ACT 2.0: the next generation of assistive consumer technology research

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to introduce a multi-agent architecture, which offers services to be applied in B2C e-Marketplaces and to present the core system: the search agent. Design/methodology/approach -The different parts that compose an e-commerce portal are naturally performed through intelligent agents, which have the ability to communicate with one another and autonomously act depending on defined goals. Findings -The search agent returns the more relevant results in direct shopping than others previously used. It is based on a usability-improved fuzzy searching mechanism that allows the specification of uncertain and vague searching preferences. Research limitations/implications -More empirical research efforts need to be directed to study the efficiency over time. This work is based on a prototype, which is its main limitation. Practical implications -Intelligent agents can be useful to improve e-commerce services in B2C portals. Originality/value -The research extends previous authors' work on the application of intelligent agents to e-commerce fields.

Emotions in Motion

“…The perceived benefits of personalised services and recommendation agents may motivate customers to use such services, and are likely to create positive customer evaluations (Pappas et al, 2016b). Firms are realizing the importance of personalised services since it increases their annual turnover and have designed online services to provide recommendations to their customers based on their personal needs (Murray et al, 2010;Xu et al, 2014).…”

“…Customers' positive feelings, such as enjoyment or happiness, are likely to appear when personalisation is properly developed (Pappas et al, 2014a). If there is no personalisation, the large amount of product information offered, may overwhelm the customers (Murray et al, 2010), leading to, negative emotions (Chen et al, 2009).…”