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Cognitive and Affective Trust in Service Relationships. Journal of Business Research
Abstract
Social psychologists conceptualize trust in a manner that differs from conceptualizations used by marketing researchers to date. Building from the social psychology literature, we posit that interpersonal trust in consumer-level service relationships has cognitive and affective dimensions. We examine the relative impact of service provider expertise, product performance, firm reputation, satisfaction, and similarity in influencing customer's perception of these dimensions of trust in a service provider. Using survey data from 349 customers of a firm of financial advisers in the United Kingdom, our results show that cognitive and affective dimensions of trust can be empirically distinguished and have both common and unique antecedents. The results also provide further clarification concerning the relationship between trust and sales effectiveness.
... Choi et al., 2023), empirical work specifically examining how data privacy influences the formation of multidimensional trust in hotels is scarce . Furthermore, the predominant focus on trust as a singular construct overlooks how privacy management may differentially impact cognitive and affective trust (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). ...
... This positive perception fosters a willingness on their part to share personal information, because confidence in the reliability and effectiveness of regulatory measures instills a sense of security . According to Johnson and Grayson (2005), the concept of trust includes cognitive trust and affective trust. ...
... Cognitive trust evolves as individuals gather enough information about the other party from various sources, which include internal and external (Akrout, 2015). This accumulation of information enables individuals to more accurately foresee the behaviors of the other party in accordance with their duties (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). Affective trust is conversely characterized by a sense of emotional connection and attachment to the other party, which is where an individual perceives genuine care (Wang and Huff, 2007). ...
Purpose
This study aims to develop a comprehensive model, which elucidated the data privacy, cognitive and affective trust and the customers’ willingness to accept personal information collection in the lodging industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used the tenets of the privacy-trust-intention framework, and used multiprocedures via rigorous methodologies, such as the generalized structured component analysis with measurement errors incorporated, sufficient condition analysis, necessary condition analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).
Findings
The findings show that certain data privacy factors, such as ethical and lawful data usage, are important for either the increment or the manifestation of willingness to accept personal information collection.
Originality/value
The application of the fsQCA provides novel insights by demonstrating that optimal results for data privacy and trust factors, which can be individually applied or in combination, can instill confidence in customers in regards to sharing personal data.
... It is a mechanism to absorb uncertainty associated with risk and vulnerability of the exchange partners (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001). The essence of trust is dependent on service provider's expertise, level of performance and his reputation (Johnson & Grayson, 2005). It is closely related to the perception that partner's actions are intrinsically motivated (Rempel, Homes, & Zanna, 1985) to provide him with greater economic value (Chan et al., 2010) in the form of reduced transaction cost, better service quality (Dyer, 1997) as well as relational value (Yoon, Seo, & Yoon, 2004). ...
... Trust is treated as a two-dimensional aspect formed on the basis of cognitive trust and affective trust (Parayitam & Dooley, 2009). The trustworthiness, which forms the basis of service provider's expertise and performance, such as competence, credential, and reliability, is generally known to be cognitive trust (Johnson & Grayson, 2005). On the other side, the perceived form, which is subjective in nature and is based on 'the feelings, emotions, and moods of the other', is affective trust (Zur, Leckie, & Webster, 2012, p. 75). ...
... On the basis of the Structural Equation Model (SEM) results, the framed hypotheses have been tested. With the increase in customer participation, an ongoing service delivery process leads to more organizational socialization that generates positive effect and elicits customer commitment (Johnson & Grayson, 2005). The direct relationship of customer participation with CCV is positive and significant (β = 0.21). ...
R e S e a R c h KeY WORDS co-creation of Value customization Trust customer Satisfaction Relational Value Recommendation includes research articles that focus on the analysis and resolution of managerial and academic issues based on analytical and empirical or case research There are countless illustrations where companies are involving their customers in the creation of products and delivery of services, commonly viewed as co-creation of value (CCV). The present work explores the value co-creation concept in the house construction business that requires maximum customer engagement with the service provider as compared to other subsectors in the real estate. With this background, the present study examined the comprehensive framework of antecedents and consequences of CCV leading to customers' recommendation in the housing sector. Moreover, the effect of CCV on customers' recommendation of a service provider is also studied by analyzing the role played by relational value and customized offerings. One of the main findings of the study is that the three preconditions , namely customer participation, customer expertise, and resource integration, significantly affect CCV. It was also found that when customers are allowed to participate and are provided with more choices, it leads to a higher level of trust. Thus, CCV has a significant impact on trust. Customers usually promote a service provider through positive word-of-mouth and make actual recommendations to others when he is able to ensure satisfactory services. Hence, the direct relationship of customer satisfaction with recommendation turns out to be significant. Another highlight of the study is that value co-creation is a platform where customers should proactively participate and architects must give shape to this proactiveness by acknowledging their ideas and suggestions. Any ignorance in this process may bring in negative effect of relational value on customer recommendation. Moreover, the effect of trust on customer recommendation is completely mediated by relational value. Thus, the results of the study have some important implications for an architect. Customers ought to be provided with innovative and unique architectural designs such as inspiration taken from different western countries and fusion for bringing variety. Also, an architect should check the feasibility of designs and execution of the plan. An architect can create value from other resource partners involved in the network, that is, by giving reference of the best suppliers for accessories like modular fittings to be used in the kitchen or washroom. Relational value can be created by motivating customers as well as involving customers' family members in key discussions. Also, being empathetic
... Cognitive Trust. Cognitive trust refers to customer confidence in and willingness to use the capabilities of service providers (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). Individuals with high cognitive trust indicate they have high expectations for the object's capabilities. ...
