Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

Dissecting the mixed effects of human-customer service chatbot interaction

on customer satisfaction: An explanation from temporal and
conversational cues
Ying Xu a, Nan Niu a, *, Zixiang Zhao a, b
a
School of Business and Management, Jilin University, Changchun, China
b
School of International Business, Jilin International Studies University, Changchun, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Prof. H. Timmermans Human-customer service chatbot interaction has had mixed effects on customer satisfaction in sales-related
services. To dissect these conflicting results, three 2 (temporal cues: instant versus anthropomorphic delayed
Keywords: response) × 2 (conversational cues: task- versus social-oriented) between-group experiments were conducted.
Human-customer service chatbot interaction The results revealed the complex effects of temporal cues, conversational cues, and their interactions on
Temporal cues
perceived warmth, perceived competence, and satisfaction. And, perceived warmth and competence mediated
Conversational cues
the effects of temporal and conversational cues on satisfaction. Furthermore, the product attribute type (func­
Warmth
Competence tional versus experiential) affected the relationships between these variables. These findings provide two
Satisfaction explanatory perspectives (temporal and conversational cues) for dissecting the mixed effects of human-customer
service chatbot interaction on customer satisfaction, and provide practical insights for improving customer
service chatbots and enhancing customer satisfaction.

1. Introduction
With the development of digital technologies, artificial intelligence
(AI) has rapidly grown in recent years. It is quickly redesigning brand
communications and customer experiences with unprecedented effi­
ciency and skill (Lou et al., 2021; Taylor, 2019) while driving marketing
transformations and enhancements. According to the “2022 AI Mar­
keting White Paper,” 44% of companies believe that AI-based marketing
will be the most exciting marketing approach over the next two years
(China Advertising Association, 2022). There are numerous practical
examples of AI-based marketing: for example, many retailing and ser­
vice companies use chatbots powered by AI technology to provide
sales-related services to their customers (Söderlund et al., 2022; Song
et al., 2022). These customer service chatbots are computer programs
that can converse with users in their natural language (Hsu and Lin,
2023; Li and Wang, 2023; Shawar and Atwell, 2007). They can not only
relieve humans from relatively repetitive tasks but also handle high
demand and improve service efficiency. Given the effectiveness of these
chatbots, human-customer service chatbot interaction (HCI) may soon
become mainstream in customer service.
Satisfaction is a key metric for measuring customer service quality.
Similarly, in the context of chatbots, the vital question is whether cus­
tomers are satisfied after interacting with chatbots; however, the current
answer is contradictory. On the one hand, a 2018 survey by Capgemini
reported that approximately 35% of customers regularly use chatbot
services to purchase groceries, home care products, and clothing (Chong
et al., 2021), reflecting, in some ways, their satisfaction with chatbot
services. On the other hand, a market survey by Arm Treasure Data in
2019 found that less than one-fifth of customers were willing to accept
AI (including chatbots) in sales-related services (Deng et al., 2022),
indicating their dissatisfaction with chatbot services. Moreover, for
companies, many well-known chatbots have not delivered the desired
results. For example, IKEA introduced Anna, a chatbot for its website, to
answer customer questions. However, many customers complained or
even abandoned Anna after interacting with her (Brandtzaeg and
Følstad, 2018). Thus, HCI clearly has mixed impacts on customer satis­
faction in real-life business settings. This is puzzling and had us reflect
on the root cause explaining the mixed impacts. Meanwhile, customer
satisfaction is the foundation for long-term corporate profits and success
in any business sector (Hudson et al., 2019; Rust and Chung, 2006).
Customer dissatisfaction with customer service can directly interfere
with customer purchasing decisions (Carlson et al., 2019; Dash et al.,

* Corresponding author. Dongrong Building of Jilin University, No.2699, Qianjin Street, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China.
E-mail address: nanelle@163.com (N. Niu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103417
Received 9 February 2023; Received in revised form 1 May 2023; Accepted 7 May 2023
Available online 24 May 2023
0969-6989/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Xu et al.
2021), significantly affecting and creating challenges for business op­
erations. Therefore, understanding HCI’s mixed impacts on customer
satisfaction with customer service has become urgent both academically
and practically.
According to social information processing theory (Lew et al., 2018),
during HCI, customers exchange information with chatbots through any
available cue system, such as conversational, visual (Go and Sundar,
2019), identity (Go and Sundar, 2019; Araujo, 2018), and temporal cues
(Gnewuch et al., 2018). However, existing HCI research is more often
centered on the visual and identity cues of chatbots (Go and Sundar,
2019; Araujo, 2018). To the best of our knowledge, no previous study
has explored the mixed impacts of HCI on customer satisfaction from the
perspectives of temporal and conversational cues. Furthermore, there is
a significant lack of detailed research on how the interaction of temporal
and conversational cues affects customer perceptions and satisfaction.
This study explores the mechanisms through which temporal and
conversational cues in HCI affect customer perceptions and satisfaction
(refers to customer satisfaction with the customer service provided by
chatbots). Specifically, we focus on: (1) the effects of HCI (temporal
cues, conversational cues, and temporal x conversational cues) on
customer perceptions (of warmth and competence) and satisfaction
levels; and (2) the mediating roles of perceived warmth and competence
between temporal cues, conversational cues, and satisfaction. Three
experiments were conducted to address these questions. The results
indicate that temporal and conversational cues provide some theoretical
explanations for the mixed effects of HCI on satisfaction.
This study offers several contributions. First and foremost, this study
innovatively proposes two new explanatory perspectives for the HCI
question, enriching research in the fields of customer service, service
marketing, interactive marketing, and chatbots. To the best of our
knowledge, this study is among the first to dissect the mixed effects of
HCI on satisfaction from the perspectives of temporal and conversational
cues. Furthermore, by introducing the stereotype content model (SCM),
compensation effect, and cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS)
theories, this study reveals the underlying mechanism: “Temporal and
conversational cues affect satisfaction through the mediating effects of
perceived warmth and perceived competence in opposite directions.”
Thus, this study broadens ideas of existing HCI research and extends the
application of these theories to HCI scenarios. Next, this study explores
the mixed effects of temporal cues, conversational cues, and their in­
teractions on perceived warmth, perceived competence, and satisfac­
tion. This helps enrich knowledge in the fields of temporal cues,
conversational cues, and anthropomorphism, filling the research gap
regarding the individual and combinational effects of temporal and
conversational cues. In addition, we improve the theoretical framework
for research related to temporal and conversational cues by comparing
their different effects on customer perceptions and satisfaction under the
conditions of two product attribute types.
2. Theoretical background and hypotheses development
2.1. Theoretical background
The SCM theory proposes that when interacting with others, humans
must first determine whether the person is a friend or foe (i.e., perceived
warmth) and his capacity to act on his intention (i.e., perceived
competence) (Čaić et al., 2020; Fiske et al., 2002). By situating this
theory within the research scenario of this study, we argue that warmth
and competence can be critical for understanding HCI’s conflicting ef­
fects on customer satisfaction for two reasons. First, these factors are
significant drivers of satisfaction (Bufquin et al., 2017; Gao and Mattila,
2014). Competence is a critical determinant of service quality, which
captures one’s capabilities to execute a task (Lou et al., 2021; Hu et al.,
2021). Warmth, which captures the perceptions of others’ intentions, is
a parallel concept that plays a critical role in communication quality
(Lou et al., 2021). Second and more important, drawing on the
2
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417
compensation effect theory, warmth and competence have a negative
compensatory relationship (Holoien and Fiske, 2013; Huang et al.,
2021): high (low) warmth and low (high) competence are mutually
compensatory. Thus, customers may perceive chatbots as “less warm
and more competent” or “more warm and less competent.” While low
(high) warmth decreases (increases) satisfaction, high (low) competence
increases (decreases) satisfaction (Bufquin et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2018).
These contrasting effects further contribute to contradictions in
customer satisfaction. Therefore, we introduce perceived warmth and
competence into our conceptual model.
Furthermore, we consider which interaction elements can promote
the compensatory relationship between warmth and competence. For
instance, customers may prefer “brief pauses” before an interaction
begins and “warm, human help” that does not sound robotic (Lew et al.,
2018). Thus, response time (a type of temporal cue) and interaction style
(a type of conversational cue) play important roles in the interaction.
First, response time refers to the interval between a message being sent
and the corresponding reply it triggers (Walther and Tidwell, 1995). One
may accordingly classify responses, such as anthropomorphic delayed
and instant responses. Chatbots configured to respond instantly are
highly efficient and naturally perceived as more competent. Meanwhile,
chatbots with anthropomorphic delayed responses convey the anthro­
pomorphic idea that they are conscientious and hard-working (Lew
et al., 2018; Söderlund, 2020), which are positively associated with
warmth (Söderlund et al., 2022).
Second, interaction style refers to the communication style used by
chatbots to interact with customers, which includes task- and social-
oriented styles (Chattaraman et al., 2019; Chong et al., 2021; Keeling
et al., 2010). The task-oriented style is geared toward high efficiency (Li
and Ma, 2022) and is naturally perceived as highly competent. In
contrast, the social-oriented style is characterized by warmth (Chat­
taraman et al., 2019). In short, different response times and interaction
styles have different characteristics; it is their mixed effects on perceived
warmth and competence that produce contradictory findings on
customer satisfaction. We believe that the above inferences explain the
mixed results.
Thus, we consider temporal cues, conversational cues, perceived
warmth, and perceived competence together with satisfaction. Accord­
ing to the CAPS theory (Mischel and Shoda, 1995, 1998), individuals’
responses to external situations are not passive or indifferent; external
situational information activates a series of internal responses that in
turn influence individuals’ attitudes. Internal responses refer to an in­
dividual’s cognitive and affective processing of external information,
with the two pathways often occurring in parallel. Next, we situate this
theory in our research scenario: On the one hand, people tend to link
warmth-related constructs (such as empathy, emotional expressivity,
and emotionality) with affective processing. On the other hand, people
generally link competence-related constructs (such as expertise, confi­
dence, and efficiency) with cognitive processing (Rom et al., 2017). For
example, Aquino et al. (2016) discovered that individual differences in
the need for affect influence warmth perception, while individual dif­
ferences in the need for cognition influence competence perception.
Hence, we speculate that perceived warmth and competence result from
affective and cognitive processing of acquired external situational in­
formation, respectively. Based on the above, we argue that temporal and
conversational cues (extrinsic situational information) impact the
competence (cognitive processing) and warmth (affective processing)
perceived by customers, which simultaneously affect satisfaction
(attitude).
2.2. Temporal cues in chatbots and their effects
Currently, most companies adopt chatbots with instant responses,
which refers to a chatbot’s immediate response to customer questions
(without delay) (Gnewuch et al., 2018; Rhim et al., 2022); that is, the
response time is 0 s regardless of the length of the response. In reality,
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

