TY - JOUR
T1 - “How may i help you?” Says a robot
T2 - Examining language styles in the service encounter
AU - Choi, Sungwoo
AU - Liu, Stephanie Q.
AU - Mattila, Anna S.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the Marriott Foundation for the funding of this research and thank Marie Ozanne for her photo on the stimuli.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - Is figurative or literal language more effective in the service encounter context? The current research reveals that literal language used by a service provider might be more congruent with conversational norms, thus leading to better customer evaluation. Most importantly, the effectiveness of language styles (literal vs. figurative) is contingent on a service agent type (human vs. robot vs. kiosk). Specifically, consumers respond more favorably to human service agents who use literal (vs. figurative) language, and due to the notion of anthropomorphism such an effect extends to service robots. However, the language style effect is not observed among service kiosks as they lack humanlike features. Furthermore, perceived credibility is the underlying mechanism explaining the language style effect among service agents.
AB - Is figurative or literal language more effective in the service encounter context? The current research reveals that literal language used by a service provider might be more congruent with conversational norms, thus leading to better customer evaluation. Most importantly, the effectiveness of language styles (literal vs. figurative) is contingent on a service agent type (human vs. robot vs. kiosk). Specifically, consumers respond more favorably to human service agents who use literal (vs. figurative) language, and due to the notion of anthropomorphism such an effect extends to service robots. However, the language style effect is not observed among service kiosks as they lack humanlike features. Furthermore, perceived credibility is the underlying mechanism explaining the language style effect among service agents.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.03.026
DO - 10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.03.026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85063608841
SN - 0278-4319
VL - 82
SP - 32
EP - 38
JO - International Journal of Hospitality Management
JF - International Journal of Hospitality Management
ER -