... Affective Trust. Affective trust is the confidence a party has based on one's own emotions and how they feel about the other party (Chua et al., 2008;Johnson and Grayson, 2005). Recent studies have demonstrated that machine-like robots are more empathetic and trustworthy than humanoid robots (Złotowski et al., 2016). ...
... Measures used to capture customer intention to use a humanoid robot (Cronbach's α = 0.821) and manipulation check on realism (Cronbach's α = 0.825) were identical to that in Study 1. Perceived trust was measured with two dimensions: cognitive and affective trust. Cognitive trust was measured using a five-item scale adopted from Wang et al. (2017), and affective trust was measured using a five-item scale adopted from Johnson and Grayson (2005). In addition, the measure of perceived threat was a five-item scale adopted from Mende et al. (2019). ...
Purpose
Realism of humanoid robots refers to human-like characteristics in these robots, which makes them resemble humans in appearance and behavior. Humanoid robots with varying degrees of realism not only influence customer acceptance but also serve as a crucial consideration in optimizing their design for commercial applications. This study aims to examine how realism of humanoid robots and service context influence customer responses.
Design/methodology/approach
This research tests the model using data collected from 1,269 subjects in four scenario-based experimental studies which varies in six different service contexts: museum, restaurant, bank vs. hotel and school library vs. school coffee shop.
Findings
Results demonstrated that a higher degree of realism and a better match between form and behavior effectively improve customer responses toward humanoid robots. However, mismatches in form and behavioral realism in intermediate states could lead to varying effects. These effects are driven by customers’ perceived trust and are more effective in utilitarian-dominated service context.
Research limitations/implications
This research advocates the significant role played by humanoid robot realism, in explaining the effect of robot realism on customer usage intention and behavioral choices. The underlying mechanism played by perceived trust and the boundary effect of service context are also examined.
Practical implications
The findings have important implications for designing future robots. Firms must consider service context to align robot design with customer expectations to foster trust and ultimately positively influence customer responses of humanoid robots.
Originality/value
This research introduces a holistic realism perspective. It comprehensively examines how the realism of humanoid robots influence customer usage intention and behavioral attitude, addressing critical gaps in previous research and provides insights for creating humanoid robots tailored to specific service context.
... Research connections between trust and concepts like dedication, standing, and brand impact [3,28]. Similarly, trust is viewed as a cognitive concept instead of an emotional one [29]. Due to the trade connections that trust fosters, loyalty is a result of trust Johnson and Grayson [29]. ...
... Similarly, trust is viewed as a cognitive concept instead of an emotional one [29]. Due to the trade connections that trust fosters, loyalty is a result of trust Johnson and Grayson [29]. Poolthong and Mandhachitara [3] highlighted the significance of trust in a bank's reputation for dependability [3]. ...
... Studies have demonstrated the relationships that exist between trust and ideas such as commitment, influence, and reputation [3,28]. According to Johnson and Grayson [29] the idea of trust is perceived as cognitive rather than affective [29]. Loyalty is a product of trust since it creates trade ties Johnson and Grayson [29]. ...
This study explores the strategic role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in shaping customer perceptions, trust, and brand equity in Vietnam’s emerging banking sector. The research aims to assess how CSR initiatives influence perceived service quality and brand effects, particularly through the mediating role of trust. Adopting a quantitative research design, data were collected from 398 banking customers and employees in Hanoi and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that CSR significantly enhances perceived service quality, builds trust, and strengthens brand equity. Trust plays a critical mediating role between service quality and brand impact, highlighting its importance in fostering customer loyalty. The study concludes that CSR is not merely a reputational tool but a strategic asset that contributes to long-term brand development and customer engagement. Practical implications include recommendations for banks to align CSR initiatives with community needs and environmental goals to enhance customer trust and loyalty. This research contributes to CSR and branding literature by offering empirical evidence from an emerging market context, with actionable insights for sustainable banking practices.
... In traditional financial services, customer engagement heavily relies on trust in the advisor's expertise. Trustworthiness is often fostered through human connection, which has historically been central to financial advising (Johnson & Grayson, 2005;Zhang et al., 2021). ...
... In contrast, cognitive trust relates to an objectively assessed level of competence and an individual's confidence (Hildebrand & Bergner, 2021;Johnson & Grayson, 2005). Accordingly, robo-advisors offer credibility by delivering data-driven advice that minimizes biases and rather removes interpersonal effects (Chua et al., 2023;Wu & Wang, 2011;Zhang et al., 2021). ...
... Three items adapted from Johnson and Grayson (2005) were used to assess affective trust, tailored to each advisor type. For example: "Given your (human) advisor's track record, you have no reservations about following its advice," "How likely are you to use your robo-advisor for future investments?" and "You can rely on your robo-advisor to thoroughly analyze the situation before advising you." ...
