Purpose – Since its inception, ChatGPT has been disruptively transforming how businesses operate ... more Purpose – Since its inception, ChatGPT has been disruptively transforming how businesses operate along the whole value chain. The service sector is no exception from these technological advances. Given its potential and significance, five major areas whereby ChatGPT has great potential in services management are identified and discussed in terms of opportunities, challenges and research agendas: service marketing, customer experience, digital services, cost-effective service excellence, and ethical and corporate digital responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach – by adopting an expert-oriented perspective approach, the study leverages the expertise of 11 knowledgeable contributors from the fields of service and information systems to foresee the implications of ChatGPT in services. The article comprehensively examines the current body of literature and practices in ChatGPT and services and proposes a forward-thinking research agenda for service scholars and practitioners.
Findings – The contributors recognize that ChatGPT has the potential to transform service offerings significantly, enrich customer experiences, optimize service costs, and contribute to societal advantages through improved digital services. However, they also acknowledge the disruption ChatGPT may cause to traditional service practices, including the potential loss of human touch in services, challenges to privacy and security, and the potential negative outcomes affecting service consumers and employees in terms of inequality, biases, and misuse of ChatGPT.
Originality/value – This article introduces a groundbreaking investigation into the use of ChatGPT in services management. The originality is demonstrated by examining the potential and obstacles to applying ChatGPT in different service domains. In addition, this research serves as a guiding light for subsequent studies by suggesting an in-depth research agenda, including understanding the design and optimization of ChatGPT in the customer service journey, the role of ChatGPT in assisting service organizations to promote responsible services, and implications of ChatGPT on service stakeholders.
Uncomfortable service interactions are ubiquitous in tourism and hospitality settings (e.g., retu... more Uncomfortable service interactions are ubiquitous in tourism and hospitality settings (e.g., returning a dish in a restaurant, ordering room service late at night, and complaining about noisy others in a hotel). Across five experimental studies, we show that service robots reduce consumers' metaperception processing and as a consequence can mitigate customer discomfort. Specifically, we demonstrate that service robots' perceived low level of mind leads to reduced or even eliminated metaperception processing (i.e., customers do not think about the perceptions robots may have about them). Consumer outcomes include more favorable attitudinal and behavioral responses (e.g., satisfaction, engagement, and revisit intentions). Moreover, we find that the degree of anthropomorphic robot appearance does not affect metaperception. Taken together, these findings provide theoretical and practical insights for the successful deployment of service robots into otherwise potentially uncomfortable service encounters.
The Impact of Digitization on Current Marketing Strategies, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing businesses and daily life, with AI-powered techno... more Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing businesses and daily life, with AI-powered technologies like personal assistants and medical diagnostic systems transforming how we interact and make decisions. However, the ethical implications of these technologies cannot be ignored. AI systems can produce biased results and decisions if not designed to be fair and unbiased. Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) provides a valuable framework for addressing these ethical dilemmas. Service organizations need to navigate CDR issues across the data and technology life-cycle stages (i.e. their creation, operation, refinement, and retention) and across its digital service ecosystem (incl. its external business partners). Despite the risks associated with poor CDR practices, companies may adopt them to benefit from data monetization, enhanced customer experience, and productivity improvement. To mitigate these risks and build a strong CDR culture, organizations need to establish ethical norms, prioritize customer privacy, and ensure equitable power dynamics with business partners. The emergence of generative AI poses enhanced CDR challenges, such as AI complexity, monitoring, accountability, and workforce changes. Going forward, CDR is a crucial framework for firms to address the needs of their multiple stakeholders and to ensure sustainable business practices in the increasingly digital service world.
Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 2023
Artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era, transforming businesses and improving our ... more Artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era, transforming businesses and improving our lives in unprecedented ways. It is important to consider the ethical implications of digital technologies. This article discussed the concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and its implications for interactive marketing.
This chapter illustrates the new service reality induced by innovative technology. For this, we h... more This chapter illustrates the new service reality induced by innovative technology. For this, we highlight the difference between older automated self-service technologies and service robots. Further, we analyze the difference between human service employees and service robots and show avenues for collaboration and specialization in the Service Robot Deployment Model. Additionally, we also discuss the challenges of AI-based service robot deployment and relate them to the concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR). Finally, we close with managerial implications for the service frontline in the new service reality with robots.