the instant response time is not 0 s owing to slight physical delays in the Table 1
transmission speeds; still, these delays are negligible. Over time, chatbot Overview of critical studies on chatbot anthropomorphism and social presence.
scholars and designers realized that anthropomorphism could enhance Study Study focus Key findings supporting this
service effectiveness. Therefore, some chatbots began delaying re­ study
sponses to simulate the time humans would take to respond (Appel et al., Araujo (2018) Investigate the impacts of The usage of
2012; Klopfenstein et al., 2017). For instance, the official customer anthropomorphic design anthropomorphic design
service chatbots “JIMI” for Jingdong, one of China’s most popular and cues and communicative cues had a significant
influential e-commerce sites, and “Duoduo” for Pinduoduo, a social agency framing in the influence on emotional
chatbot design on connection.
commerce site focused on group shopping, are both designed to respond perceptions about social
with a slight delay. Essentially, anthropomorphism refers to “the presence and
assignment of human traits, emotions, and characteristics to nonhuman anthropomorphism, and the
entities, such as chatbots” (Nass and Moon, 2000). A key characteristic impacts of these perceptions
on attitudes toward the
of a human response is that it is proportional to the message length; that
company, customer
is, the longer the length of the reply, the longer the response time (Rhim satisfaction, and level of
et al., 2022; Holtgraves and Han, 2007). Therefore, an anthropomorphic emotional connection that
delayed response means that the time interval (between a message sent consumers feel with a
by customers and the corresponding reply triggered by the chatbot) company.
De Visser et al. Investigate the impacts of Anthropomorphism cues
increases with the length of the reply (Rhim et al., 2022). (2016) anthropomorphism cues of were associated with greater
Rhim et al. (2022) called the anthropomorphic delayed response an automated agents on trust resilience with higher
adaptive response. Notably, the authors integrated it with three other outcome variables, such as resistance to breakdowns in
humanization techniques (use of self-introduction, addressing by name, team performance, trust.
compliance, and trust
and echoing respondents’ answers) and measured their overall effects on
resilience.
the perceptions of survey chatbots. Gnewuch et al. (2018) conducted an Gnewuch et al. Investigate the impacts of Compared to near-instant
online experiment in a customer service setting and found more positive (2018) chatbots’ response time responses, dynamically
effects related to dynamic delayed responses (similar to anthropomor­ (dynamically delayed versus delayed responses not only
phic delayed responses) on perceived humanness and social presence near-instant responses) on increased users’ perceptions
users’ perceptions of of humanness and social
than instant responses. Nevertheless, the separate effects of anthropo­
humanness, social presence, presence, but also led to
morphic delayed responses on perceived warmth and competence of and satisfaction with the greater satisfaction with the
customer service chatbots and how they affect customer satisfaction are overall chatbot interaction. overall chatbot interaction.
poorly understood. Accordingly, we propose the following research Go and Sundar Investigate the impacts of Social presence had
(2019) anthropomorphic visual cues significant positive effects
question:
(high versus low on perceived expertise,
RQ: How do temporal cues (especially anthropomorphic delayed anthropomorphism), perceived friendliness of the
responses) affect customer perceptions (i.e., perceived warmth and message interactivity (high chatbots, attitudes, and
competence) and satisfaction levels in HCI? versus low message behavioral intentions
Instant responses are perceived as thoughtless, effortless (Ho et al., interactivity), and identity toward the website.
cues (chatbot versus human)
2016; Söderlund et al., 2022), and unnatural (Gnewuch et al., 2018).
in chatbot design on social
Meanwhile, delayed responses help convey the idea that chatbots are presence, perceived
conscientious and hard-working (Lew et al., 2018; Söderlund, 2020), homophily, perceived
which are positively associated with warmth (Söderlund et al., 2022). In contingency, and perceived
dialogue. Further,
addition, anthropomorphism and the social presence inspired by it can
investigate the impacts of
positively affect customer evaluations and perceptions of chatbots these perceptions on
(specific arguments can be found in Table 1). Hence, we hypothesize the perceived expertise,
following. perceived friendliness of the
chatbots, attitudes, and
H1a. In HCI, anthropomorphic delayed responses lead customers to behavioral intentions to
perceive greater warmth than instant responses. return to a given website.
Jin and Youn Investigate the impacts of AI- Human-likeness had
Meanwhile, instant responses emphasize completing tasks quickly, (2022) powered chatbots’ significant positive effects
reflecting chatbots’ competence, efficiency, and skillfulness. This may anthropomorphism (human- on consumers’ social
likeness, animacy, and presence and imagery
positively affect perceived competence more than anthropomorphic
intelligence) on consumers’ processing. Intelligence had
delayed responses. Hence, we hypothesize the following. social presence, imagery significant positive effects
processing, psychological on imagery processing.
H1b. In HCI, instant responses lead customers to perceive greater
ownership, and their impacts Social presence and imagery
competence than anthropomorphic delayed responses. on chatbot continuance processing, in turn,
intention. positively affected chatbot
continuance intention.
2.3. Conversational cues in chatbots and their effects Klein and Martinez Investigate the impacts of Anthropomorphic design
(2022) anthropomorphic design cues had significant positive
In this study, conversational cues refer to interaction styles (also cues in chatbot applications effects on perceived
on perceived enjoyment, enjoyment, attitude, trust,
known as conversational or communication styles). They may follow
attitude, trust, and their and customer satisfaction.
task- or social-oriented styles (Chattaraman et al., 2019; Chong et al., impacts on customer
2021; Keeling et al., 2010). The task-oriented style is goal driven and satisfaction.
aims to complete tasks with minimal cost, effort, and time (Li and Ma, Konya-Baumbach Investigate the impacts of Chatbot anthropomorphism
2022). To establish interpersonal relationships with customers, the et al. (2022) chatbot anthropomorphism had significant positive
on perceived social presence, effects on trust, purchase
social-oriented style satisfies customers’ emotional needs and person­ customer-related outcomes intention, word of mouth,
alizes their interactions (Chattaraman et al., 2019). Thus, we propose (trust, purchase intention, and satisfaction with the
the following research question: (continued on next page)
RQ: How do conversational cues affect customer perceptions (i.e.,

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Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

Table 1 (continued ) 2.4. Interaction effects of temporal and conversational cues