This study examines investment behavior differences between static and conversational robo-advisors and human financial advisors, focusing on affective trust, risk, and financial literacy. Using an online factorial experiment (n = 165), U.S. participants evaluated advisor scenarios under positive and negative message framing. MANOVA and Pearson correlations revealed no significant trust or risk differences across advisor types or framings. However, individuals with high financial literacy perceived conversational robo-advisors as riskier under negative framing, while lower-literacy participants trusted robo-advisors more. The study highlights the need for human-like design improvements in robo-advisors and enhanced financial education to support informed, confident decision-making.
... Trust in AI-Higher levels of trust [52] towards the AI was associated with greater emotional dependence on AI chatbots (β = 0.13, p < 0.001) and more problematic use of AI (β = 0.05, p < 0.01) at the end of the study. ...
... Cognitive Trust (CogT1-5) [52]: Assessed using a five-item scale on a Likert scale from 1 to 7 (1-disagree, 7-agree), this measure evaluates the degree to which users perceive the chatbot as reliable and competent. Cognitive trust captures users' rational evaluation of the chatbot's performance and information accuracy. ...
... Affective Trust (AffT1-5) [52]: Also measured on a five-item scale with responses on a Likert scale from 1 to 7 (1-disagree, 7-agree), affective trust gauges the emotional bond or confidence that users feel toward the chatbot. This variable complements cognitive trust by focusing on emotional security and warmth. ...
AI chatbots, especially those with voice capabilities, have become increasingly human-like, with more users seeking emotional support and companionship from them. Concerns are rising about how such interactions might impact users' loneliness and socialization with real people. We conducted a four-week randomized, controlled, IRB-approved experiment (n=981, >300K messages) to investigate how AI chatbot interaction modes (text, neutral voice, and engaging voice) and conversation types (open-ended, non-personal, and personal) influence psychosocial outcomes such as loneliness, social interaction with real people, emotional dependence on AI and problematic AI usage. Results showed that while voice-based chatbots initially appeared beneficial in mitigating loneliness and dependence compared with text-based chatbots, these advantages diminished at high usage levels, especially with a neutral-voice chatbot. Conversation type also shaped outcomes: personal topics slightly increased loneliness but tended to lower emotional dependence compared with open-ended conversations, whereas non-personal topics were associated with greater dependence among heavy users. Overall, higher daily usage - across all modalities and conversation types - correlated with higher loneliness, dependence, and problematic use, and lower socialization. Exploratory analyses revealed that those with stronger emotional attachment tendencies and higher trust in the AI chatbot tended to experience greater loneliness and emotional dependence, respectively. These findings underscore the complex interplay between chatbot design choices (e.g., voice expressiveness) and user behaviors (e.g., conversation content, usage frequency). We highlight the need for further research on whether chatbots' ability to manage emotional content without fostering dependence or replacing human relationships benefits overall well-being.
... Cognitive trust refers to the extent to which an individual considers an entity to be trustworthy after assessing it logically (Chai et al., 2015). The judgment is based on evidence of the service provider's knowledge and performance, including their reliability, competence, and trustworthiness (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). In the realm of AI chatbot services, customers perceive the trustee's expertise and understanding through four key factors: the accuracy of the response. ...
... The four most popular AI chatbots in use today provide the groundwork for customers to make an informed decision about an AI chatbot's reliability. Customers' perceptions of a service provider's warmth, kindness, and empath, Patience, friendliness, and concern shape their affective trust (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). Empathy was a key design principle for creating the AI-powered interactive service system (Yalcin and Dipaola, 2018). ...
... Hence, the quality and quantity of interactions are key factors. For instance, the strength of relationships (Calefato et al., 2015), frequency, and duration of contact (Johnson & Grayson, 2005) greatly impact emotional trust. SNS-based mobile payment services such as KakaoPay benefit from their integration into platforms that users frequently engage with (Y. ...
... When users perceive a service as effective in fulfilling their practical needs, this perception enhances cognitive trust. Consistent and efficient performance fosters emotional security, which contributes to emotional trust (Johnson & Grayson, 2005). ...
Considering the rapid increase in mobile payment usage, numerous big tech companies have added mobile payment to the primary services that their platforms offer. However, extant research predominantly treats this added service as a standalone offering and investigates user adoption and behavior for this service independent of the primary services. Recognizing this gap in the literature, this study considers the added service as part of an extended ecosystem and examines different motivations for using the primary service. Therefore, this study examines how different motivations for using social networking services (SNSs) shape trust in the extended payment service and ultimately influence behavioral intentions. Drawing on the schema congruity theory, we conceptualize trust as a multidimensional construct—distinguished between cognitive and emotional trust—and explore the impact of trust in the primary service on the use of an added service. Specifically, we analyze survey data of 478 users of South Korea’s leading SNS. The results reveal that both hedonic and utilitarian motivations positively influence emotional and cognitive trust, which, in turn, drive behavioral intention. However, hedonic (utilitarian) motivation exerts a stronger effect on emotional (cognitive) trust. Overall, the findings enhance the knowledge regarding trust formation in extended service ecosystems and offer insights for tech firms integrating financial services into their platforms.