Edward Elgar Publishing Limited eBooks, Jan 12, 2023
The digital service revolution offers unprecedented value-generating opportunities for service st... more The digital service revolution offers unprecedented value-generating opportunities for service stakeholders, through the digitization, automation and transformation of service offerings. As digital service technologies become increasingly sophisticated and intrusive to the lives of consumers, the likelihood of misuse and exploitation of data or service technologies within digital service ecosystems increases.
Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Aug 2, 2023
PurposeDespite all the recent achievements in the field of interactive marketing and artificial i... more PurposeDespite all the recent achievements in the field of interactive marketing and artificial intelligence (AI), it is important to consider the ethical implications of these technologies. This paper explains the concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and how it is affected by new advances in AI.Design/methodology/approachThe authors build on the work of Wirtz et al., (2023) and derive several managerial implications for the challenges that AI poses to CDR. CDR refers to a service company's ethical and fair use of data and technology within its digital service ecosystem. It involves establishing standards, protecting customer privacy, conducting external audits and striving for an equitable power dynamic between service firms and their partners.FindingsDespite the risks involved, many companies are not prioritizing good CDR practices. Financial benefits from the collection and use of consumer data, improved customer experience through AI-driven customization and personalization, cost reduction through service automation and the trade-offs between organizational goals and CDR practices can prevent companies from prioritizing good CDR practices.Originality/valueThis is one of the first articles in the service domain to take the concept of CDR and apply it to recent developments in generative AI.Research limitations/implicationsThe emergence of powerful AI tools presents opportunities and challenges. Research opportunities include responsible business restructuring, responsible service automation to ensure fairness and human oversight, addressing dehumanization of service delivery, responsible customer profiling to address privacy and discrimination concerns and preventing AI misuse.
This conceptual paper explores the potential role front line (FL) service robots play in the futu... more This conceptual paper explores the potential role front line (FL) service robots play in the future. It provides a definition of FL robots and examines consumer perceptions, beliefs and behaviors related to FL robot-delivered services. Finally, it provides an overview of the ethical questions surrounding robot-delivered FL services.
We believe that our economies are facing a turning point in history similar to the industrial rev... more We believe that our economies are facing a turning point in history similar to the industrial revolution in manufacturing that started in the 18th century. Especially the advent of service robotics (virtual and physical service robots) in combination with these technologies will lead to rapid innovation that has the potential to dramatically improve the customer experience, service quality, and productivity all at the same time. Service Robots are on the rise and alter the organizational frontline. Based on the Service Robot Deployment Model (SRD), we support managers in their choice decisions concerning which services and tasks robots are suitable to fulfill, and how they need to be designed so that customers are willing to engage in interactions. Furthermore, this article discusses several implications of service robots for the field of service management and marketing.
Purpose-The service sector is at an inflection point with regard to productivity gains and servic... more Purpose-The service sector is at an inflection point with regard to productivity gains and service industrialization similar to the industrial revolution in manufacturing that started in the eighteenth century. Robotics in combination with rapidly improving technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), mobile, cloud, big data and biometrics will bring opportunities for a wide range of innovations that have the potential to dramatically change service industries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential role service robots will play in the future and to advance a research agenda for service researchers. Design/methodology/approach-This paper uses a conceptual approach that is rooted in the service, robotics and AI literature. Findings-The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it provides a definition of service robots, describes their key attributes, contrasts their features and capabilities with those of frontline employees, and provides an understanding for which types of service tasks robots will dominate and where humans will dominate. Second, this paper examines consumer perceptions, beliefs and behaviors as related to service robots, and advances the service robot acceptance model. Third, it provides an overview of the ethical questions surrounding robot-delivered services at the individual, market and societal level. Practical implications-This paper helps service organizations and their management, service robot innovators, programmers and developers, and policymakers better understand the implications of a ubiquitous deployment of service robots. Originality/value-This is the first conceptual paper that systematically examines key dimensions of robot-delivered frontline service and explores how these will differ in the future.
