{"title":"Chatbot symbolic recovery and customer forgiveness: a moderated mediation model","authors":"H. Zaki, B. Al-Romeedy","doi":"10.1108/jhtt-11-2023-0374","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Purpose\nArtificial intelligence-based chatbots are frequently used to handle customer complaints in the hospitality and tourism sectors; however, little is known about their recovery strategies. Further, the widespread usage of chatbots is anticipated to affect customers' favorable responses. Therefore, this study aims to examine how chatbots’ symbolic recovery influences customer forgiveness through customer empathy and explore the moderating effect of time pressure on it. Moreover, it investigates the effect of customer forgiveness on customer reconciliation and customer continuous trust.\n\nDesign/methodology/approach\nStructural equation modeling was used to analyze data collected from 994 customers who have experienced chatbot recovery in tourism and hospitality during the past four months.\n\nFindings\nThe results show that chatbots’ symbolic recovery stimulates customer forgiveness, which subsequently positively affects customer reconciliation and customer continuous trust. Moreover, customer empathy partially mediates the effect of chatbots’ symbolic recovery on customer forgiveness, and time pressure plays a moderating role in the relationship between chatbots’ symbolic recovery and customer forgiveness.\n\nPractical implications\nThe results offer highly persuasive insights that may be used to promote chatbots’ symbolic recovery in tourism organizations. The effectiveness of chatbots’ symbolic recovery in achieving customer forgiveness will motivate tourism organizations to use chatbots efficiently in service recovery.\n\nOriginality/value\nThis study extends the theoretical scope of chatbot research by investigating the symbolic recovery capabilities of chatbots. Moreover, it expands the application of SOR theory in the context of chatbot service recovery and reveals the underlying mechanism behind the impact of chatbots’ symbolic recovery on customer forgiveness, thus building and testing an integrative model of chatbot service recovery.\n","PeriodicalId":51611,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/jhtt-11-2023-0374","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose
Artificial intelligence-based chatbots are frequently used to handle customer complaints in the hospitality and tourism sectors; however, little is known about their recovery strategies. Further, the widespread usage of chatbots is anticipated to affect customers' favorable responses. Therefore, this study aims to examine how chatbots’ symbolic recovery influences customer forgiveness through customer empathy and explore the moderating effect of time pressure on it. Moreover, it investigates the effect of customer forgiveness on customer reconciliation and customer continuous trust.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data collected from 994 customers who have experienced chatbot recovery in tourism and hospitality during the past four months.
Findings
The results show that chatbots’ symbolic recovery stimulates customer forgiveness, which subsequently positively affects customer reconciliation and customer continuous trust. Moreover, customer empathy partially mediates the effect of chatbots’ symbolic recovery on customer forgiveness, and time pressure plays a moderating role in the relationship between chatbots’ symbolic recovery and customer forgiveness.
Practical implications
The results offer highly persuasive insights that may be used to promote chatbots’ symbolic recovery in tourism organizations. The effectiveness of chatbots’ symbolic recovery in achieving customer forgiveness will motivate tourism organizations to use chatbots efficiently in service recovery.
Originality/value
This study extends the theoretical scope of chatbot research by investigating the symbolic recovery capabilities of chatbots. Moreover, it expands the application of SOR theory in the context of chatbot service recovery and reveals the underlying mechanism behind the impact of chatbots’ symbolic recovery on customer forgiveness, thus building and testing an integrative model of chatbot service recovery.
目的 基于人工智能的聊天机器人经常被用于处理酒店和旅游业的客户投诉;然而,人们对其恢复策略却知之甚少。此外,聊天机器人的广泛使用预计会影响客户的良好反应。因此,本研究旨在研究聊天机器人的象征性恢复如何通过客户移情影响客户原谅,并探讨时间压力对其的调节作用。研究结果结果表明,聊天机器人的象征性恢复激发了客户的原谅,从而对客户和解和客户持续信任产生了积极影响。此外,客户移情部分调节了聊天机器人的象征性恢复对客户原谅的影响,而时间压力在聊天机器人的象征性恢复与客户原谅之间的关系中起到了调节作用。聊天机器人的符号恢复在实现客户原谅方面的有效性将促使旅游组织在服务恢复中有效使用聊天机器人。原创性/价值本研究通过调查聊天机器人的符号恢复能力,扩展了聊天机器人研究的理论范围。此外,本研究还拓展了 SOR 理论在聊天机器人服务恢复中的应用,揭示了聊天机器人符号恢复对客户原谅的内在影响机制,从而构建并检验了聊天机器人服务恢复的综合模型。
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology is the only journal dedicated solely for research in technology and e-business in tourism and hospitality. It is a bridge between academia and industry through the intellectual exchange of ideas, trends and paradigmatic changes in the fields of hospitality, IT and e-business. It covers: -E-Marketplaces, electronic distribution channels, or e-Intermediaries -Internet or e-commerce business models -Self service technologies -E-Procurement -Social dynamics of e-communication -Relationship Development and Retention -E-governance -Security of transactions -Mobile/Wireless technologies in commerce -IT control and preparation for disaster -Virtual reality applications -Word of Mouth. -Cross-Cultural differences in IT use -GPS and Location-based services -Biometric applications -Business intelligence visualization -Radio Frequency Identification applications -Service-Oriented Architecture of business systems -Technology in New Product Development