... In this case, affective trust contributes to negative behavior. Similar dynamics have been observed in business relationships, human-computer interactions, and entrepreneurship [14,[38][39][40]. Thus, both cognitive and affective trust can exert positive and negative effects on enterprise behavior. ...
... Specifically, in the theoretical framework of this study, trust is used as the independent variable and categorized to specifically examine the different roles of cognitive trust and affective trust in HCLEs and to explore how enterprises' trust in the government influences and shapes the HCLEs' behavior. The dual-path mechanism of trust is validated, with cognitive trust promoting compliance behavior through institutional and competence recognition and affective trust promoting proactive safety management through emotional commitment [38]. This framework provides novel insights that address the previously underexplored mechanisms underlying government-enterprise trust dynamics in existing literature. ...
Hazardous chemicals logistics (HCL) management improves safety and operational efficiency; however, the management process faces challenges, including safety hazards. Trust in the government is critical for shaping the sustainable and safe behavior of hazardous chemicals logistics enterprises (HCLEs). However, its interaction with governance mechanisms remains unclear, and a systematic categorization of governmental regulatory methods is lacking. To improve the relationship between HCLEs and the government, this study employs structural equation modeling to examine the effects of trust and governance mechanisms on HCLEs’ sustainable safety behavior. Trust is categorized into cognitive trust and affective trust based on trust and reinforcement theories, whereas government governance is divided into motivational and punitive governance. A conceptual trust–government governance–HCLEs’ behavior model that introduces government governance as a moderating variable is formulated. The results show that trust significantly improved HCLEs’ behavior; motivational governance positively moderated the impact on the relationship between trust and HCLEs’ behavior; and punitive governance failed. These results emphasize the importance of trust-based partnerships between governments and HCLEs, as well as motivational governance, in building compliance and improving safety. Moreover, this study expands our understanding of the interrelationships among trust, government governance, and HCLEs’ sustainable safety behavior in the HCL industry.
... Social trust could affect the users' acceptance (Liu, Yang, and Xu 2019) and intention to use (Wu, Huang, and Qian 2024) for AI digital agents. Cognitive trust is the user's confidence in the competence and reliability of the service provider or technology (Johnson and Grayson 2005). Cognitive trust is based on the user's acquired knowledge that could help predict technology service quality (Komiak and Benbasat 2006). ...
... Cognitive trust is based on the user's acquired knowledge that could help predict technology service quality (Komiak and Benbasat 2006). Affective trust is the user's confidence in the technology or service provider based on personal experiences (Johnson and Grayson 2005). Affective trust arises from the feelings of security and dependability the technology exhibits. ...
50 free online copies of the article --- https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/URQHHT3ZFS6G2MH6B2MK/full?target=10.1080/0144929X.2025.2490672
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AI digital agents have emerged as transformative tools that enhance customer service experience while reducing operational costs. Existing studies on AI digital agent adoption have utilised various Information Systems (IS) theories and models. However, no prior research comprehensively integrates an extensive set of factors from multiple IS models to determine their relative significance in influencing adoption. This study identified 17 factors, including six sub-factors, based on a thorough review of extant literature and discussions with experienced users. These factors were categorised in a novel framework comprising four dimensions: AI service experience (S), personal dimension (P), users’ technology perception (T), and social dimension (S). Rankings from 15 experts were analyzed using the Rough Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (Rough-SWARA) method to evaluate the relative importance of the factors. Results indicate that AI service experience is the most influential dimension, followed by the personal dimension. Key factors driving adoption include AI quality features, data privacy, trust, price-value, hedonic motivation, usefulness, and social influence. This study contributes to the literature by introducing the first comprehensive model to organise and study the relative importance of the adoption factors. These insights will assist managers in prioritising strategies for developing and deploying AI digital agents.
... A customer's view of a seller's expertise indicates their acknowledgment of the skills pertinent to the product or service transaction (Crosby et al., 1990). Expertise is generally evaluated based on the service provider's knowledge and experience related to the specific service (Johnson & Grayson, 2005). Research has demonstrated that perceived expertise enhances an individual's credibility and trustworthiness (Busch & Wilson, 1976). ...
... If the hairstylist meets or exceeds these expectations, customer satisfaction increases (Wan et al., 2012). Expertise has been widely recognized as a key determinant of service credibility and trust (Johnson & Grayson, 2005), particularly in high-credence services where customers rely on professional judgment due to their own lack of expertise in evaluating service quality. ...
... Cognitive trust refers to the extent to which an individual considers an entity to be trustworthy after assessing it logically (Chai et al., 2015). The judgment is based on evidence of the service provider's knowledge and performance, including their reliability, competence, and trustworthiness (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). In the realm of AI chatbot services, customers perceive the trustee's expertise and understanding through four key factors: the accuracy of the response. ...
... The four ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ ــــــــ -147 -most popular AI chatbots in use today provide the groundwork for customers to make an informed decision about an AI chatbot's reliability. Customers' perceptions of a service provider's warmth, kindness, and empath, Patience, friendliness, and concern shape their affective trust (Johnson and Grayson, 2005). Empathy was a key design principle for creating the AI-powered interactive service system (Yalcin and Dipaola, 2018). ...