Study Study focus Key findings supporting this
study The interaction effects of temporal and conversational cues on
word of mouth, and shopping experience. Social
customer perceptions and satisfaction levels are as yet unknown, which
satisfaction with the presence was identified as is the third research question.
shopping experience) in the underlying mediating First, we analyze the interaction effect of temporal and conversa­
customer–chatbot mechanism of these effects. tional cues on perceived warmth. As inferred above, the task-oriented
interactions, and the
interaction style leads customers to perceive much lower warmth than
moderating roles of shopping
context (hedonic versus the social-oriented style. When chatbots offer anthropomorphic delayed
utilitarian) and customer responses, customers clearly perceive a difference in warmth between
information (sensitive versus task- and social-oriented interaction styles. However, when chatbots
non-sensitive). offer instant responses, customers perceive chatbots as “cold” robots
Rhim et al. (2022) Investigate the impacts of the Compared to the survey
adoption of humanization chatbots without
that do not put thought and effort into answering their questions (Ho
techniques (use of self- humanization techniques, et al., 2016; Söderlund et al., 2022); then, the customers’ rating of the
introduction, addressing by respondents’ perceptions of chatbots’ warmth may not be high regardless of the interaction style.
name, using adaptive the survey chatbots with Thus, in the instant response condition, the two interaction styles exhibit
response speed, and echoing humanization techniques
limited differences in terms of warmth. Thus, we hypothesize the
respondents’ answers) to were more positive, with
survey chatbots on higher levels of following.
respondents’ perceptions of anthropomorphism, social
H5a. Temporal and conversational cues interact such that in the
chatbots, interaction presence, and satisfaction.
experience, and data quality. instant response condition, no significant difference exists between task-
and social-oriented interaction styles on perceived warmth. In the
anthropomorphic delayed response condition, the social-oriented
perceived warmth and competence) and satisfaction levels in HCI? interaction style leads to greater perceived warmth from chatbots than
Chattaraman et al. (2019) discovered that AI-based chatbots were the task-oriented interaction style.
perceived to have a significantly more engaging personality when their
interaction style was social- rather than task-oriented. The Next, we analyze the interaction effect of temporal and conversa­
social-oriented style conveys friendliness through greetings, small talk, tional cues on perceived competence. As inferred above, the social-
encouragement, and exclamations (Keeling et al., 2010), which signals oriented interaction style leads customers to perceive very low compe­
that the sender is warm and approachable. Hence, we hypothesize the tence compared with the task-oriented style. When chatbots offer instant
following. responses, customers clearly perceive higher competence in the task-
rather than in the social-oriented style. However, when chatbots offer
H2a. In HCI, the social-oriented interaction style leads customers to anthropomorphic delayed responses, the anthropomorphism serves as a
perceive greater warmth than the task-oriented interaction style. social cue that promotes chatbots to be perceived as social actors rather
The task-oriented style emphasizes efficiency with minimal cost, than just tools to use, further creating an emotional bond between
effort, and time (Li and Ma, 2022), which are highly correlated with customers and chatbots (Nass et al., 1996). The social-oriented style
competence, efficiency, and skillfulness. By contrast, the social-oriented increases perceived warmth, further promoting emotional intimacy and
style incorporates abundant emotional expressions. However, reinforcing bonds; thus, customers evaluate chatbots more positively
emotionality is the antithesis of rationality (Ashforth and Humphrey, (including the evaluation of competence). Therefore, the difference in
1995), and emotional expressions in professional contexts can signal a perceived competence between social- and task-oriented styles de­
lack of competence (Lewis, 2000; Li et al., 2019). Small talk and creases. Thus, we hypothesize the following.
informal language are also vital features of the social-oriented style H5b. Temporal and conversational cues interact such that in the
(Chattaraman et al., 2019). Thus, chatbots with these features may be instant response condition, the task-oriented interaction style leads to
perceived as inappropriate and distracting, rather than seriously focused greater perceived competence than the social-oriented interaction style.
on solving issues, thereby lowering their perceived competence. Hence, In the anthropomorphic delayed response condition, no significant dif­
we hypothesize the following. ference exists between task- and social-oriented interaction styles on
H2b. In HCI, the task-oriented interaction style leads customers to perceived competence.
perceive greater competence than the social-oriented interaction style. Finally, we analyze the interaction effect of temporal and conver­
The halo effect is the tendency for positive impressions resulting sational cues on satisfaction. When chatbots offer instant responses,
from a certain quality or characteristic of an entity (for example, a customers perceive the chatbots as cold robots when they just regard
person, item, or company) to influence people’s impressions of other chatbots as tools to be used. Then, customers may expect greater
qualities or characteristics or even of the entity in general (Nisbett and competence from the chatbots, making the task-oriented style more
Wilson, 1977; Shao et al., 2021; Richetin et al., 2021). Thus, higher satisfying than the social-oriented style. However, when chatbots offer
(lower) perceived warmth and competence in chatbots depending on anthropomorphic delayed responses, the social-oriented style
temporal and conversational cues will positively (negatively) affect strengthens the emotional bond between customers and chatbots,
customer satisfaction, creating a halo effect (Bufquin et al., 2017; Liu inducing a more positive attitude in general toward the chatbots.
et al., 2018; Zhou et al., 2021). Accordingly, we hypothesize the Therefore, we hypothesize the following.
following. H6. Temporal and conversational cues interact such that in the instant
H3. The effect of temporal cues on customer satisfaction is mediated response condition, the task-oriented interaction style leads to greater
by perceived warmth (H3a) and competence (H3b) in HCI. customer satisfaction than the social-oriented style (H6a). Conversely, in
the anthropomorphic delayed response condition, the social-oriented
H4. The effect of conversational cues on customer satisfaction is interaction style leads to greater satisfaction (H6b).
mediated by perceived warmth (H4a) and competence (H4b) in HCI.
Fig. 1 illustrates the conceptual model and Table 2 defines the
variables.

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Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

Fig. 1. Conceptual model.

This can be explained by two factors. First, McLaughlin and Cody (1982)
Table 2
mentioned that speakers who wait 4–10 s to reply are perceived as less
Construct definitions.
attractive and competent than those who do not. Second, some scholars
Construct Definition set the response time to 4 s (Dow et al., 1981). Therefore, 4 s may be the
Instant response The chatbot responds to customers’ questions threshold time that affects the perceived effects. Then, we used the speed
immediately regardless of the length of the response ( (response time of 4 s for 78 characters) to calculate the response times
Gnewuch et al., 2018; Rhim et al., 2022).
for the remaining replies. Finally, in the anthropomorphic delayed
Anthropomorphic delayed The time interval (between a message sent by
response customers and the corresponding chatbot reply) response condition, the response times for all replies from the chatbot
increases according to the length of the reply (Rhim were between 1 and 4 s.
et al., 2022). The manipulation of conversational cues (interaction style) was
Task-oriented interaction The communication style adopted by the chatbot is based on the approach used by Chattaraman et al. (2019) and Keeling
style goal driven and aims to complete tasks with minimal
et al. (2010). In the task-oriented condition, the chatbot was limited to
cost, effort, and time (Li and Ma, 2022).
Social-oriented interaction The communication style adopted by the chatbot aims providing information to answer questions in a formal style, and no
style at establishing interpersonal relationships with social conversation occurred, except for the initial greeting and closing
customers, satisfying customers’ emotional needs, and statements. Meanwhile, in the social-oriented condition, besides
personalizing the interaction (Chattaraman et al.,
providing functional information, the chatbot maintained an informal
2019).
Perceived warmth The degree to which customers perceive the chatbot to
conversation through small talk, questions, exclamatory feedback, and
be friendly, warm, kind, and sincere (Aaker et al., encouragement. Examples of the scripts are presented in Appendix A.
2010; Wang et al., 2017; Lou et al., 2021). Finally, four videos were created to demonstrate the interaction
Perceived competence The degree to which customers perceive the chatbot to processes between the customer and chatbot under four conditions. The
be competent, capable, intelligent, and skillful (Lou
four videos were identical except for their response times and interac­
et al., 2021).
Satisfaction The extent to which customers perceive that the tion styles. For example, the content and timing of the customer’s typed
chatbot’s customer service meets their needs after questions were the same for all four videos. The chatbot’s appearance
interacting with it (Chen and Wang, 2016). was replaced by a homemade ‘Key of Time and Space’ logo avatar to
control its anthropomorphism to the same extent in all four videos (Go
and Sundar, 2019). The customer interacted with the chatbot using only
3. Study 1
text without any emoticons or images (Huang et al., 2021), and the
degree of message interactivity was the same for all four videos (Lew
All studies in this article adopted the between-group scenario-based
et al., 2018; Huang et al., 2021). These designs can help control the
experimental approach, centered on a sales-related customer service
interference of irrelevant factors.
environment, and focused only on the service success scenario; that is,
the chatbot successfully solved the customer’s problem without making
3.1.2. Pretest
a mistake. In Study 1, a fictitious online store brand called “Key of Time
The purpose of the pretest was to check the manipulations of the
and Space” was used to control for the effects of brand familiarity on the
variables in the four videos. We recruited 36 subjects and asked them to
experiment. Drawing on previous literature (Chattaraman et al., 2019;
randomly watch one of the four videos and answer the manipulation
Keeling et al., 2010) and real-life phenomena that often occur in
check questions (see Appendix B for measurements). After eliminating
customer service, a shopping scenario was designed in which a customer
questionnaires that failed the attention check, 30 valid data points
purchases a cup as a gift for someone else at the online store. The
remained. The results showed that participants in the instant response
gift-giving scenario was selected to avoid potential bias in participants’
condition (t (30) = 2.862, p < 0.05, M = 6.67, SD = 0.72) were more
personal preferences and assessments when purchasing for themselves
likely to agree that the chatbot responded instantly each time than those
(Chen et al., 2021). We conducted a 2 (temporal cues: instant versus
in the anthropomorphic delayed response condition (M = 4.87, SD =
anthropomorphic delayed response) × 2 (conversational cues:
2.33). Further, the chatbot was perceived to have a significantly more
task-versus social-oriented) experiment to test hypothesis H6.
engaging personality when its interaction style was social- (t (30) =
− 2.862, p < 0.05, M = 6.18, SD = 1.10) than task-oriented (M = 4.28,
3.1. Methods
SD = 2.11). Thus, the manipulations of both temporal and conversa­
tional cues were successful.
3.1.1. Manipulations
The manipulation of temporal cues (response time) was based on the
3.1.3. Participants, procedure, measures
approach used by Gnewuch et al. (2018) and Rhim et al. (2022). In the
All experiments were conducted in China for two reasons. First,
instant response condition, the chatbot replied instantly, regardless of
China represents the world’s largest consumer retailing market (Carlson
the replies’ length. Meanwhile, in the anthropomorphic delayed
et al., 2021; Chi et al., 2021). Second, chatbots are common on Chinese
response condition, the chatbot replied to the customer after a time
online shopping sites. We conducted an online questionnaire via the
interval proportional to the replies’ length. Specifically, the response
Credamo platform, a professional online survey platform in China
time for the longest reply (78 characters in our experiments) was 4 s.

