Does anthropomorphism influence customers’ switching intentions in the self-service technology failure context?

Abstract

Purpose To enhance customer experiences, firms are increasingly adding human-like features to their self-service technology (SST) machines. To that end, the purpose of the present study is to examine customer interactions with an anthropomorphic machine in a service failure context. Specifically, the authors investigate the joint effects of machine voice, an individual’s sense of power and the presence of other customers in influencing customers’ switching intentions following an SST failure. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors used a quasi-experimental design in which they manipulated voice type (anthropomorphic vs robotic) and the presence of other customers (present vs absent) in video-based scenarios while measuring customers’ sense of power. The scenarios reflected a service failure experience with a self-service kiosk at an airport. The authors tested the hypotheses using PROCESS analyses with the Johnson–Neyman technique. Findings Consumer reactions to SST failures vary depending on the degree of anthropomorphism associated with an SST machine, an individual’s sense of power and the presence of other customers. Research limitations/implications Field inquiry and an investigation in other SST contexts or of other anthropomorphic features are needed to generalize the findings. Practical implications Service providers targeting powerful consumers should consider the social presence of others when incorporating anthropomorphic features into their SST facilities. Originality/value This study is the first to examine consumer responses to service failures in an anthropomorphic SST context.

Mechanisms and Consequences of Anthropomorphizing Autonomous Products

“…However, when considering research from management, marketing, and psychology journals on this topic (see Table 1), the impact of anthropomorphism on consumers' perception of technology is mixed (Goudey and Bonnin 2016;Kim and McGill 2011;Lee et al 2011;Mende et al 2019). Some investigations find a positive impact of anthropomorphism on technology perceptions, like increased trust (Hancock et al 2011;Waytz et al 2014), increased liking (Broadbent et al 2013), or higher failure tolerance (Fan et al 2016). Other papers, in contrast, find a rather negative relation, like increased eeriness (Gray and Wegner 2012) or higher perceived risk to use a machine (Kim and McGill 2011).…”

“…First, results differ depending on the investigated technology (Fan et al 2016). Previous research has mainly investigated professional robots of which some had a low level of product autonomy (Fan et al 2016;Kim and McGill 2011) or which already had an anthropomorphic design by construction (Goudey and Bonnin 2016;Mende et al 2019). Domestic robots, which represent the majority of robots that consumers interact with in everyday life, are usually constructed in a non-anthropomorphized way.…”

“…We propose that the consumers' prior experience with the technology could be of particular relevance. Prior experience is a superordinate construct, which should affect other moderating constructs, such as uncertainty (de Visser et al 2016) or perceived power in interactions with technology (Fan et al 2016). However, the construct has been mainly neglected by prior research or was included only as a proxy (i.e., "internet usage through smartphones"; Goudey and Bonnin 2016).…”

A Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence and Robots in Value Co-creation: Current Status and Future Research Avenues

“…In addition to providing support to service providers, AI and robots can learn customer needs and preferences and thus enable the resource integration between service providers and beneficiaries (Glushko & Nomorosa, 2013). By identifying customer needs and preferences, AI and robots can add human-like features to frontline service technology (Fan, Wu, & Mattila, 2016;van Doorn et al, 2017). Glushko and Nomorosa (2013) described five different situations that involve encounters between a service provider and a beneficiary, and compared human-to-human encounters to encounters, where the service provider was a machine, they discuss the potential of information that machines can utilize to provide more personalized service.…”

Consumer Adoption of Self-Service Technologies in the Context of the Jordanian Banking Industry: Examining the Moderating Role of Channel Types

“…Self-service technology (SST) is among the best-known and most-innovative service delivery channels, providing customers with a wide range of products and services (Alalwan et al, 2015;Curran and Meuter, 2005;Fan et al, 2016;Kokkinoua and Cranage, 2013;Meuter et al, 2000Meuter et al, , 2005. Conceptually, SST is defined as "technological interfaces that enable customers to produce a service that is independent of direct service employee involvement" (Meuter et al, 2000, p.50).…”