Publicação
The impact of service failure provided by AI (vs Human) on customer satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty: A study about the use of AI in the hospitality sector
| Resumo: | Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the services sector, with an increased number of companies adopting AI systems to produce and deliver their services. AI applications are considered more reliable than humans, as they are not prone to errors arising from fatigue or lack of attention and do not have limited rationality. However, AI systems also fail. Since expectations regarding AI are higher and there is still scepticism in society regarding the use of AI, it is essential to research the impact of a service failure caused by AI on brands' relationships with customers. This study used a scenario-based experimental design through an online questionnaire, with a sample of 220 respondents, to study the impact of the same failure caused by AI and by a human person on customer satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty, taking into account service failures of different magnitudes, as this influences customer reactions. This study concluded that, in the case of a minor service failure, the fact that the failure was caused by AI results in lower customer satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty. However, in the case of a major service failure, the values of the variables in question are similar for a failure committed by AI and the same failure committed by a human person. These results arise in response to current research questions raised due to the use of AI to provide services, proving that AI can effectively change current theories about service failures. This study proves that people have different perceptions about failures caused by AI or humans, but that these depend on the magnitude of the failure. |
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| Autores principais: | Marques, Vera |
| Assunto: | Service Failure Artificial Intelligence Customer Satisfaction Brand Trust Brand Loyalty SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth SDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure |
| Ano: | 2024 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the services sector, with an increased number of companies adopting AI systems to produce and deliver their services. AI applications are considered more reliable than humans, as they are not prone to errors arising from fatigue or lack of attention and do not have limited rationality. However, AI systems also fail. Since expectations regarding AI are higher and there is still scepticism in society regarding the use of AI, it is essential to research the impact of a service failure caused by AI on brands' relationships with customers. This study used a scenario-based experimental design through an online questionnaire, with a sample of 220 respondents, to study the impact of the same failure caused by AI and by a human person on customer satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty, taking into account service failures of different magnitudes, as this influences customer reactions. This study concluded that, in the case of a minor service failure, the fact that the failure was caused by AI results in lower customer satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty. However, in the case of a major service failure, the values of the variables in question are similar for a failure committed by AI and the same failure committed by a human person. These results arise in response to current research questions raised due to the use of AI to provide services, proving that AI can effectively change current theories about service failures. This study proves that people have different perceptions about failures caused by AI or humans, but that these depend on the magnitude of the failure. |
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