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Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

similar to MTurk with random assignments (Li and Wang, 2023). This
offers an ideal channel for conducting online between-group experi­
ments. A total of 135 Chinese participants were recruited through the
Credamo platform for Experiment 1.
The specific experimental procedure was as follows. First, after
reading the informed consent form, participants answered screening
questions about their experience with online shopping websites. Only
the questionnaires answered by participants who had experienced on­
line shopping websites were valid, thus ensuring that all participants
understood the experimental scenario. Next, all respondents received
instructions to read the scenario statements and imagine themselves as
protagonists of the interaction process between the customer and chat­
bot described in the scenario. Subsequently, the participants were
randomly instructed to observe one of the four real-time interaction
videos. Respondents then completed a structured questionnaire that
included manipulation checks, attention checks, and satisfaction mea­
surements. These items were measured using a 7-point Likert scale
ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree,” as detailed in
Appendix B. “She” was used as a proxy for the chatbot in the measure­
ments to control for the effects of gender on perceived warmth and
competence (Andrzejewski and Mooney, 2016). Finally, participants
answered general demographic questions. After eliminating question­
naires that did not experience online shopping websites and those that
failed the attention check, 121 valid responses remained. Based on the
payment criteria of the Credamo platform, each respondent of a valid
questionnaire was provided with a payment of RMB 1.
3.2. Results
3.2.1. Preliminary analysis
The distribution of the participants’ demographic characteristics is
presented in Table 3. Most respondents were female (58.7%), aged be­
tween 21 and 30 years (61.2%), held a bachelor degree (58.7%), and
sometimes or often interacted with chatbots (66.1%). We then con­
ducted manipulation checks, which showed that the manipulations of
both temporal and conversational cues were acceptable. We then con­
ducted a measurement reliability analysis; the results are presented in
Appendix B. The Cronbach’s alpha values for each variable exceeded the
recommended threshold of 0.7, factor loadings for all items exceeded the
recommended threshold of 0.5 (Huang and Dootson, 2022), corrected
item-total correlation (CITC) values exceeded the recommended
threshold of 0.4, and Cronbach’s alpha values after removing the items
Table 3
Participants’ demographic characteristics in Study 1.
Construct Category Frequency Percentage
were not significantly higher (Churchill Jr., 1979). Thus, the overall
reliability of the questionnaire was satisfactory and did not require the
removal of any items.
3.2.2. Hypotheses testing
Interaction effect on satisfaction. ANCOVA and two-way ANOVA
analyses were conducted with gender, age, education, income, and
frequency of interaction with chatbots as covariates. The main effects of
temporal (F (1, 121) = 0.060, p > 0.05) and conversational cues (F (1,
121) = 0.171, p > 0.05) on satisfaction were not significant; however,
they had a significant interaction effect on satisfaction (F (1, 121) =
13.827, p < 0.001; see Fig. 2). In the instant response condition, satis­
faction was higher in the task- (F (1, 63) = 9.604, p < 0.01, M = 6.14, SD
= 0.78) than in the social-oriented mode (M = 5.36, SD = 1.32).
However, in the anthropomorphic delayed response condition, satis­
faction was higher in the social- (F (1, 58) = 4.589, p < 0.05, M = 6.10,
SD = 0.72) than in the task-oriented mode (M = 5.33, SD = 1.58).
Therefore, hypotheses H6a and H6b were supported.
3.3. Discussion
We found that when the chatbot offered instant responses, customers
were more satisfied with the chatbot in the task- than the social-oriented
style (H6a). However, when the chatbot offered anthropomorphic
delayed responses, customers were less satisfied with the chatbot in the
task- than the social-oriented style (H6b). This shows a mixed effect of
the interaction of temporal and conversational cues on satisfaction,
helping to explain the question of HCI’s contradictory findings on
satisfaction to some extent.
Experiment 1 also revealed an interesting finding: temporal or
conversational cues had no significant effects on satisfaction. This may
be because, in the instant response condition, the high and low satis­
faction elicited by the task- and social-oriented styles, respectively,
cancel each other out. Meanwhile, in the anthropomorphic delayed
response condition, the low and high satisfaction elicited by the task-
and social-oriented styles, respectively, cancel each other out. Thus, the
overall effects of the two response times on satisfaction exhibit minimal
difference. Similarly, the effects of the two interaction styles on satis­
faction also show small differences.
4. Study 2
In Study 2, we aimed to provide further evidence by improving the
robustness of Study 1’s findings, and explain the mixed effects of HCI on

Gender Male 50 41.3

Female 71 58.7
Age (years) 20 and below 16 13.2
21–30 74 61.2
31–40 21 17.4
41–50 6 5.0
Above 50 4 3.3
Education High school/junior high 13 10.7
school degree or below
College degree 15 12.4
Bachelor degree 71 58.7
Master degree or above 22 18.2
Average monthly 3000 and below 26 21.5
income (Yuan) 3001–5000 23 19.0
5001–7000 29 24.0
7001–9000 20 16.5
9001 and more 23 19.0
Frequency of Never 3 2.5
interaction with Occasionally 26 21.5
chatbots Sometimes 41 33.9
Often 39 32.2
Fig. 2. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on satisfaction in
Always 12 9.9
Study 1.

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Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

satisfaction by verifying the effects of temporal and conversational cues Table 4

on warmth and competence perceptions, and the mediating roles of the Participants’ demographic characteristics in Study 2.
two perceptions. We used the same fictitious online store brand called Construct Category Frequency Percentage
“Key of Time and Space” from Study 1 and designed a shopping scenario
Gender Male 73 37.1
in which a customer purchased shampoo online as a gift for someone Female 124 62.9
else at the online store. The shampoo product was chosen because it is a Age (years) 20 and below 22 11.2
low-engagement product, similar to the cup in Study 1 (Tran et al., 21–30 102 51.8
2021). This helps exclude the effects of product engagement on the 31–40 59 29.9
41–50 9 4.6
experimental results. Considering that product attribute type (functional Above 50 5 2.5
versus experiential attributes) may influence customers’ perceptions Education High school/junior high 5 2.5
and attitudes toward chatbots (Ruan and Mezei, 2022; Brakus et al., school degree or below
2014), customer interactions with chatbots in Study 2 centered on the College degree 14 7.1
Bachelor degree 155 78.7
functional attributes of shampoo: ingredients. Functional attributes refer
Master degree or above 23 11.7
to attributes that act as tools to achieve certain consumer goals (Ruan Occupation Unemployed 2 1.0
and Mezei, 2022). This helps clarify customers’ attitudes toward Student 52 26.4
sales-related services provided by chatbots based on product functional Corporate employee 108 54.8
attributes. We conducted a 2 (temporal cues: instant versus anthropo­ Career/civil servant/ 17 8.6
government employee
morphic delayed response) × 2 (conversational cues: task- versus Freelancer/self- 10 5.1
social-oriented) experiment to test hypotheses H1–H6. employed
Others 8 4.1
4.1. Methods Average monthly income 3000 and below 50 25.4
(Yuan) 3001–5000 17 8.6
5001–7000 20 10.2
In Experiment 2, temporal and conversational cues were manipu­ 7001–9000 33 16.8
lated in the same manner as in Study 1 (see Appendix A for examples of 9001 and more 77 39.1
the scripts for the manipulation of conversational cues). The four videos Average monthly expense 3000 and below 78 39.6
were identical except for the response times and interaction styles to (Yuan) 3001–5000 46 23.4
5001–7000 43 21.8
control for interference from irrelevant factors. 7001–9000 22 11.2
Next, a pretest was conducted to check the manipulations of the 9001 and more 8 4.1
variables in the four videos. An analysis of 40 valid questionnaires Frequency of online 2 and below 9 4.6
showed that the manipulations of temporal and conversational cues shopping (Average 3–5 62 31.5
monthly times) 6–10 80 40.6
were successful.
11 and more 46 23.4
A total of 209 Chinese participants were recruited through the Cre­ Marital Status Unmarried 84 42.6
damo platform to participate in Experiment 2. After eliminating the Married 112 56.9
questionnaires that failed the attention check, did not experience online Widowed 0 0
shopping websites, or did not have conversations with chatbots, 197 Divorced 1 0.5
Frequency of interaction Never 0 0
valid questionnaires remained. Based on the payment criteria of the with chatbots Occasionally 14 7.1
Credamo platform, each respondent of valid questionnaires was paid Sometimes 51 25.9
RMB 2. Regarding covariates, besides gender, age, education, income, Often 107 54.3
and frequency of interaction with chatbots, which were measured in Always 25 12.7
Study 1, occupation (Hu et al., 2021; Chattaraman et al., 2019), ex­
penses (Ruan and Mezei, 2022), frequency of online shopping (Song
Appendix B). In addition, the realism check of the situation described in
et al., 2022; Li and Wang, 2023; Lou et al., 2021), and marital status (Liu
the scenario indicated that the realism scores were not significantly
et al., 2021) were also investigated (see Table 4). In addition, perceived
different among the four experimental groups (p < 0.05) and were all
interactivity (Li and Wang, 2023), prior satisfaction with chatbots (Li
greater than 5.5, indicating that the participants perceived the experi­
and Wang, 2023), and relationship norm orientation (Marder et al.,
mental scenarios as very realistic.
2020) were used; these three confounding factors may significantly
affect customers’ attitudes toward chatbots (see Appendix B for
4.2.2. Hypotheses testing
measurements).
Warmth perception. The ANCOVA results showed that participants
in the instant response condition (F (1, 197) = 14.467, p < 0.001, M =
4.2. Results 5.23, SD = 1.31) perceived lower warmth than those in the anthropo­
morphic delayed response condition (M = 5.82, SD = 1.05). Thus, hy­
4.2.1. Preliminary analysis pothesis H1a was supported. Participants in the social-oriented
Table 4 presents the demographic characteristics of the sample. The condition (F (1, 197) = 7.940, p < 0.01, M = 5.78, SD = 1.14) perceived
majority of the respondents were female (62.9%), between the ages of greater warmth than those in the task-oriented condition (M = 5.29, SD
21 and 30 (51.8%), had a bachelor degree (78.7%), worked as a = 1.24), supporting hypothesis H2a.
corporate employee (54.8%), had an average monthly income of ￥9001 Competence perception. Participants in the instant response con­
and more (39.1%), had average monthly expenses of ￥3000 and below dition (F (1, 197) = 5.857, p < 0.05, M = 5.47, SD = 1.58) perceived
(39.6%), shopped online three times a month or more (95.4%), were greater competence than those in the anthropomorphic delayed
married (56.9%), and often interacted with chatbots (54.3%). We then response condition (M = 4.88, SD = 1.91). Therefore, hypothesis H1b
conducted manipulation checks, which showed that the manipulations was supported. Participants in the task-oriented condition (F (1, 197) =
of both temporal and conversational cues were acceptable. The results of 4.169, p < 0.05, M = 5.49, SD = 1.54) perceived greater competence
the measurement reliability analysis indicated that the CITC value of one than those in the social-oriented condition (M = 4.84, SD = 1.93),
of the four items in the Perceived Interactivity Scale was below 0.4 and supporting hypothesis H2b.
that Cronbach’s alpha increased significantly after its deletion; there­ Mediation analysis. The results of the mediation analysis using
fore, this item was eliminated (Churchill Jr, 1979). All item settings and PROCESS are presented in Table 5. Warmth and competence mediated
the reliability of variables were acceptable after the elimination (see

