Abstract
This study investigated the effects of (in)formal chatbot responses and brand familiarity on social presence, appropriateness, brand attitude, and quality of interaction. An online experiment using a 2 (Communication Style: informal vs. formal) by 2 (Brand: familiar vs. unfamiliar) between subject design was conducted in which participants performed customer service tasks with the assistance of chatbots developed for the study. Subsequently, they filled out an online questionnaire. An indirect effect of communication style on brand attitude and quality of interaction through social presence was found. Thus, a chatbot’s informal communication style induced a higher perceived social presence which in turn positively influenced quality of the interaction and brand attitude. However, brand familiarity did not enhance perceptions of appropriateness, indicating participants do not assign different roles to chatbots as communication partner.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Chatbot Research and Design |
Subtitle of host publication | 4th International Workshop, CONVERSATIONS 2020, Virtual Event, November 23–24, 2020, Revised Selected Papers |
Editors | Asbjørn Følstad, Theo Araujo, Symeon Papadopoulos, Effie L.-C. Law, Ewa Luger, Morten Goodwin, Petter Bae Brandtzaeg |
Place of Publication | Cham |
Publisher | Springer |
Pages | 16-31 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Volume | 12604 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783030682880 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783030682873 |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- Chatbots
- communication style
- brand attitude
- Customer service
- brand familiarity
- appropriateness
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