AI-powered chatbots are becoming more widespread in the tourist industry for handling customer service difficulties; nevertheless, little is known about how they recover from these situations. Customer loyalty is anticipated to be positively impacted by the widespread use of chatbots. Using chatbots' performance and interaction customization as a lens, this research aims to examine how symbolic recovery affects tourists' loyalty. Additionally, it explores how chatbots' symbolic recovery affects tourists' ability to reconcile and remain loyal. The research used structural equation modeling to analyze data collected from 500 tourists through an online questionnaire distributed From November till January 2025. Based on the results, it appears that chatbots may help tourists to settle and continue to be loyal by increasing customer loyalty via symbolic recuperation. Another way in which chatbots' symbolic recovery affects tourists' loyalty is via tourist satisfaction. The results give promising information that tourist organizations may use to improve chatbots' symbolic recovery. Businesses catering to tourists will be motivated to use chatbots for service recovery if they are efficient in helping with symbolic rehabilitation and ensuring customer loyalty.
... TAM (Davis, 1989;Lim & Ting, 2012;Juniwati, 2014) Friend of a friend (Goyette et al., 2010;Filieri, 2015) Shopper lifestyle scale (Huseynov & Ozkan Yıldırım, 2019) Social media attachment (Own development) Prior online experience (Johnson & Grayson, 2005) E-WOM (Goyette et al., 2010;Filieri, 2015) Task ambiguity (Jarvelainen, 2007) Prior experience with online advertisement (Own development) Perceived social pressure (Jarvelainen, 2007) Advertising creativity (Yang & Smith, 2009) Perceived brand innovativeness (Calantone et al., 2006) Advertising awareness (Own development) Perceived risk (Wai et al., 2019) Brand awareness (Yoo et al., 2000) Perceived product value ( ...
... Sweeney & Soutar, 2001) Brand trust(Johnson & Grayson, 2005; Kumar Ranganathan et al., 2013) Website security and privacy(San Martin & Camarero, 2009) Attitude towards online shopping(Lim & Ting, 2012) Perceived website quality(McKnight et al., 2002) Social capital bonding(Appel et al., 2016) Brand behavioral intention(Rather & Hollebeek, 2019;Coudounaris & Sthapit, 2017) Social capital bridging(Appel et al., 2016) Online brand engagement(Rather & Hollebeek, 2019) Brand knowledge(Hanaysha, 2016;Jin et al., 2012) Online brand experience(Rather & Hollebeek, 2019;Tsaur et al., 2007) Brand image(Hanaysha, 2016;Jin et al., 2012) E-WOM information usefulness(Davis, 1989;Cheung & Thadani, 2012) Brand loyalty(Hanaysha, 2016;Jin et al., 2012) Intention to shop online(Lim & Ting, 2012) Gen Z (Own development)Early adopters mindset(Zijlstra et al., 2020) Consumer behavior(Voramontri & Klieb, 2019;Chopra et al., 2020;Akayleh, 2021) ...
In previous years, studying consumer behavior was seen as important, but in today’s fast-changing market, with rapid technological advancements, understanding consumer behavior can be a key factor in a product’s success or failure. The aim of the current research was to investigate the factors that can influence the online consumer behavior of Generation Z, regarding technological products that have just been launched and are available to the public. To achieve this goal, a cross-sectional research study was conducted with a sample of 302 Generation Z consumers selected using convenience sampling and elements of systematic sampling. This research used a structured questionnaire with established measurement scales to explore different aspects of online consumer behavior. The questionnaire was based on variables identified from various consumer behavior theories and models. The results led to the identification of six groups of influencing factors on online consumer behavior, highlighting the importance of these factors in shaping online consumer behavior and showing the influence of perceived risk as a moderating factor. These findings provide a thorough understanding of the factors that influence online consumer behavior while simultaneously laying the foundation for the creation of targeted and differentiated marketing strategies.
... When individuals lack experience with new technology, the provider's reputation becomes crucial for building trust (Kim et al., 2009;McKnight et al., 2002), because a strong reputation reflects a trustworthy history and public recognition, increasing individuals' confidence in the future activities (Karbowski and Ramsza, 2017). A positive reputation can transfer trust in the provider to its services and products (Johnson and Grayson, 2005;Koufaris and Hampton-Sosa, 2004). This is also important for AI providers, where a positive reputation serves as a crucial precursor in establishing trust, signifying their commitment to meeting clients' needs (Yang and Wibowo, 2022). ...
... Some robo-advice providers may offer only general financial advice, while other providers use advanced algorithms enabling their robo-advice service to personalise financial advice tailored to clients' input and needs (Tiberius et al., 2022). When individuals perceive a high level of expertise and tangible performance, such as financial advice provided by robo-advice move them to a better situation, will enhance their trust (Gulati et al., 2019;Johnson and Grayson, 2005;Roh et al., 2022). ...
