How may I help you? Driving brand engagement through the warmth of an initial chatbot message

Alexander J. Kull, Marisabel Romero and Lisa Monahan

Journal of Business Research, 2021, vol. 135, issue C, 840-850

Abstract: Despite the growing number of brands that rely on chatbots to address customer service inquiries that once required human intervention, academics and practitioners are only beginning to acknowledge the role of chatbots in brand-building activities. Chatbots can initiate online conversations, thereby often serving as a consumer’s first brand impression. However, little is known about how managers can strategically tailor a chatbot’s initial message to foster consumer–brand connections and, ultimately, engagement. Three studies demonstrate that when chatbots initiate a conversation using a warm (vs. competent) message, brand engagement increases, as assessed using both computerized text analysis and traditional scale measures. Brand–self distance mediates this effect, such that a warm (vs. competent) initial chatbot message makes consumers feel closer to the brand. Further, the authors identify brand affiliation as a theoretically relevant moderator. This research thus offers managers insight into how initial chatbot messages can attract and engage consumers.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Brand relationships; Brand–self distance; Digital marketing; Stereotype content model; Virtual agent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321001582
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:135:y:2021:i:c:p:840-850

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.03.005

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().