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Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

Table 5
Mediation analysis in Study 2.
Path Mediation BootSE BootLLCI BootULCI
effect

Temporal cues-perceived 0.2028 0.0573 0.0965 0.3191

warmth-satisfaction
Temporal cues-perceived − 0.2094 0.0838 − 0.3727 − 0.0369
competence-satisfaction
Conversational cues- 0.1714 0.0671 0.0496 0.3171
perceived warmth-
satisfaction
Conversational cues- − 0.1742 0.0864 − 0.3534 − 0.0128
perceived competence-
satisfaction

the effects of temporal and conversational cues on satisfaction in

opposing directions. Overall, hypotheses H3a, H3b, H4a, and H4b were
supported.
Interaction effect on warmth perception. The results of the two-
way ANOVA analysis showed a significant interaction effect of tempo­ Fig. 4. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on perceived
ral and conversational cues on warmth perception (F (1, 197) = 5.716, p competence in Study 2.
< 0.05; see Fig. 3). In the instant response condition, no significant
difference existed between the task- (F (1, 97) = 0.138, p > 0.05, M =
5.14, SD = 1.28) and social-oriented modes (M = 5.33, SD = 1.34).
However, in the anthropomorphic delayed response condition,
perceived warmth was higher in the social- (F (1, 100) = 15.804, p <
0.001, M = 6.21, SD = 0.70) than in the task-oriented mode (M = 5.43,
SD = 1.19). Therefore, hypothesis H5a was supported.
Interaction effect on competence perception. Temporal and
conversational cues had a significant interaction effect on perceived
competence (F (1, 197) = 4.266, p < 0.05; see Fig. 4). In the instant
response condition, perceived competence was higher in the task- (F (1,
97) = 12.429, p < 0.01, M = 6.01, SD = 0.86) than in the social-oriented
mode (M = 4.91, SD = 1.92). However, in the anthropomorphic delayed
response condition, no significant difference existed between the task- (F
(1, 100) = 0.201, p > 0.05, M = 4.99, SD = 1.87) and social-oriented
modes (M = 4.77, SD = 1.95). Therefore, hypothesis H5b was supported.
Interaction effect on satisfaction. The main effects of temporal (F
(1, 197) = 3.781, p > 0.05) and conversational cues (F (1, 197) = 0.423,
p > 0.05) on satisfaction were not significant, but they had a significant
interaction effect on satisfaction (F (1, 197) = 25.605, p < 0.001; see
Fig. 5). In the instant response condition, satisfaction was higher in the Fig. 5. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on satisfaction in
task- (F (1, 97) = 13.930, p < 0.001, M = 5.85, SD = 0.86) than in the Study 2.
social-oriented mode (M = 5.15, SD = 0.97). However, in the anthro­
pomorphic delayed response condition, satisfaction was higher in the task-oriented mode (M = 5.52, SD = 0.96). Therefore, hypotheses H6a
social- (F (1, 100) = 10.250, p < 0.01, M = 6.01, SD = 0.69) than in the and H6b were supported.

4.3. Discussion

Fig. 3. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on perceived
warmth in Study 2.
Study 2 showed that hypotheses H1–H6 were all supported when the
product attribute type was functional.
Specifically, compared with instant responses, anthropomorphic
delayed responses led to greater warmth perception (H1a) but lower
competence perception (H1b). That is, instant and anthropomorphic
delayed responses help the chatbot shape the “low warmth and high
competence” and “high warmth and low competence” images, respec­
tively. This may be because the efficiency from instant responses plays a
critical role in increasing competence; meanwhile, conscientiousness,
effort, and social presence presented by anthropomorphic delayed re­
sponses help enhance warmth. These findings reveal the mixed effects of
temporal cues on perceived warmth and competence.
Compared with the task-oriented style, the social-oriented style led
to greater warmth perception (H2a) but lower competence perception
(H2b). That is, the task- and social-oriented styles help the chatbot shape
the “low warmth and high competence” and “high warmth and low
competence” images, respectively. This may be because the emotion and

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Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

friendliness from the social-oriented style play critical roles in increasing Table 6
warmth; meanwhile, the rationality and efficiency from the task- Participants’ demographic characteristics in Study 3.
oriented style play essential roles in increasing competence. These Construct Category Frequency Percentage
findings reveal the mixed effects of conversational cues on perceived
Gender Male 79 39.7
warmth and competence. Female 120 60.3
Meanwhile, the effects of temporal and conversational cues in HCI on Age (years) 20 and below 15 7.5
customer satisfaction were mediated by perceived warmth and compe­ 21–30 99 49.7
tence in opposite directions (H3 and H4). These findings help us to 31–40 57 28.6
41–50 13 6.5
explain HCI’s mixed effects on customer satisfaction. Above 50 15 7.5
Moreover, the task-oriented style elicited higher perceived compe­ Education High school/junior high 10 5.0
tence and satisfaction toward the chatbot in the instant response con­ school degree or below
dition. The social-oriented style led to greater perceived warmth and College degree 27 13.6
Bachelor degree 135 67.8
satisfaction in the anthropomorphic delayed response condition (H5 and
Master degree or above 27 13.6
H6). This can help to explain the HCI question from the perspective of Occupation Unemployed 1 0.5
the interaction effects of temporal and conversational cues. Student 35 17.6
Corporate employee 124 62.3
5. Study 3 Career/civil servant/ 21 10.6
government employee
Freelancer/self- 10 5.0
In Study 3, we sought to augment Study 2’s findings by exploring the employed
effects of temporal and conversational cues on warmth perception, Others 8 4.0
competence perception, and satisfaction in HCI under an experiential Average monthly income 3000 and below 32 16.1
(Yuan) 3001–5000 28 14.1
product attribute type. We used the same shopping scenario as in Study
5001–7000 30 15.1
2, whereby a customer purchased shampoo at the Key of Time and Space 7001–9000 28 14.1
online store as a gift for someone else. However, the interaction between 9001 and more 81 40.7
the customer and chatbot centered on the “scent” of the shampoo rather Average monthly expense 3000 and below 70 35.2
than the “ingredients.” The scent was chosen because it is an experien­ (Yuan) 3001–5000 63 31.7
5001–7000 37 18.6
tial attribute that has a strong impact on customers’ sensory perceptions, 7001–9000 22 11.1
moods, emotions, and feelings (Ruan and Mezei, 2022). This helps 9001 and more 7 3.5
clarify customers’ attitudes toward the sales-related services provided Frequency of online 2 and below 6 3.0
by the chatbot under experiential product attributes and more clearly shopping (Average 3–5 72 36.2
monthly times) 6–10 79 39.7
contrast the impacts of the product attribute type on the experimental
11 and more 42 21.1
results. We conducted a 2 (temporal cues: instant versus anthropomor­ Marital Status Unmarried 71 35.7
phic delayed response) × 2 (conversational cues: task- versus Married 126 63.3
social-oriented) experiment to test hypotheses H1–H6. Widowed 0 0
Divorced 2 1.0
Frequency of interaction Never 0 0
5.1. Methods with chatbots Occasionally 29 14.6
Sometimes 46 23.1
Experiment 3 used the same variables, covariates, manipulations, Often 95 47.7
measurements, and procedures as Experiment 2 (see Appendix A for Always 29 14.6
examples of the scripts used for the manipulation of conversational cues
and Appendix B for measurements). The four videos were identical between 21 and 30 (49.7%), had a bachelor degree (67.8%), worked as a
except for the response times and interaction styles to control the corporate employee (62.3%), had an average monthly income of ￥9001
interference of unrelated factors. and more (40.7%), had average monthly expenses of ￥5000 and below
Next, a pretest was conducted to check the manipulations of the (66.8%), shopped online three times a month or more (97.0%), were
variables in the four videos developed for Study 3. An analysis of 40 married (63.3%), and often interacted with chatbots (47.7%). We then
valid questionnaires indicated that the manipulations of temporal and conducted manipulation and realism checks of the situation described in
conversational cues were successful. In addition, a combined analysis of the scenario, showing that the manipulations of temporal and conver­
the data from the pretests of Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that partic­ sational cues were successful and that participants perceived the
ipants in the pretest of Experiment 3 (t (80) = − 5.688, p < 0.001, M = experimental scenarios as very realistic. The measurement reliability
5.43, SD = 1.95) agreed more than those in the pretest of Experiment 2 analysis indicated that the CITC value of one of the four items in the
(M = 2.90, SD = 2.02) that the product attribute focused on by the Perceived Interactivity Scale was below 0.4 and that Cronbach’s alpha
interaction process was experiential. Thus, the manipulation of the increased significantly after its deletion. Therefore, this item was elim­
product attribute type was successful. inated (Churchill Jr, 1979), all item settings and the reliability of vari­
A total of 214 Chinese participants were recruited through the Cre­ ables were acceptable after elimination (see Appendix B). A combined
damo platform to participate in Experiment 3. After eliminating the analysis of the data from Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that participants
questionnaires that failed the attention check, did not experience online in Experiment 3 (t (396) = − 14.474, p < 0.001, M = 5.61, SD = 1.69)
shopping websites, or did not have conversations with chatbots, 199 agreed more than those in Experiment 2 (M = 2.90, SD = 2.02) that the
valid questionnaires remained. Based on the payment criteria of the product attribute focused on by the interaction process was experiential.
Credamo platform, each valid questionnaire respondent was paid RMB Thus, the manipulation of the product attribute type was successful.
2.
5.2.2. Hypotheses testing
5.2. Results Warmth perception. The ANCOVA results showed that participants
in the instant response condition (F (1, 199) = 17.208, p < 0.001, M =
5.2.1. Preliminary analysis 5.65, SD = 0.73) perceived lower warmth than those in the anthropo­
The distribution of the participants’ demographic characteristics is morphic delayed response condition (M = 6.04, SD = 0.72). Thus, hy­
presented in Table 6. Most respondents were female (60.3%), aged pothesis H1a was supported. Participants in the social-oriented