Purpose
This study sits at the intersection of financial planning and FinTech, focusing on robo-advisory, an affordable and accessible digital financial advisory service. Individuals’ lack of trust has resulted in low adoption of robo-advice. This study aims to understand the psychological process of how individuals build trust in robo-advice, helping them engage with it more effectively and access affordable financial advice.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a trust transfer theory framework and 15 semi-structured interviews, this study identifies the sources people rely on to build trust in robo-advice.
Findings
The authors highlight four themes – social influence, psychological comfort, safeguarding and compliance and personal capacity – that shape individuals’ trust in robo-advice. In addition to direct trust in robo-advice, firm-specific trust and system trust can also transfer to trust in robo-advice. This study finds that financial literacy and risk tolerance moderate individuals’ trust in robo-advice, while psychological comfort first shapes trust and then drives adoption. The findings suggest that even young, tech-savvy individuals may not fully benefit from robo-advice due to low personal capability. They also prefer a hybrid model, where combining robo-advice with traditional advisory services could offer greater benefits.
Originality/value
This study details the concept of trust in the robo-advice context into three dimensions: technology trust, firm-specific trust and system trust. Existing research on robo-advice lacks quantitative tests on firm-specific and systemic trust; therefore, this qualitative exploratory study offers foundational theoretical insights.
... Participants completed several validated scales from the literature that were adjusted toward the purpose of this study: general trust in the food industry (Lang and Hallman 2005), affective trust and calculative trust in the food industry (Johnson and Grayson 2005). All scales were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. ...
New food technologies, such as 3D printing, are key for sustainable food innovation. As the success of these technologies depends on consumer acceptance, this paper presents two quantitative studies exploring the factors that influence consumers' intention to consume 3D‐printed food. In the first study, conducted with 463 German consumers, we tested a sector‐specific food technology acceptance model (FTAM) alongside the generic theory of planned behavior (TPB) model to predict consumer intention to consume 3D‐printed food. Structural equation modeling identified factors that significantly influence this intention to consume, including trust in institutions, subjective knowledge, perceived benefits, and perceived risks, as well as subjective norm. To explore the role of trust, the second study conducts an online experiment with 154 German students, assessing how the provision of information impacts calculative and affective trust in the food industry. Findings show that while the information treatment has no effect on calculative trust, affective trust significantly predicts calculative trust both directly and indirectly through the perceived credibility of the provided information. Both studies enhance the theoretical understanding of new food technology evaluation by being the first to apply the FTAM and highlighting the importance of integrating both affective (emotional) and calculative (rational) trust components in trust models. Practically, it underscores the necessity for the food industry to build trust with consumers through transparent and credible communication to effectively address safety, health, and environmental concerns.
... This shows that a positive experience does not always lead directly to a purchase, but first forms trust, which then drives the purchase. Johnson & Grayson (2005) explain that trust based on experience arises from consistency of service and satisfaction in repeated interactions. This trust acts as a cognitive filter in the decision-making process. ...
This study aims to analyze the influence of social media use, consumer experience, and brand attitude on purchasing decisions in traditional Jamu Beverage Products MSMEs in Kediri Regency, with trust as a mediator variable and electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) as a moderator variable. Using an explanatory quantitative approach and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis technique, data were collected from 200 respondents who are active consumers of social media and have purchased traditional herbal drink products in the last 3 months. The results showed that all independent variables significantly influenced trust, which in turn had a positive effect on purchasing decisions. Trust was a significant mediator in the relationship between social media, consumer experience, and brand attitude on purchasing decisions. In addition, e-WOM moderates the effect of trust on purchase decisions, reinforcing the effect of trust established through positive testimonials and online reviews. The practical implications of this study indicate the importance of digital marketing strategies that build trust and encourage consumer engagement through social media and e-WOM to improve purchasing decisions
... Trust in the relationship between the consumer and the organization positively affects the relationship's stability by increasing the willingness to cooperate and be loyal to the organization (Casalo et al., 2011). Johnson and Grayson (2005) examined the effects of both the cognitive and emotional dimensions of trust on customer commitment in service relationships and found a positive effect. Similarly, Espejel et al. (2011) found trust and commitment to be interrelated in their study on the food sector. ...
As in other sectors in recent years, the banking sector has started to include for all its plans, strategies and projects the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which has been accepted as one of the tools for achieving a competitive knowledge-based economy. CSR activities have great importance in structuring the reputation and image of an organization and managing customer relations. In this framework, banks try to act with awareness of social responsibility. In this context, the purpose of this article is to examine the relationships between banks’ CSR practices and customers’ organizational trust, identification, and commitment in accordance with the perceptions of bank customers living in Pirishtina, the capital of the Republic of Kosovo. The study analyzes 321pieces of valid data collected using a questionnaire form from people who live in Kosovo and who have made at least one banking transaction. According to the analysis results, which are consistent with the relevant literature, bank customers’ perceived CSR is found to have a positive effect on trust and customer identification with the organization while having no significant effect on commitment. In addition, trust and customer identification are seen to mediate the effect of perceived CSR on bank customers’ organizational commitment. The findings reveal firms’ CSR activities to impact customers’ levels of feeling secure and part of the firm, and thus their loyalty to the firm. The study makes unique contributions in terms of generating knowledge about CSR in an emerging economy and examining the effects of different mediating variables in the relationship between CSR and commitment.
