Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers' Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence in Social Media

This study investigates the antecedents and consequences of consumers' attitudes toward artificial intelligence in the social media era. Through an empirical study, data was collected from 388 consumers in Turkey. SmartPLS was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Several key findings were reached: (i) Anthropomorphism impacts consumers' performance expectations positively. (ii) Anthropomorphism does not influence positive attitudes towards artificial intelligence. (iii) Consumers' performance expectations have significantly positive effects on positive attitudes towards artificial intelligence and also on positive emotions. (iv) Positive emotions do not influence positive attitudes towards artificial intelligence. (v) Positive attitudes towards artificial intelligence significantly have positive effects on consumers’ engagement on social media. (vi) Social media self-efficacy has a positive effect on consumers’ engagement on social media. (vii) Consumers’ social media engagement impacts purchase behavior positively. Establishing a comprehensive framework, this study offers valuable insights into the intricate relationships among anthropomorphism, performance expectations, emotions, attitudes, social media self-efficacy, social media engagement, and consumer purchase decisions in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. The study contributes to the literature by examining the antecedents and consequences of consumers’ positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence with a comprehensive model. Besides, understanding the drivers that push consumers to generate positive attitudes toward artificial intelligence and the consequences of these positive attitudes is crucial for marketing managers and businesses.