9
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

condition (F (1, 199) = 17.124, p < 0.001, M = 5.99, SD = 0.81)

perceived greater warmth than those in the task-oriented condition (M
= 5.69, SD = 0.65), supporting hypothesis H2a.
Competence perception. Participants in the instant response con­
dition (F (1, 199) = 4.583, p < 0.05, M = 5.99, SD = 0.59) perceived
greater competence than those in the anthropomorphic delayed
response condition (M = 5.74, SD = 0.97). Therefore, hypothesis H1b
was supported. Next, while participants in the task-oriented condition
(M = 5.97, SD = 0.58) perceived the chatbot to be more competent than
those in the social-oriented condition (M = 5.75, SD = 0.98), the dif­
ference in competence perception was not significant at the 95% con­
fidence level (F (1, 199) = 1.582, p > 0.05). Therefore, hypothesis H2b
was not supported.
Mediation analysis. The results of the mediation analysis using
PROCESS are presented in Table 7. Warmth and competence mediated
the effects of temporal cues on satisfaction in opposite directions.
However, the effect of conversational cues on satisfaction was only
mediated by warmth. Thus, hypotheses H3a, H3b, and H4a were sup­
Fig. 6. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on perceived
ported, but hypothesis H4b was not.
warmth in Study 3.
Interaction effect on warmth perception. The results of the two-
way ANOVA analysis showed a significant interaction effect of tempo­
ral and conversational cues on warmth perception (F (1, 199) = 9.187, p
< 0.01; see Fig. 6). In the instant response condition, no significant
difference existed between the task- (F (1, 99) = 1.660, p > 0.05, M =
5.66, SD = 0.68) and social-oriented modes (M = 5.65, SD = 0.78).
However, in the anthropomorphic delayed response condition,
perceived warmth was higher in the social- (F (1, 100) = 36.237, p <
0.001, M = 6.34, SD = 0.69) than in the task-oriented mode (M = 5.73,
SD = 0.62). Therefore, hypothesis H5a was supported.
Interaction effect on competence perception. Temporal and
conversational cues did not have a significant interaction effect on
perceived competence (F (1, 199) = 2.281, p > 0.05; see Fig. 7). In the
instant response condition, no significant difference existed between the
task- (F (1, 99) = 0.080, p > 0.05, M = 6.04, SD = 0.62) and social-
oriented modes (M = 5.95, SD = 0.56). The anthropomorphic delayed
response condition also exhibited no significant difference between the
task- (F (1, 100) = 1.464, p > 0.05, M = 5.92, SD = 0.53) and social-
oriented modes (M = 5.56, SD = 1.24). Therefore, hypothesis H5b
was not supported. Fig. 7. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on perceived
Interaction effect on satisfaction. The main effect of temporal cues competence in Study 3.
(F (1, 199) = 0.598, p > 0.05) on satisfaction was not significant,
whereas that of conversational cues was (F (1, 199) = 7.271, p < 0.01).
Further, temporal and conversational cues had a significant interaction
effect on satisfaction (F (1, 199) = 5.759, p < 0.05; see Fig. 8). In the
instant response condition, no significant difference existed between the
task- (F (1, 99) = 0.187, p > 0.05, M = 5.99, SD = 0.75) and social-
oriented modes (M = 5.81, SD = 0.76) on the influence on satisfac­
tion. However, in the anthropomorphic delayed response condition,
satisfaction was higher in the social- (F (1, 100) = 12.120, p < 0.01, M =
6.22, SD = 0.94) than in the task-oriented mode (M = 5.75, SD = 1.11).
Thus, hypothesis H6b was supported, but hypothesis H6a was not.

Table 7
Mediation analysis in Study 3.
Path Mediation BootSE BootLLCI BootULCI
effect

Temporal cues-perceived 0.1908 0.0540 0.0960 0.3057

warmth-satisfaction
Temporal cues-perceived − 0.1145 0.0527 − 0.2185 − 0.0115
competence-satisfaction
Conversational cues- 0.1751 0.0475 0.0873 0.2729 Fig. 8. Interaction effect of temporal and conversational cues on satisfaction in
perceived warmth-
Study 3.
satisfaction
Conversational cues- − 0.0698 0.0520 − 0.1783 0.0304
perceived competence-
satisfaction