... Kumar Ranganathan et al. [97]; Johnson and Grayson [98] I trust this brand and feel confident in my choice. To ensure the reliability of responses, the questionnaire incorporated well-established scales. ...
Generation Z is emerging as a powerful force in shaping global consumer behavior, particularly in the market of digital and technological products. This study examines how specific branding dimensions, such as online brand experience, engagement, image, trust, loyalty, awareness, behavioral intention, and brand knowledge, influence Gen Z’s purchase intention, emphasizing sustainable consumption. Sustainable consumption, in this context, refers to the preference for tech products that minimize the environmental impact through eco-friendly design, energy efficiency, and responsible sourcing. Using a quantitative approach, this cross-sectional research explores the effects of online brand experience, engagement, image, trust, loyalty, awareness, behavioral intention, and knowledge on purchasing newly launched technological products that align with sustainability. Data were collected from a Gen Z sample using a combination of convenience and systematic sampling, and multiple regression analysis identified the most significant predictors of purchase intention. The results indicate that online brand experience, brand image, brand trust, and brand loyalty play the most crucial roles, having a greater effects on Gen Z’s purchase intention, while brand awareness and knowledge also contribute. However, brand engagement and behavioral intention have weaker effects. These findings suggest that brands targeting Gen Z should prioritize building a strong, trustworthy, and engaging online presence while highlighting their sustainability efforts, and when Gen Z consumers have favorable digital interactions with a brand, perceive its image positively, trust it, and feel loyal to it, they are more likely to consider purchasing its sustainable offerings. This study enhances the understanding of Gen Z’s consumer behavior and offers insights for businesses seeking to foster sustainable consumption by highlighting the importance of developing marketing strategies that strengthen online brand experience, cultivate trust and loyalty, and clearly communicate sustainability values, such as through engaging digital content, transparent messaging, and eco-conscious branding, to effectively foster sustainable consumption among this environmentally conscious and digitally driven generation.
... Affective trust, as described by Johnson and Grayson, (2005), is a type of trust that is based on one's emotional feelings toward the level of care and concern provided by the other party in a relationship. This trust grows through direct experience and personal interaction, resulting in a sense of security and a strong emotional bond between the individual and the trusted party ( Ha et al., 2011). ...
Objective: Widespread product recalls present a significant challenge in the global automotive industry, often leading to reputational damage and a decline in customer loyalty. Understanding how customers respond after a recall is essential, particularly in determining whether their commitment diminishes or remains intact. This study examines the influence of distributive justice, recall severity, affective trust, and corporate reputation on the affective commitment of customers who have experienced an automotive product recall for repair. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Rawls’ theory, social exchange theory, resource advantage theory, and attribution theory. Design/Methods/Approach: Data for this study were collected through an online questionnaire, with a total of 220 eligible respondents participating. The study utilizes partial least s equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the impact of distributive justice and recall severity on consumers' affective trust, company reputation, and affective commitment. Findings: This study found that distributive justice and recall transparency enhance affective trust and corporate reputation, ultimately strengthening customer commitment. A fair and transparent recall strategy can transform a crisis into an opportunity to foster loyalty. Originality/Value: The originality of this research lies in its exploration of previously unexamined interrelationships among variables in the context of automotive product recalls. Additionally, the inclusion of these specific variables offers a more accurate and comprehensive understanding from the consumer's perspective. Practical/Policy implication: Our research provides automotive companies with a strategic framework to turn product recalls into opportunities by leveraging personalized communication, enhancing service quality, implementing systematic problem-solving, and fostering trust-building initiatives. These strategies help sustain customer relationships during recalls by emphasizing emotional engagement, rigorous vehicle inspections, transparent communication, and community-driven programs.
... Trust is a dynamic process that evolves through repeated interactions with the robot, as positive expectations are built over time based on the robot's actions and capabilities [23]. Importantly, human trust in robots has two bases: cognition-based and affect-based trust [4], [24], [25]. Cognition-based trust is rooted in rational judgments about the robot's competence and dependability, formed through evaluating its performance over time. ...
Existing research has shown that vocal and non-vocal human cues correlate with human trust and distrust behaviours, suggesting their potential to measure human trust in robots in real-time. However, there is a lack of research in Human-Robot Interaction that integrates vocal and non-vocal cues into a comprehensive model to measure trust. This paper aims to estimate human trust in robots by examining vocal and non-vocal cues differences between trust and distrust states across multiple sessions of collaborative game-based HRI with 40 participants. Our analysis revealed that vocal and non-vocal human cues can indeed predict trust in HRI, with certain facial expressions, facial movements, and pitch being significant factors. Random Forest classifier achieved the highest accuracy (84%) in classifying trust states, with key features such as facial expressions (fear, angry), facial blendshapes (cheekSquintRight, jawRight), and vocal characteristics (Duration, Harmonicity std) being the most predictive of trust. These findings demonstrate the importance of combining vocal and non-vocal cues for accurate trust measurement and highlight the potential for real-time trust assessment in robotic systems.
