317, July.
    19. Söderlund, Magnus, 2022. "Service robots with (perceived) theory of mind: An examination of humans’ reactions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    20. Paramita, Widya & Virgosita, Risa & Rostiani, Rokhima & Wibowo, Amin & Almahendra, Rangga & Junarsin, Eddy, 2022. "“I will not let you die”: The effect of anthropomorphism on entrepreneurs' resilience during economic downturn," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(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:joreco:v:59:y:2021:i:c:s0969698920314090. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    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.