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Y. Xu et al.
5.3. Discussion
Study 3 showed that hypotheses H1, H2a, H3, H4a, H5a, and H6b
were supported when the product attribute type was experiential, while
the remaining hypotheses were not supported.
Specifically, anthropomorphic delayed responses led to greater
warmth perception (H1a) but lower competence perception (H1b) than
instant responses, consistent with Study 2’s findings. This suggests that
the product attribute type does not influence the mixed effects of tem­
poral cues on perceived warmth and competence. The social-oriented
interaction style increased the perception of warmth more than the
task-oriented interaction style (H2a). Interestingly, perceived compe­
tence did not differ between the two conditions, although the in­
efficiency and emotional expression of the social-oriented interaction
style triggered lower customer perceptions of chatbots than the task-
oriented interaction style (H2b). This may be because customers have
a stronger desire for aesthetic pleasure and entertainment experiences
when the product attribute type is experiential rather than functional
(Brakus et al., 2009). This experientially driven goal induces customers
to desire more positive feelings, such as pleasure and excitement, from
the purchase experience (Brakus et al., 2014; Ruan and Mezei, 2022);
that is, a higher demand for emotion. Then, social-oriented interaction
styles satisfy customers’ emotional needs better than task-oriented
interaction styles (Chattaraman et al., 2019), triggering positive
customer evaluations. Consequently, customers’ low ratings of the
perceived competence of chatbots with the social-oriented interaction
style increase, thereby gradually reducing the difference in perceived
competence between the two interaction style conditions. Thus hy­
pothesis H2b fails to hold.
In the instant response condition, perceived warmth did not differ
between the task- and social-oriented interaction styles. In the anthro­
pomorphic delayed response condition, perceived warmth was higher in
the social- than in the task-oriented condition (H5a); this is in line with
Study 2’s findings. In the anthropomorphic delayed response condition,
perceived competence did not differ between the task- and social-
oriented interaction styles, consistent with Study 2’s findings. Howev­
er, in the instant response condition, perceived competence did not
differ between the two interaction styles, although the social-oriented
interaction style triggered lower customer perceptions of the chatbot’s
competence than the task-oriented interaction style (H5b). This is
inconsistent with Study 2’s findings. The reason may be the same as the
reason why hypothesis H2b did not hold: When the product attribute
type is experiential rather than functional, the social- rather than task-
oriented interaction style satisfies customers’ high demand for emo­
tions (Chattaraman et al., 2019). This increases customers’ low rating of
the perceived competence of chatbots with the social-oriented interac­
tion style. Consequently, the difference in perceived competence be­
tween the two interaction style conditions is insignificant in the instant
response condition. Thus, hypothesis H5b fails to hold.
In the anthropomorphic delayed response condition, the social-
oriented interaction style enhanced satisfaction (H6b), consistent with
Study 2’s findings. Unexpectedly, in the instant response condition,
although the social-oriented interaction style triggered lower customer
satisfaction with the chatbot than the task-oriented interaction style did,
satisfaction did not differ between the two conditions (H6a). This is
inconsistent with Study 2’s findings. This may be because when the
product attribute type is experiential rather than functional, the social-
than task-oriented interaction style satisfies the high customer demand
for emotions (Chattaraman et al., 2019). This further increases the low
customer satisfaction ratings for the chatbot with the social-oriented
interaction style. Consequently, the difference in satisfaction between
the two interaction style conditions is insignificant in the instant
response condition. Thus, hypothesis H6a fails to hold.
Finally, perceived warmth and competence mediated the relation­
ship between temporal cues and satisfaction in opposite directions (H3).
This helps explain the mixed effects of HCI on customer satisfaction.
11
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417
However, the effect of conversational cues on satisfaction was only
mediated by warmth (H4a). This may be because when the product
attribute type is experiential rather than functional, customers are more
concerned with satisfying their emotions in the shopping experience. At
this point, emotion plays a strong role in explaining customer satisfac­
tion, while cognition plays a relatively small role (Ruan and Mezei,
2022; Enrique Bigné et al., 2008). Hence, the mediating effect of
perceived competence (cognitive processing) is so small that it is not
statistically significant. Therefore, hypothesis H4b fails to hold.
Furthermore, we did not find a main effect of conversational cues on
perceived competence (H2b). Thus, it is not surprising that perceived
competence does not play a mediating role between conversational cues
and satisfaction (Go and Sundar, 2019).
6. Conclusion
6.1. Theoretical implications
First, business practices show that HCI has mixed effects on customer
satisfaction in sales-related services. Although this implies a large
research field, previous related studies have mainly explored the posi­
tive effects of HCI on satisfaction (Chung et al., 2020; Hsu and Lin,
2023), with minimal dissection of the question of mixed effects. This
study innovatively proposes two new explanatory perspectives for the
HCI question, making this study among the first to dissect the mixed
effects of HCI on satisfaction from the perspectives of temporal and
conversational cues. Crucially, this study advances theoretical de­
velopments in the fields of customer service, service marketing, and
interactive marketing, and identifies new directions for chatbot
research.
Second, there is insufficient research on the potential mechanisms
through which temporal and conversational cues affect customer satis­
faction in HCI. By incorporating perspectives from the SCM, compen­
sation effect, and CAPS theories, this study sorts out the complete path
for these effects as follows: “Temporal and conversational cues affect
satisfaction through the mediating effects of perceived warmth and
perceived competence in opposite directions.” This broadens ideas for
existing HCI research. Meanwhile, the applicability of traditional
interpersonal theories to the field of HCI has not been thoroughly
examined. By introducing several interpersonal theories, this study ex­
tends their applicable contexts. In particular, we innovatively extend the
compensation effect theory to the HCI context. Our findings show that
although chatbots are not real humans, their warmth and competence
could be perceived by customers in the form of compensation effects.
This theory provides a new perspective on how customers perceive
chatbots and broadens ideas for future chatbot research.
Third, this study contributes to the research stream on temporal cues,
conversational cues, and anthropomorphism. Specifically, in terms of
temporal cues, scholars have paid insufficient attention to the effects of
anthropomorphic delayed responses on perceived warmth and compe­
tence in HCI. This study reveals the separate effects of anthropomorphic
delayed responses on perceived warmth and competence, extending the
findings of Rhim et al. (2022) and responding to recent calls for research
on the anthropomorphic characteristics of chatbots (e.g., Go and Sundar,
2019; Chaves and Gerosa, 2021; Li and Wang, 2023). It also offers new
perspectives for existing studies on temporal cues and anthropomor­
phism. Meanwhile, this study reveals mixed effects of response time on
perceived warmth and competence, a novel finding that greatly enriches
the literature in the field of temporal cues.
In terms of conversational cues, previous interaction-style literature
has mainly focused on its positive effects on perceptions and attitudes
(Keeling et al., 2010). Different from such literature, this study identifies
the mixed effects of interaction styles on perceived warmth and
competence, a new finding that addresses the recent call for research on
the interaction style of chatbots (Chong et al., 2021).
Meanwhile, few scholars have studied the interaction effects
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

between temporal and conversational cues. The exception includes Lew social-oriented style.
et al. (2018), who explored the effects of response latency (slow versus
fast) and message contingency (more versus less contingent, another
6.3. Limitations and future research
type of conversational cue) of human sales support agents on customers’
perceived task attraction, social attraction, satisfaction, and organiza­
This study has certain limitations. First, the generalizability of our
tional relationships. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, no
findings because we only considered Chinese respondents’ perceptions
studies have explored the interaction between response time and
and attitudes toward customer service chatbots in sales-related customer
interaction style. This study innovatively reveals that the interaction
service environments. Future research needs a broader and larger sam­
effects of response time and interaction style on perceived warmth,
ple focusing on other customer service environments (e.g., legal and
competence, and satisfaction differ from the sum of their individual
health) and other types of AI. Further, we also ignored service failure
effects. This helps clarify the mixed effects when response time and
scenarios. In real life, chatbots often fail, especially when HCI conver­
interaction style are combined and fill the research gap regarding their
sations are subjective and unique. Service failure can trigger aversive
combinational effects. In addition, this study indicates that the product
negative customer sentiments and attitudes (Huang and Dootson, 2022).
attribute type can affect the relationships between these variables. This
In turn, this may affect or even completely subvert the existing research
finding helps deepen our understanding of how temporal and conver­
paths and findings noted in this study. Future research should explore
sational cues trigger different customer responses under different
the impacts of temporal and conversational cues on customer percep­
product attribute types. Further, it provides a complete theoretical
tions and satisfaction in chatbot service failure scenarios.
framework for studies related to temporal and conversational cues.
Second, this study adopted a scenario-based between-group experi­
mental approach, which has been used by studies related to customer
6.2. Managerial insights
service chatbots (Lou et al., 2021; Li and Wang, 2023; Song et al., 2022;
Ruan and Mezei, 2022), temporal cues (Lew et al., 2018), and conver­
A purveyor of best practices for online customer service once stated
sational cues (Yao et al., 2022). These scholars required participants to
that “three out of five customers take their business to the competitors
watch the interaction process between the customer and service pro­
after a poor customer service experience” (Klimczak, n.d.), demon­
vider rather than directly interacting before answering the question­
strating the importance of exploring ways to improve customer satis­
naire. Scenarios allow us to control for possible interference that may
faction. Our findings reveal that one way to improve customer
emerge (Lew et al., 2018). Video stimulus presentation manipulation
satisfaction with chatbots is by focusing on temporal cues. Marketers
allows participants to feel more engaged and present in the experiment
and designers must consider implementation goals when choosing the
than the static picture approach often used in previous studies (Rog­
response times for chatbots. If their goal is to improve customers’
geveen et al., 2015). It allows them to better imagine their experience of
warmth perception, an anthropomorphic delayed response is more
actually interacting with the chatbot (Roggeveen et al., 2015), which
appropriate. Then, the response time of the chatbot should increase as
can produce effects similar to those in the real world (Bateson and Hui,
the number of words in the response increases, thereby portraying the
1992; Huang and Dootson, 2022). Therefore, our experimental design
chatbot as a “hard-working, customer-focused service assistant.” If
was reasonable. However, the results may be more reliable if we
marketers and designers aim to portray a chatbot as competent and
designed real chatbots (as in the study by Rhim et al. (2022)) and asked
professional, an instant response is more appropriate. In this case, the
participants to answer the questionnaire after interacting with the
chatbot is designed to respond immediately to customer questions
chatbots.
regardless of response length, portrayed as a “timely problem solver.”
Third, although this study controlled for several covariates, other
Next, conversational cues can also be used to improve customer
covariates should be considered as well, such as product engagement
satisfaction. Marketers and designers should consider the implementa­
(Tran et al., 2021), consumers’ personality traits (Gnewuch et al., 2018),
tion goals and product attribute types while selecting the chatbot
time tolerance (Ruan and Mezei, 2022), emotional ability similarity
interaction style. A social-oriented style is appropriate if the goal is to
with chatbots (Yao et al., 2022), power usage level (Lou et al., 2021),
improve warmth perception, regardless of whether the product attribute
and Internet competency (Chattaraman et al., 2019).
type is functional or experiential. Specifically, chatbots should be por­
Fourth, during the experiments, the chatbot response times in the
trayed as “warm, friendly, and approachable shopping partners.”
anthropomorphic delayed response condition were controlled to be
Chatbots can provide initial greetings and closing statements, address
within 4 s. Future studies should continue to explore whether other
customers intimately, and offer emotional comfort and encouragement.
response times (e.g., 3 s) produce different effects, and thus, reveal the
Businesses may also consider allowing their chatbots to initiate small
optimal response times for chatbots.
talk. However, matching task-oriented styles with functional attributes
may be more appropriate if the goal is to portray the chatbot as
Funding
competent and professional. Specifically, chatbots should be portrayed
as “competent, rational problem solvers” with a concise, formal, and
This work was supported by the Jilin Provincial Philosophy and
rational response style, and no unnecessary small talk, emotional
Social Science Planning Fund Office in China [grant numbers 2022W5].
communication, or other social interactions. However, when the prod­
uct attribute type is experiential, it is appropriate to match it with either
interaction style. Declaration of competing interest
Finally, when the goal is to improve the overall satisfaction levels
and the product attribute type is functional, the instant (anthropomor­ This article does not present any conflict of interest.
phic delayed) response is an appropriate match with the task-oriented
(social-oriented) style. When the product attribute type is experiential, Data availability
the instant response can be matched with either interaction style, while
the anthropomorphic delayed response is an appropriate match with a Data will be made available on request.

