{"id":434111,"date":"2026-08-24T17:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T09:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/?post_type=tnc_col_19837_item&p=434111"},"modified":"2026-08-24T18:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T10:32:58","slug":"the-impact-of-providing-non-human-identity-cues-about-sales-agents-on-consumer-responses-the-role-of-social-presence-and-speciesism-activation","status":"publish","type":"tnc_col_19837_item","link":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/scholarly-work-usj\/the-impact-of-providing-non-human-identity-cues-about-sales-agents-on-consumer-responses-the-role-of-social-presence-and-speciesism-activation\/","title":{"rendered":"THE IMPACT OF PROVIDING NON-HUMAN IDENTITY CUES ABOUT SALES AGENTS ON CONSUMER RESPONSES: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL PRESENCE AND SPECIESISM ACTIVATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

PURPOSE \u2013 THIS WORK INVESTIGATES HOW DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR PROVIDING CUES ABOUT THE NON-HUMAN IDENTITY OF A SALES AGENT INFLUENCE CONSUMERS\u2019 PERCEPTIONS AND PURCHASE-RELATED OUTCOMES, AND HOW A SOCIAL INTERACTION STYLE SHAPES THESE RESPONSES. ADDITIONALLY, THE AUTHORS EXPLORE THE ROLE OF CONSUMERS\u2019SPECIESISM AGAINST NON-HUMAN ENTITIES IN ELICITING UNFAVOURABLE RESPONSES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF THE AGENT\u2019S ARTIFICIAL NATURE. DESIGN\/METHODOLOGY\/APPROACH \u2013 THREE EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED USING REAL CHATBOT INTERACTIONS. STUDY 1 INVESTIGATES HOW NON-HUMAN IDENTITY CUES IMPACT CONSUMER TRUST AND, SUBSEQUENTLY, ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE FIRM AND INTENTION TO PURCHASE THE PRODUCT OFFERED. STUDY 2 TESTS THESE EFFECTS ACROSS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SOCIAL PRESENCE. STUDY 3 EXAMINES CONSUMER RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT NON-HUMAN IDENTITY DISCLOSURE STRATEGIES, CONSIDERING SPECIESISM\u2019S MODERATING ROLE. FINDINGS \u2013 STUDY 1 PROVES THAT DISCLOSING (VS NOT DISCLOSING) THE ARTIFICIAL NATURE OF A SALES AGENT LEADS TO A DECLINE IN TRUST TOWARDS THE FIRM, WHICH IN TURN NEGATIVELY INFLUENCES BOTH ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE FIRM AND PURCHASE INTENTION. THIS FINDING REVEALS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DISCLOSED (VS NON-DISCLOSED) ARTIFICIAL SALES AGENTS DESPITE IDENTICAL, FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE. HOWEVER, STUDY 2 PROVES THAT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS VANISH WHEN PERCEIVED SOCIAL PRESENCE IS HIGH. STUDY 3 UNDERLINES THAT HIGH SPECIESISM LEADS TO A TRUST DECLINE IF NON-HUMAN IDENTITY CUES ARE PRESENTED DURING THE INTERACTION BUT NOT IF PRESENTED EARLIER IN THE JOURNEY BEFORE THE INTERACTION. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS\/IMPLICATIONS \u2013 THE STUDY HIGHLIGHTS THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF DISCLOSURE ON IMPORTANT, FIRM-RELATED OUTCOMES. THESE INSIGHTS ADVANCE CURRENT LITERATURE BY SHOWING THAT DISCLOSING CUES ABOUT THE NON-HUMAN NATURE OF A SALES AGENT CAN UNDERMINE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSES\u2013EVEN WHEN THE DISCLOSED AGENT PERFORMS JUST AS EFFECTIVELY AS ITS UNDISCLOSED COUNTERPART. THIS RESULT IS NOTEWORTHY, AS MOST PRIOR RESEARCH HAS LINKED AVERSIVE REACTIONS TO ARTIFICIAL AGENTS WITH SITUATIONS IN WHICH ALGORITHMS UNDERPERFORM, WHEREAS THIS STUDY EXAMINES AGENTS THAT FUNCTION FLAWLESSLY. FURTHERMORE, THE STUDY REVEALS THAT THESE ADVERSE EFFECTS ARE DRIVEN BY SPECIESISM\u2013PREJUDICES AGAINST NON-HUMAN ENTITIES\u2013OFFERING A NOVEL EXPLANATION FOR CONSUMERS\u2019 NEGATIVE RESPONSES. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS \u2013 THE FINDINGS STRESS THAT TRANSPARENCY ABOUT THE ARTIFICIAL NATURE OF SALES AGENTS IS PENALISED BY CUSTOMERS AND COMES AT A HIGH COST FOR BUSINESS-RELEVANT OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, BY TRANSFORMING AN ARTIFICIAL AGENT INTO A SOCIAL ACTOR THROUGH SUBTLE DESIGN MODIFICATIONS, FIRMS CAN OVERCOME THE UNFAVOURABLE PREJUDICE AGAINST ARTIFICIAL AGENTS. BY CREATING A SOCIAL APPEARANCE, FIRMS CAN HARNESS THE POTENTIAL OF AUTOMATED SALES SERVICES\u2013EVEN WHEN DISCLOSURE OF THE AGENT\u2019S ARTIFICIAL IDENTITY IS REQUIRED. AS FIRMS MAY SOON BE OBLIGED TO DISCLOSE THE ARTIFICIAL IDENTITY OF THEIR SALES AGENTS, THE CRITICAL QUESTION SHIFTS FROM WHETHER TO DISCLOSE TO HOW TO DISCLOSE IN ORDER TO MITIGATE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. FINALLY, WE OFFER GUIDANCE ON TARGETING THE RIGHT CONSUMERS WITH ARTIFICIAL AGENTS\u2013SPECIFICALLY, THOSE WITH LOWER LEVELS OF SPECIESISM-RELATED PREJUDICES. ORIGINALITY\/VALUE \u2013 THIS WORK ADDRESSES PRESSING ISSUES FOR MANAGERS CONCERNED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTIFICIAL SALES AGENTS. RESULTS EXTEND KNOWLEDGE ON SPECIESISM TOWARDS DIGITAL AGENTS, INFORM WHICH CONSUMERS ARE PARTICULARLY PRONE TO RESPOND NEGATIVELY TO SUCH AGENTS, AND PRESENT LEVERS FOR DESIGNING CHAT-BASED SOCIAL INTERACTIONS THAT PREVENT NON-HUMAN-RELATED PREJUDICES THAT COULD UNDERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONVERSATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","class_list":["post-434111","tnc_col_19837_item","type-tnc_col_19837_item","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tnc_tax_19818-english","tnc_tax_19716-faculty-of-business-and-law","tnc_tax_19659-journal-article"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":0,"featured_img":false,"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/author\/emilychan\/","display_name":"emily chan"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 \u5929 ago","modified":"Updated 2 \u5929 ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 24 8 \u6708, 2026","modified":"Updated on 24 8 \u6708, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 24 8 \u6708, 2026 5:24 \u4e0b\u5348","modified":"Updated on 24 8 \u6708, 2026 6:32 \u4e0b\u5348"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":{"tnc_tax_19993":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"tnc_tax_19993","name":"SDGs"},"tnc_tax_19818":{"linked":["ENGLISH<\/a>"],"unlinked":["ENGLISH<\/span>"],"slug":"tnc_tax_19818","name":"LANGUAGE"},"tnc_tax_19716":{"linked":["FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW<\/a>"],"unlinked":["FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW<\/span>"],"slug":"tnc_tax_19716","name":"FACULTY \/ RESEARCH UNIT"},"tnc_tax_19664":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"tnc_tax_19664","name":"SUBJECT"},"tnc_tax_19659":{"linked":["Journal Article<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Journal Article<\/span>"],"slug":"tnc_tax_19659","name":"Document Type"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tnc_col_19837_item\/434111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tnc_col_19837_item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tnc_col_19837_item"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tnc_col_19837_item\/434111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":436240,"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tnc_col_19837_item\/434111\/revisions\/436240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.usj.edu.mo\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}