This article proposes a taxonomy of online consumption communities in order to address this rathe... more This article proposes a taxonomy of online consumption communities in order to address this rather ambiguously conceptualised research field. Specifically, inter-community differences are investigated with regard to how content focus (brand versus activity) and its congruency with the type of host (doubled versus mixed) affect consumers' posting behaviour. Based on an online survey (n = 888), a series of regressions of various benefits on posting behaviour supports the usability of the proposed taxonomy. In particular, social benefits had the strongest effect on consumers' posting behaviour across all communities, while the effects of functional, altruistic and sharing benefits varied in significance and direction of influence when accounting for the different community characteristics. These findings help marketing managers to design online communities and motivate consumers to contribute.
<jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:t... more <jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>Extant research mainly focused on potentially negative customer responses to service robots. In contrast, this study is one of the first to explore a service context where service robots are likely to be the preferred service delivery mechanism over human frontline employees. Specifically, the authors examine how customers respond to service robots in the context of embarrassing service encounters.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title><jats:p>This study employs a mixed-method approach, whereby an in-depth qualitative study (study 1) is followed by two lab experiments (studies 2 and 3).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title><jats:p>Results show that interactions with service robots attenuated customers' anticipated embarrassment. Study 1 identifies a number of factors that can reduce embarrassment. These include the perception that service robots have reduced agency (e.g. are not able to make moral or social judgements) and emotions (e.g. are not able to have feelings). Study 2 tests the base model and shows that people feel less embarrassed during a potentially embarrassing encounter when interacting with service robots compared to frontline employees. Finally, Study 3 confirms that perceived agency, but not emotion, fully mediates frontline counterparty (employee vs robot) effects on anticipated embarrassment.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Practical implications</jats:title><jats:p>Service robots can add value by reducing potential customer embarrassment because they are perceived to have less agency than service employees. This makes service robots the preferred service delivery mechanism for at least some customers in potentially embarrassing service encounters (e.g. in certain medical contexts).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title><jats:p>This study is one of the first to examine a context where service robots are the preferred service delivery mechanism over human employees.</jats:p></jats:sec>
Purpose-Robots are predicted to have a profound impact on the service sector. The emergence of ro... more Purpose-Robots are predicted to have a profound impact on the service sector. The emergence of robots has attracted increasing interest from business scholars and practitioners alike. In this article, we undertake a systematic review of the business literature about the impact of service robots on customers and employees with the objective of guiding future research. Design/methodology/approach-We analyzed the literature on service robots as they relate to customers and employees in business journals listed in the Financial Times top 50 journals plus all journals covered in the cross-disciplinary SERVSIG literature alerts. Findings-The analysis of the identified studies yielded multiple observations about the impact of service robots on customers (e.g. overarching frameworks on acceptance and usage of service robots; characteristics of service robots and anthropomorphism; and potential for enhanced and deteriorated service experiences) and service employees (e.g. employee benefits such as reduced routine work, enhanced productivity and job satisfaction; potential negative consequences such as loss of autonomy and a range of negative psychological outcomes; opportunities for human-robot collaboration; job insecurity; and robot-related up-skilling and development requirements). We also conclude that current research on service robots is fragmented, is largely conceptual in nature and focused on the initial adoption stage. We feel that more research is needed to build an overarching theory. In addition, more empirical research is needed, especially on the long(er)-term usage service robots on actual behaviors, the well-being and potential downsides and (ethical) risks for customers and service employees.