12
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

Appendix A. Examples of the scripts for the manipulation of conversational cues

Interaction contents Task-oriented Social-oriented

Initial greeting Customer: Hi Customer: Hi

Chatbot: Dear customer, welcome to the Key of Time and Space. I am glad to
serve you. How can I help you?
Question Customer: What is the “cat claw thermos cup” made of?
consultations in
Study 1
Chatbot: This cup is made of “double stainless steel: austenitic 06Cr19Ni10”,
which meets the national food safety standards. Therefore, we advise you to
buy this one.
Question Customer: Are there any harsh ingredients added to this coconut shampoo?
consultations in
Study 2
Chatbot: This shampoo adopts a weak alkaline formula with soothing
ingredients that do not harm the hair. This shampoo does not contain any
harsh ingredients such as coloring, preservatives, hydrogen peroxide,
polyacrylamide, toluene, or diethanolamine. Please feel at ease using it.
Question Customer: Is the fragrance of this coconut shampoo long-lasting? Will the
consultations in fragrance be gone after just a few hours after washing?
Study 3
Chatbot: This shampoo has a long-lasting fragrance lasting more than two
days.
I highly recommend this shampoo if you need a long-lasting fragrance.
Closing statements Customer: I will place an order now.
Chatbot: Thanks very much for your support of our products. If you have
questions in the future, you can contact me whenever you want, and I will
wholeheartedly handle them for you.
Note: The original scripts were developed in Chinese.
Chatbot: Hi! You are here, my darling! As far apart as we are, we come
together as if by predestination. How wonderful to have you in the Key of
Time and Space! Any questions?
Customer: What is the “cat claw thermos cup” made of?
Chatbot: Great! I’m honored to serve you because you are discerning and
classy!
This cup is made of “double stainless steel: austenitic 06Cr19Ni10,” in line
with national food safety standards. So you can’t miss it!
Customer: Are there any harsh ingredients added to this coconut shampoo?
Chatbot: Hey, you don’t have to worry at all!
This shampoo adopts a weak alkaline formula with soothing ingredients that
don’t harm your hair at all. Moreover, no coloring, preservatives, hydrogen
peroxide, polyacrylamide, toluene, diethanolamine, or any harsh ingredients
exist in the shampoo!
Customer: Is the fragrance of this coconut shampoo long-lasting? Will the
fragrance be gone after just a few hours after washing?
Chatbot: Hey, you don’t have to worry at all!
This shampoo will keep your hair smelling good for at least two days!
If you need a long-lasting fragrance, you won’t regret buying it!
Customer: I will place an order now.
Chatbot: Awesome! You’ve made the wisest choice!
If any questions follow, you can contact me at any time. I will try my best to
deal with them for you!
It was a pleasure talking to you; much love to you!

Appendix B. Measurements and Reliability

Constructs and Sources Items CITC Cronbach’s alpha Factor loadings

Realism check of the situation described
in the scenario (Li and Wang, 2023)
Manipulation check of temporal cues
Manipulation check of conversational
cues (Chattaraman et al., 2019)
Perceived warmth (Aaker et al., 2010;
Wang et al., 2017)
The situation described in the scenario is very / / /
realistic.
It is very easy for me to imagine myself in the
scenario.
In the video, she (the chatbot) responded each / / /
time instantly.
She is expressive. 0.721 (study 1); 0.686 0.886 (study 1); 0.840 0.802 (study 1); 0.725
(study 2); 0.657 (study (study 2); 0.788 (study 3) (study 2); 0.703 (study
3) 3)
She is enthusiastic. 0.766 (study 1); 0.766 0.864 (study 1); 0.801
(study 2); 0.613 (study (study 2); 0.614 (study
3) 3)
She is entertaining. 0.647 (study 1); 0.680 0.737 (study 1); 0.736
(study 2); 0.538 (study (study 2); 0.705 (study
3) 3)
She is motivating. 0.808 (study 1); 0.643 0.888 (study 1); 0.681
(study 2); 0.524 (study (study 2); 0.656 (study
3) 3)
She is friendly. 0.718 (study 1); 0.552 0.836 (study 1); 0.768
(study 2); 0.594 (study (study 2); 0.709 (study
3) 3)
She is friendly. 0.727 (study 2); 0.473 0.874 (study 2); 0.784 0.768 (study 2); 0.709
(study 3) (study 3) (study 3)
She is warm. 0.754 (study 2); 0.685 0.829 (study 2); 0.721
(study 3) (study 3)
She is kind. 0.759 (study 2); 0.651 0.779 (study 2); 0.737
(study 3) (study 3)
She is sincere. 0.699 (study 2); 0.578 0.737 (study 2); 0.655
(study 3) (study 3)
(continued on next page)

13
Y. Xu et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 74 (2023) 103417

(continued )
Constructs and Sources Items CITC Cronbach’s alpha Factor loadings

Perceived competence (Aaker et al., She is competent. 0.866 (study 2); 0.704 0.934 (study 2); 0.845 0.902 (study 2); 0.787
2010; Wang et al., 2017) (study 3) (study 3) (study 3)
She is capable. 0.814 (study 2); 0.707 0.829 (study 2); 0.840
(study 3) (study 3)
She is intelligent. 0.839 (study 2); 0.654 0.864 (study 2); 0.758
(study 3) (study 3)
She is skillful. 0.862 (study 2); 0.659 0.865 (study 2); 0.806
(study 3) (study 3)
Satisfaction (Chen and Wang, 2016) I am satisfied with her service. 0.840 (study 1); 0.509 0.927 (study 1); 0.737 0.917 (study 1); 0.611
(study 2); 0.699 (study (study 2); 0.823 (study 3) (study 2); 0.552 (study
3) 3)
She is a good customer service representative for 0.851 (study 1); 0.518 0.925 (study 1); 0.607
shopping consultations. (study 2); 0.671 (study (study 2); 0.524 (study
3) 3)
Her service meets my expectations. 0.871 (study 1); 0.666 0.934 (study 1); 0.637
(study 2); 0.671 (study (study 2); 0.544 (study
3) 3)
Perceived interactivity (Li and Wang, She will talk back to me if I send a message. 0.571 (study 2); 0.443 0.725 (study 2); 0.721 0.745 (study 2); 0.753
2023) (study 3) (study 3) (study 3)
She allows me to communicate directly with her. 0.443 (study 2); 0.547 0.628 (study 2); 0.711
(study 3) (study 3)
She listens to what I have to say. 0.669 (study 2); 0.645 0.857 (study 2); 0.827
(study 3) (study 3)
Relational norm orientation (Marder The relationship I would like to have with a 0.820 (study 2); 0.826 0.884 (study 2); 0.906 0.789 (study 2); 0.835
et al., 2020) chatbot is: (study 3) (study 3) (study 3)
Strictly for business - bonded like family and
friends.
Formal and professional - informal and friendly. 0.723 (study 2); 0.764 0.800 (study 2); 0.835
(study 3) (study 3)
Purely transactional - based on friendship. 0.790 (study 2); 0.862 0.813 (study 2); 0.865
(study 3) (study 3)
Prior satisfaction (Chen and Wang, I am satisfied with the service provided to me by 0.750 (study 2); 0.732 0.860 (study 2); 0.852 0.759 (study 2); 0.873
2016) the chatbot I have used. (study 3) (study 3) (study 3)
The chatbot that served me was a good customer 0.702 (study 2); 0.734 0.716 (study 2); 0.765
service representative for shopping consultations. (study 3) (study 3)
The service of the chatbot I have used has met my 0.759 (study 2); 0.712 0.765 (study 2); 0.725
expectations. (study 3) (study 3)

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Ying Xu (Ph.D., Jilin University) is a Professor at the School of Business and Management,
Jilin University, China. Her research interests are in the areas of service marketing,
retailing, and interactive marketing. Email:xy@jlu.edu.cn
Nan Niu got a master’s degree at the School of Business and Management, Jilin University,
China. Her research interests are in the areas of artificial intelligence, retailing, service
marketing, and interactive marketing. Email:nanelle@163.com
Zixiang Zhao is the Senior Lecturer at the School of International Business, Jilin Interna­
tional Studies University, China. He is also a Ph.D. Candidate at the School of Business and
Management, Jilin University, China. His research interests are in the areas of retailing and
branding. Email:zhaozixiang@jisu.edu.cn