The widespread use of self-service technology (SST) has changed the way customers experience service and how they deal with recovery from service failure. A growing number of service providers offer SST-based recovery, allowing customers to fix service failures using SSTs. Yet, gaining customer acceptance for this emerging form of service recovery presents challenges. There is a need to improve current understanding of the factors that influence customer decisions to use SST for failure recovery. Drawing on control theory, we examine the role of customer perceptions of control and risk in determining intention toward SST-based recovery. We provide empirical evidence that perceived control and risk over SST-based recovery significantly influence the intention to use SST-based recovery. Additionally, we find that whilst perceived risk of SST-based recovery mediates the effect of perceived control on usage intention, personal control moderates the relationship between perceived risk and intention to use SST-based recovery.

Increased use of artificial intelligence service agents (AISA) has been associated with improvements in AISA service performance. Whilst there is consensus that unique forms of attachment develop between users and AISA that manifest as parasocial relationships (PSRs), the literature is less clear about the AISA service attributes and how they influence PSR and the users’ subjective well-being. Based on a dataset collected from 408 virtual assistant users from the US, this research develops and tests a model that can explain how AISA-enabled service influences subjective well-being through the mediating effect of PSR. Findings also indicate significant gender and AISA experience differences in the PSR effect on subjective well-being. This study advances current understanding of AISA in service encounters by investigating the mediating role of PSR in AISA’s effect on users’ subjective well-being. We also discuss managerial implications for practitioners who are increasingly using AISA for delivering customer service.

AI applications are radically transforming the manner in which service providers and consumers interact. We explore how the humanness of AI applications affects consumers’ trust in these applications. Qualitative evidence collected with focus groups provides fresh insights into the roles of anthropomorphism and intelligence, as key constructs representing humanness. Our findings reveal the consumers’ perspective on the nuances of these constructs pertaining to services enabled by AI applications. It also extends current understanding of the phenomenon of the “uncanny valley,” by identifying conditions under which consumers experience discomfort and uneasiness as AI humanness increases in service environments.

This article investigates the effect of video loggers (vloggers) popularity on consumer credibility perception and purchase intention. It employs a two (high versus low vlogger popularity) by two (search versus experience product types) between-subject experimental design to uncover the signalling effect of vlogger popularity. While vlogger popularity influences the consumers’ credibility perception and purchase intention for all products, a high popularity vlogger is likely to be more effective in influencing the online consumers for experience products. We confirm the usefulness of the popularity construct in explaining purchase behavior in social media settings. In doing so, we provide an empirical evidence concerning the specific conditions under which credibility is more (or less) effective in influencing behavior. This study is the first to examine vlogger popularity effects in social media. Our findings provide important insights to both academics and practitioners.

Deal popularity indicates the popularity of a product or service within a specific deal duration and is being used by many e-tailers in their websites/apps. While deal popularity is receiving increasing attention by academics and practitioners alike, its effect as an extrinsic cue remains under-researched. Using an experimental design, this study investigates the effect of deal popularity on expected service quality in an e-tailing environment. It is found that deal popularity influences service quality expectations for credence services, but not experience services. High deal popularity positively influences consumers’ intention to purchase and willingness to recommend credence services. E-tailers of services need to pay attention to deal popularity displayed for credence services and leverage on the positive effect it has on consumers.

Social media technologies offer substantial opportunities to public sector organizations for developing community-based partnerships by facilitating engagement with citizens. Yet, public sector social media adoption remains an under-researched phenomenon, which at least partially is attributed to the unique challenges and idiosyncrasies of public sector organizations. We take an analytical approach to examine qualitative evidence sourced from interviews with twenty-four local government organizations across Australia, and contribute to the existing body of knowledge. We induce a range of technological, organizational, and environmental factors that can impact on the social media adoption decisions in local government organizations. The interactions among these factors are also examined. In a dynamic environment where social media use is changing quickly, our findings about social media adoption factors can be useful to many stakeholders, including public sector adoption decision makers, social media and communication officers.

Broadband offers key advantages as a communication infrastructure, including efficiency and cost savings which can stimulate productivity, innovation, and ultimately economic growth and social well-being. This paper presents a comparative study on the adoption of broadband in urban and regional areas. It proposes a model concerning broadband adoption which we validate with data collected using a computer-aided telephone survey. We find that relative advantage, utility outcomes, and facilitating conditions play a crucial role in explaining the broadband adoption behavior of both urban and regional household users. In a dynamic environment where technologies are changing quickly, our findings about broadband adoption drivers are useful to stakeholders such as internet service providers, regulators, broadband application developers for encouraging further broadband and application adoption and developments in communication space in both regional and urban areas.

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is heralded to significantly enhance transparency, efficiency, and accuracy in business information supply chains which can facilitate auditing in firms. We investigate the impact of XBRL on financial statements auditing by using empirical evidence from firms listed in the NYSE and NASDAQ between 2009-2011, the time when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) XBRL adoption mandate for publicly listed firms took effect. Our results support claims that XBRL can facilitate auditing which is manifested in reduced auditing costs. That is, XBRL adopters are likely to pay reduced audit fees. We also find that this effect is directly related to firm size, with larger firms benefiting more than smaller firms. As XBRL has been in an emerging state for over a decade, our findings offer much needed evidence concerning its economic consequences which can have important implications for accountants, auditors, and XBRL application developers.