The service revolution has started Our economies seem to be facing a turning point in the service... more The service revolution has started Our economies seem to be facing a turning point in the service sector. Technologies are rapidly becoming smarter and more powerful, and at the same time, they are getting smaller, lighter and cheaper. These include hardware, such as physical robots, drones and wearable technologies, and code and software such as for analytics, speech processing, image processing, virtual and augmented reality, cloud technologies, mobile technologies, geotagging, robotic process automation (RPA), low-code platforms and machine learning. Together, these technologies will transform virtually all service sectors. Combined with these technologies, service robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to rapid innovation that can dramatically improve the customer experience, service quality and productivity all at the same time. The incremental costs of robots are close to zero Robot-and AI-delivered service offers unprecedented economies of scale and scope, as the bulk of the costs are incurred in their development. Physical robots cost a fraction of adding headcount, and virtual robots scale at close to zero incremental costs. Such dramatic scalability applies to chatbots and "visible" robots such as holograms. For example, an airport could install a hologram-based humanoid service robot every 50 meters to assist passengers and deal with common questions like arrival information and directions to check-in counters in all common languages. These holograms only require low-cost hardware like a camera, microphone, speaker and projector and do not need to take up floor space: Travelers could even push their baggage carts through a hologram when it gets crowded. Different qualities of service robots and human frontline employees As the relative strengths of humans and robotic services differ, they are best deployed in different contexts (see Figure 1). It is difficult for robots to deal with
Service robots (SR) are becoming increasingly employed in the marketplace, as such, consumers-SR ... more Service robots (SR) are becoming increasingly employed in the marketplace, as such, consumers-SR encounters represent a primary research area in shopper marketing. While the majority of studies on this topic have focused on the negative reponses triggered by consumers-SR interactions, little is known on particular service delivery contexts under which human-SR encounters might be more beneficial than traditional human-to-human encounters. This research aims to fill this gap and it examines whether the interaction with a SR in the context of a potentially embarrassing service encounter may attenuate consumers' anticipated embarrassment. We argue that this occurs because of the global attribution of mind to the robots. Moreover, we propose to investigate the influence of SR human-likeness appearance on this effect. The study employes a mixed-method approach. Preliminary findings from the qualitative analysis identifyes perceptios of mind and humanlikeness appearance as potential factors influencing feelings of embarrassment. Further, results from a first experimental study show that interaction with SR attenuate consumer embarrassment.
Purpose Service technologies are transforming the business landscape rapidly. This paper aims to ... more Purpose Service technologies are transforming the business landscape rapidly. This paper aims to explore the current scope of research in regard to emerging service technologies by comparing the content of articles in academic journals with practitioner-oriented publication outlets. Design/methodology/approach A total of 5,118 technology-related articles from service journals, service conferences, business journals and business magazines are analyzed. Text-mining on abstracts is used for the thematic and semantic analysis. Common research themes and their relationships are depicted in a two-dimensional structured network. Further, the sample is analyzed regarding various technologies mentioned in the Gartner Hype Cycle. Findings The paper reveals differences in academic and business perspectives in regard to service technologies. In comparison to business journals, scientific service research is more focused on customer-related aspects of technology. Service research has a less concrete focus on technology than in business publications. Still, service conference articles show a broader scope of emerging service technologies than academic journal articles. Research limitations/implications Scientific research should focus on more concrete service technologies. Business magazines serve as a good source for that and the paper identifies several promising new technology fields. Practical implications Although business magazines cover significantly more concrete service technologies, they miss the integrated perspective that academic articles usually offer. Academia can help business to better align concrete technologies with different internal and external perspectives. Originality/value This paper serves as an introduction to the special issue Future Service Technologies. Additionally, a quantitative study of recent service technology research serves as a reality check for academic researchers on business reality and provides research and practical recommendations.
Purpose – Since its inception, ChatGPT has been disruptively transforming how businesses operate ... more Purpose – Since its inception, ChatGPT has been disruptively transforming how businesses operate along the whole value chain. The service sector is no exception from these technological advances. Given its potential and significance, five major areas whereby ChatGPT has great potential in services management are identified and discussed in terms of opportunities, challenges and research agendas: service marketing, customer experience, digital services, cost-effective service excellence, and ethical and corporate digital responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach – by adopting an expert-oriented perspective approach, the study leverages the expertise of 11 knowledgeable contributors from the fields of service and information systems to foresee the implications of ChatGPT in services. The article comprehensively examines the current body of literature and practices in ChatGPT and services and proposes a forward-thinking research agenda for service scholars and practitioners.
Findings – The contributors recognize that ChatGPT has the potential to transform service offerings significantly, enrich customer experiences, optimize service costs, and contribute to societal advantages through improved digital services. However, they also acknowledge the disruption ChatGPT may cause to traditional service practices, including the potential loss of human touch in services, challenges to privacy and security, and the potential negative outcomes affecting service consumers and employees in terms of inequality, biases, and misuse of ChatGPT.
