How live chat assistants drive travel consumers’ attitudes, trust and purchase intentions

Abstract

Purpose By adopting a social presence theory perspective, this study aims investigate the influence of perceived usefulness of live chat services and of their unique human attributes on customer attitudes, beliefs and behaviours in the context of online travel shopping. Design/methodology/approach Based on a cross-sectional survey research involving 8 travel provider websites and 631 travel consumers, this work applies structural equation modelling to analyse the data. Findings The results illustrate that the perceived usefulness from the communication with a human live chat assistant positively influences customer attitudes and trust towards the website as well as increasing purchase intention. The findings further illustrate the role of the human social cues conveyed by live chat facilities, namely, human warmth, human assurance, human attentiveness and human customised content in positively moderating this effect. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to specific human attributes. Future research could investigate the role of other human characteristics as well as assess the ability of artificial intelligent powered chatbots in replicating the human elements outlined in this research. Originality/value The study provides a unique contribution to the travel literature by offering empirical insights and conceptual clarity into the usefulness of human operated live chat communication on travellers’ attitudes, trust towards the website and purchase intentions.

Alexa, she's not human but… Unveiling the drivers of consumers' trust in voice‐based artificial intelligence

“…However, limitations in using such theories in their singularity have been made apparent, bringing about a second stream of literature examining VA adoption through PSR theories (Ki et al, 2020); this literature suggests that VA adoption is not only based on willingness to adopt technology but also due to the relationships built between consumers and voice‐based (or “human‐like”) systems (e.g., Schweitzer et al, 2019). Another substream of HCI literature has examined the negative role of privacy concerns, and has been seen to be discussed in both main streams of research (e.g., McLean et al, 2020).…”

“…Originally derived from the SRT, social presence is shown to affect users' attitudes (Hassanein & Head, 2007), loyalty (Cyr et al, 2007), online behaviors (Chung et al, 2015; Ogara et al, 2014), and trust building (Gefen & Straub, 2003, 2004; Lu et al, 2016; Ogonowski et al, 2014). Specifically, studies have demonstrated that technologies conveying a greater sense of social presence, such as live chat services (McLean et al, 2020), can enhance consumer trust and subsequent behavior (Hassanein et al, 2009; Lu et al, 2016; Mackey & Freyberg, 2010; Ye et al, 2019).…”

“…Attitudes are commonly defined as predispositions to respond in a positively or negatively way toward a particular object and are generally considered antecedents of behavioral intentions (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). This process also applies to consumers–technology interactions where users' attitudes toward using a specific technology influence their actual use of the technology itself (Davis, 1989; McLean et al, 2020). Several studies investigate the variables influencing users' attitude in the consumers–technology interaction including functional elements (Cyr et al, 2007; Venkatesh et al, 2003), perceived social presence (Ye et al, 2019), and trust (Hassanein & Head, 2007).…”

“…Trust has been acknowledged as a key influencer of human–machine interactions (Ghazizadeh et al, 2012; McLean et al, 2020). Traditionally, trust in technology is examined by the predictability of the technology (McKnight et al, 2009), yet more contemporary literature draws attention to trust being built on its dependability, which is enhanced through having faith in their interactions (Ghazizadeh et al, 2012; Hengstler et al, 2016).…”

Hospitality business models, customer well-being and trust: the mediating role of competitive service advantage

“…Broadly, purchase intention is defined as one's resolve to buy a particular product or service (Dodds et al, 1991). Although the gap between actual behavior and behavioral intention has been acknowledged (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980), hospitality research recognized the critical role of purchase intention for overall service business success (Kang et al, 2018;McLean et al, 2020). Furthermore, competitive advantage and customer purchase intention have been aligned with consumer perceptions of the brand (Donnelly et al, 2020).…”