Originality/value – This article introduces a groundbreaking investigation into the use of ChatGPT in services management. The originality is demonstrated by examining the potential and obstacles to applying ChatGPT in different service domains. In addition, this research serves as a guiding light for subsequent studies by suggesting an in-depth research agenda, including understanding the design and optimization of ChatGPT in the customer service journey, the role of ChatGPT in assisting service organizations to promote responsible services, and implications of ChatGPT on service stakeholders.
Uncomfortable service interactions are ubiquitous in tourism and hospitality settings (e.g., retu... more Uncomfortable service interactions are ubiquitous in tourism and hospitality settings (e.g., returning a dish in a restaurant, ordering room service late at night, and complaining about noisy others in a hotel). Across five experimental studies, we show that service robots reduce consumers' metaperception processing and as a consequence can mitigate customer discomfort. Specifically, we demonstrate that service robots' perceived low level of mind leads to reduced or even eliminated metaperception processing (i.e., customers do not think about the perceptions robots may have about them). Consumer outcomes include more favorable attitudinal and behavioral responses (e.g., satisfaction, engagement, and revisit intentions). Moreover, we find that the degree of anthropomorphic robot appearance does not affect metaperception. Taken together, these findings provide theoretical and practical insights for the successful deployment of service robots into otherwise potentially uncomfortable service encounters.
The Impact of Digitization on Current Marketing Strategies, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing businesses and daily life, with AI-powered techno... more Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing businesses and daily life, with AI-powered technologies like personal assistants and medical diagnostic systems transforming how we interact and make decisions. However, the ethical implications of these technologies cannot be ignored. AI systems can produce biased results and decisions if not designed to be fair and unbiased. Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) provides a valuable framework for addressing these ethical dilemmas. Service organizations need to navigate CDR issues across the data and technology life-cycle stages (i.e. their creation, operation, refinement, and retention) and across its digital service ecosystem (incl. its external business partners). Despite the risks associated with poor CDR practices, companies may adopt them to benefit from data monetization, enhanced customer experience, and productivity improvement. To mitigate these risks and build a strong CDR culture, organizations need to establish ethical norms, prioritize customer privacy, and ensure equitable power dynamics with business partners. The emergence of generative AI poses enhanced CDR challenges, such as AI complexity, monitoring, accountability, and workforce changes. Going forward, CDR is a crucial framework for firms to address the needs of their multiple stakeholders and to ensure sustainable business practices in the increasingly digital service world.
Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 2023
Artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era, transforming businesses and improving our ... more Artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era, transforming businesses and improving our lives in unprecedented ways. It is important to consider the ethical implications of digital technologies. This article discussed the concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and its implications for interactive marketing.
This chapter illustrates the new service reality induced by innovative technology. For this, we h... more This chapter illustrates the new service reality induced by innovative technology. For this, we highlight the difference between older automated self-service technologies and service robots. Further, we analyze the difference between human service employees and service robots and show avenues for collaboration and specialization in the Service Robot Deployment Model. Additionally, we also discuss the challenges of AI-based service robot deployment and relate them to the concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR). Finally, we close with managerial implications for the service frontline in the new service reality with robots.
Edward Elgar Publishing Limited eBooks, Jan 12, 2023
The digital service revolution offers unprecedented value-generating opportunities for service st... more The digital service revolution offers unprecedented value-generating opportunities for service stakeholders, through the digitization, automation and transformation of service offerings. As digital service technologies become increasingly sophisticated and intrusive to the lives of consumers, the likelihood of misuse and exploitation of data or service technologies within digital service ecosystems increases.
Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Aug 2, 2023
PurposeDespite all the recent achievements in the field of interactive marketing and artificial i... more PurposeDespite all the recent achievements in the field of interactive marketing and artificial intelligence (AI), it is important to consider the ethical implications of these technologies. This paper explains the concept of corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and how it is affected by new advances in AI.Design/methodology/approachThe authors build on the work of Wirtz et al., (2023) and derive several managerial implications for the challenges that AI poses to CDR. CDR refers to a service company's ethical and fair use of data and technology within its digital service ecosystem. It involves establishing standards, protecting customer privacy, conducting external audits and striving for an equitable power dynamic between service firms and their partners.FindingsDespite the risks involved, many companies are not prioritizing good CDR practices. Financial benefits from the collection and use of consumer data, improved customer experience through AI-driven customization and personalization, cost reduction through service automation and the trade-offs between organizational goals and CDR practices can prevent companies from prioritizing good CDR practices.Originality/valueThis is one of the first articles in the service domain to take the concept of CDR and apply it to recent developments in generative AI.Research limitations/implicationsThe emergence of powerful AI tools presents opportunities and challenges. Research opportunities include responsible business restructuring, responsible service automation to ensure fairness and human oversight, addressing dehumanization of service delivery, responsible customer profiling to address privacy and discrimination concerns and preventing AI misuse.
This conceptual paper explores the potential role front line (FL) service robots play in the futu... more This conceptual paper explores the potential role front line (FL) service robots play in the future. It provides a definition of FL robots and examines consumer perceptions, beliefs and behaviors related to FL robot-delivered services. Finally, it provides an overview of the ethical questions surrounding robot-delivered FL services.
We believe that our economies are facing a turning point in history similar to the industrial rev... more We believe that our economies are facing a turning point in history similar to the industrial revolution in manufacturing that started in the 18th century. Especially the advent of service robotics (virtual and physical service robots) in combination with these technologies will lead to rapid innovation that has the potential to dramatically improve the customer experience, service quality, and productivity all at the same time. Service Robots are on the rise and alter the organizational frontline. Based on the Service Robot Deployment Model (SRD), we support managers in their choice decisions concerning which services and tasks robots are suitable to fulfill, and how they need to be designed so that customers are willing to engage in interactions. Furthermore, this article discusses several implications of service robots for the field of service management and marketing.
Purpose-The service sector is at an inflection point with regard to productivity gains and servic... more Purpose-The service sector is at an inflection point with regard to productivity gains and service industrialization similar to the industrial revolution in manufacturing that started in the eighteenth century. Robotics in combination with rapidly improving technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), mobile, cloud, big data and biometrics will bring opportunities for a wide range of innovations that have the potential to dramatically change service industries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential role service robots will play in the future and to advance a research agenda for service researchers. Design/methodology/approach-This paper uses a conceptual approach that is rooted in the service, robotics and AI literature. Findings-The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it provides a definition of service robots, describes their key attributes, contrasts their features and capabilities with those of frontline employees, and provides an understanding for which types of service tasks robots will dominate and where humans will dominate. Second, this paper examines consumer perceptions, beliefs and behaviors as related to service robots, and advances the service robot acceptance model. Third, it provides an overview of the ethical questions surrounding robot-delivered services at the individual, market and societal level. Practical implications-This paper helps service organizations and their management, service robot innovators, programmers and developers, and policymakers better understand the implications of a ubiquitous deployment of service robots. Originality/value-This is the first conceptual paper that systematically examines key dimensions of robot-delivered frontline service and explores how these will differ in the future.
This article proposes a taxonomy of online consumption communities in order to address this rathe... more This article proposes a taxonomy of online consumption communities in order to address this rather ambiguously conceptualised research field. Specifically, inter-community differences are investigated with regard to how content focus (brand versus activity) and its congruency with the type of host (doubled versus mixed) affect consumers' posting behaviour. Based on an online survey (n = 888), a series of regressions of various benefits on posting behaviour supports the usability of the proposed taxonomy. In particular, social benefits had the strongest effect on consumers' posting behaviour across all communities, while the effects of functional, altruistic and sharing benefits varied in significance and direction of influence when accounting for the different community characteristics. These findings help marketing managers to design online communities and motivate consumers to contribute.
<jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:t... more <jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>Extant research mainly focused on potentially negative customer responses to service robots. In contrast, this study is one of the first to explore a service context where service robots are likely to be the preferred service delivery mechanism over human frontline employees. Specifically, the authors examine how customers respond to service robots in the context of embarrassing service encounters.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title><jats:p>This study employs a mixed-method approach, whereby an in-depth qualitative study (study 1) is followed by two lab experiments (studies 2 and 3).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title><jats:p>Results show that interactions with service robots attenuated customers' anticipated embarrassment. Study 1 identifies a number of factors that can reduce embarrassment. These include the perception that service robots have reduced agency (e.g. are not able to make moral or social judgements) and emotions (e.g. are not able to have feelings). Study 2 tests the base model and shows that people feel less embarrassed during a potentially embarrassing encounter when interacting with service robots compared to frontline employees. Finally, Study 3 confirms that perceived agency, but not emotion, fully mediates frontline counterparty (employee vs robot) effects on anticipated embarrassment.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Practical implications</jats:title><jats:p>Service robots can add value by reducing potential customer embarrassment because they are perceived to have less agency than service employees. This makes service robots the preferred service delivery mechanism for at least some customers in potentially embarrassing service encounters (e.g. in certain medical contexts).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title><jats:p>This study is one of the first to examine a context where service robots are the preferred service delivery mechanism over human employees.</jats:p></jats:sec>
Purpose-Robots are predicted to have a profound impact on the service sector. The emergence of ro... more Purpose-Robots are predicted to have a profound impact on the service sector. The emergence of robots has attracted increasing interest from business scholars and practitioners alike. In this article, we undertake a systematic review of the business literature about the impact of service robots on customers and employees with the objective of guiding future research. Design/methodology/approach-We analyzed the literature on service robots as they relate to customers and employees in business journals listed in the Financial Times top 50 journals plus all journals covered in the cross-disciplinary SERVSIG literature alerts. Findings-The analysis of the identified studies yielded multiple observations about the impact of service robots on customers (e.g. overarching frameworks on acceptance and usage of service robots; characteristics of service robots and anthropomorphism; and potential for enhanced and deteriorated service experiences) and service employees (e.g. employee benefits such as reduced routine work, enhanced productivity and job satisfaction; potential negative consequences such as loss of autonomy and a range of negative psychological outcomes; opportunities for human-robot collaboration; job insecurity; and robot-related up-skilling and development requirements). We also conclude that current research on service robots is fragmented, is largely conceptual in nature and focused on the initial adoption stage. We feel that more research is needed to build an overarching theory. In addition, more empirical research is needed, especially on the long(er)-term usage service robots on actual behaviors, the well-being and potential downsides and (ethical) risks for customers and service employees.
The service revolution has started Our economies seem to be facing a turning point in the service... more The service revolution has started Our economies seem to be facing a turning point in the service sector. Technologies are rapidly becoming smarter and more powerful, and at the same time, they are getting smaller, lighter and cheaper. These include hardware, such as physical robots, drones and wearable technologies, and code and software such as for analytics, speech processing, image processing, virtual and augmented reality, cloud technologies, mobile technologies, geotagging, robotic process automation (RPA), low-code platforms and machine learning. Together, these technologies will transform virtually all service sectors. Combined with these technologies, service robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to rapid innovation that can dramatically improve the customer experience, service quality and productivity all at the same time. The incremental costs of robots are close to zero Robot-and AI-delivered service offers unprecedented economies of scale and scope, as the bulk of the costs are incurred in their development. Physical robots cost a fraction of adding headcount, and virtual robots scale at close to zero incremental costs. Such dramatic scalability applies to chatbots and "visible" robots such as holograms. For example, an airport could install a hologram-based humanoid service robot every 50 meters to assist passengers and deal with common questions like arrival information and directions to check-in counters in all common languages. These holograms only require low-cost hardware like a camera, microphone, speaker and projector and do not need to take up floor space: Travelers could even push their baggage carts through a hologram when it gets crowded. Different qualities of service robots and human frontline employees As the relative strengths of humans and robotic services differ, they are best deployed in different contexts (see Figure 1). It is difficult for robots to deal with
Service robots (SR) are becoming increasingly employed in the marketplace, as such, consumers-SR ... more Service robots (SR) are becoming increasingly employed in the marketplace, as such, consumers-SR encounters represent a primary research area in shopper marketing. While the majority of studies on this topic have focused on the negative reponses triggered by consumers-SR interactions, little is known on particular service delivery contexts under which human-SR encounters might be more beneficial than traditional human-to-human encounters. This research aims to fill this gap and it examines whether the interaction with a SR in the context of a potentially embarrassing service encounter may attenuate consumers' anticipated embarrassment. We argue that this occurs because of the global attribution of mind to the robots. Moreover, we propose to investigate the influence of SR human-likeness appearance on this effect. The study employes a mixed-method approach. Preliminary findings from the qualitative analysis identifyes perceptios of mind and humanlikeness appearance as potential factors influencing feelings of embarrassment. Further, results from a first experimental study show that interaction with SR attenuate consumer embarrassment.
Purpose Service technologies are transforming the business landscape rapidly. This paper aims to ... more Purpose Service technologies are transforming the business landscape rapidly. This paper aims to explore the current scope of research in regard to emerging service technologies by comparing the content of articles in academic journals with practitioner-oriented publication outlets. Design/methodology/approach A total of 5,118 technology-related articles from service journals, service conferences, business journals and business magazines are analyzed. Text-mining on abstracts is used for the thematic and semantic analysis. Common research themes and their relationships are depicted in a two-dimensional structured network. Further, the sample is analyzed regarding various technologies mentioned in the Gartner Hype Cycle. Findings The paper reveals differences in academic and business perspectives in regard to service technologies. In comparison to business journals, scientific service research is more focused on customer-related aspects of technology. Service research has a less concrete focus on technology than in business publications. Still, service conference articles show a broader scope of emerging service technologies than academic journal articles. Research limitations/implications Scientific research should focus on more concrete service technologies. Business magazines serve as a good source for that and the paper identifies several promising new technology fields. Practical implications Although business magazines cover significantly more concrete service technologies, they miss the integrated perspective that academic articles usually offer. Academia can help business to better align concrete technologies with different internal and external perspectives. Originality/value This paper serves as an introduction to the special issue Future Service Technologies. Additionally, a quantitative study of recent service technology research serves as a reality check for academic researchers on business reality and provides research and practical recommendations.
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Papers by Werner H Kunz
Design/methodology/approach – by adopting an expert-oriented perspective approach, the study leverages the expertise of 11 knowledgeable contributors from the fields of service and information systems to foresee the implications of ChatGPT in services. The article comprehensively examines the current body of literature and practices in ChatGPT and services and proposes a forward-thinking research agenda for service scholars and practitioners.
Findings – The contributors recognize that ChatGPT has the potential to transform service offerings significantly, enrich customer experiences, optimize service costs, and contribute to societal advantages through improved digital services. However, they also acknowledge the disruption ChatGPT may cause to traditional service practices, including the potential loss of human touch in services, challenges to privacy and security, and the potential negative outcomes affecting service consumers and employees in terms of inequality, biases, and misuse of ChatGPT.
Originality/value – This article introduces a groundbreaking investigation into the use of ChatGPT in services management. The originality is demonstrated by examining the potential and obstacles to applying ChatGPT in different service domains. In addition, this research serves as a guiding light for subsequent studies by suggesting an in-depth research agenda, including understanding the design and optimization of ChatGPT in the customer service journey, the role of ChatGPT in assisting service organizations to promote responsible services, and implications of ChatGPT on service stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach – by adopting an expert-oriented perspective approach, the study leverages the expertise of 11 knowledgeable contributors from the fields of service and information systems to foresee the implications of ChatGPT in services. The article comprehensively examines the current body of literature and practices in ChatGPT and services and proposes a forward-thinking research agenda for service scholars and practitioners.
Findings – The contributors recognize that ChatGPT has the potential to transform service offerings significantly, enrich customer experiences, optimize service costs, and contribute to societal advantages through improved digital services. However, they also acknowledge the disruption ChatGPT may cause to traditional service practices, including the potential loss of human touch in services, challenges to privacy and security, and the potential negative outcomes affecting service consumers and employees in terms of inequality, biases, and misuse of ChatGPT.
Originality/value – This article introduces a groundbreaking investigation into the use of ChatGPT in services management. The originality is demonstrated by examining the potential and obstacles to applying ChatGPT in different service domains. In addition, this research serves as a guiding light for subsequent studies by suggesting an in-depth research agenda, including understanding the design and optimization of ChatGPT in the customer service journey, the role of ChatGPT in assisting service organizations to promote responsible services, and implications of ChatGPT on service stakeholders.