... McAllister [22] believes that interpersonal trust has both cognitive and emotional dimensions. Similarly, Johnson and Grayson [23] proposed that trust in service relationships at the consumer level has both cognitive and emotional levels. Another axis to consider is research in the field of social media. ...
This study analyzes the customer experience in digital social networks within the restaurant sector in Ibagué, Colombia, assessing how engagement and implicit attitudes shape consumer perceptions. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research selected top-rated restaurants on TripAdvisor and collected engagement metrics from their Instagram and Facebook accounts. Additionally, an Implicit Association Test (IAT) was applied to measure unconscious consumer attitudes toward visual content. Findings indicate that engagement does not always correlate with follower count; restaurants with fewer but highly interactive followers demonstrated stronger engagement. The IAT results showed mild but significant associations between implicit attitudes and engagement, suggesting that consumer perceptions are influenced by subconscious responses to digital content. The study highlights the role of digital engagement in shaping customer experiences and emphasizes the need for strategic content creation to foster meaningful interactions. These insights can help restaurant owners and marketers optimize their social media strategies by prioritizing visually compelling content and encouraging active consumer participation to enhance digital engagement and strengthen brand perception.
... The fashion retailers had no reviews, and there were significant differences in reviews provided by the mobile Apps and websites. Customer reviews are essential for building trust and providing social proof of service quality (Johnson and Grayson 2005). However, the customer reviews provided by some businesses were not specific enough about the date, customer username, and service they were commenting on. ...
The fashion industry is a significant contributor to global environmental degradation, driving up carbon emissions and resource consumption. Many fashion consumers feel guilt associated with contributing to this damage. While garment repair and alteration services (GRAS) offer a pathway to mitigate these impacts by extending the lifespan of clothing, consumer engagement with these services remains low. This study investigates the state of commercial GRAS in the UK, identifying barriers to consumer participation and their potential role in fostering sustainable behaviour. Through a comprehensive typology of UK GRAS providers and a thematic analysis of customer reviews, we reveal obstacles such as limited repair skills, unclear service information, and gaps in consumer trust. Our findings suggest that bridging these informational and service quality gaps could promote greater use of GRAS, aligning the fashion industry more closely with circular economy principles. In addition, we highlight the potential for GRAS to enhance well‐being by developing consumer's emotional attachment to clothing and positive feelings. These findings underscore the dual benefits of GRAS for environmental sustainability and consumer well‐being, suggesting broader applications for GRAS in shaping more sustainable consumption patterns. Please refer to the Supporting Information section to find this article's community and social impact statement.
... Cognitive trust requires the actor to identify the object of trust based on judgment from experience, while emotional trust is tied to the emotions of the interactants. It can be argued that cognitive trust is more market-based (e.g., Johnson and Grayson, 2005 believes that sales effectiveness is more correlated with cognitive trust but not emotional trust), whereas emotional trust is more socially oriented. ...
The aim of this study is to discuss the impact of firm’ business acquaintanceships on innovation. We adopt a sociological perspective and apply the concept of “The differential mode of association” to construct a theoretical framework to explain the principle of firms’ business acquaintanceships on innovation. To provide real-world evidence, we also empirically test the theoretical hypotheses using ESIEC data and some econometric models. The results reveal that: (1) Business acquaintanceships have a significant positive impact on innovation, but the impact of business acquaintanceships on product and process innovation is asymmetric. (2) Under the theory of “The differential mode of association” and the principle of individual pragmatism, profitability mediates the relationship between business acquaintanceships and innovation. The business acquaintanceships can improve profitability, nevertheless profitability hinders innovation. (3) Under “The differential mode of association,” the government and shareholders acquaintanceships have moderating effects. However, once the government and shareholders acquaintanceships are involved in business acquaintanceships, they have a negative impact on innovation within firms. (4) Individual heterogeneity in entrepreneurs’ gender, government experience, and prior entrepreneurial experience also affects the impact of business acquaintanceships on innovation. This study emphasizes the impact of social relationship structures on business acquaintanceships and innovation, further provides a new research perspective and marginal contributions in terms of theoretical and empirical evidence.
JEL Classification: B55 L26 M20 O32.
... Public health communication can be considered as a service where users are gaining health knowledge from one or several sources. Extensive psychological research [22] has shown that trust in service relationships can rise from affective phenomena (trusting a person perceived as friendly) or cognitive phenomena (trusting someone after a logical reasoning). Furthermore, several scientific studies have emphasized the importance of building trust between public health communicators and the public to ensure the effective dissemination of health information, e.g., open data [23], and the adoption of recommended health behaviors, e.g., face masking [21]. ...
The rapid emergence of infectious disease outbreaks has underscored the urgent need for effective communication tools to manage public health crises. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based chatbots have become increasingly important in these situations, serving as critical resources to provide immediate and reliable information. This review examines the role of AI-based chatbots in public health emergencies, particularly during infectious disease outbreaks. By providing real-time responses to public inquiries, these chatbots help disseminate accurate information, correct misinformation, and reduce public anxiety. Furthermore, AI chatbots play a vital role in supporting healthcare systems by triaging inquiries, offering guidance on symptoms and preventive measures, and directing users to appropriate health services. This not only enhances public access to critical information but also helps alleviate the workload of healthcare professionals, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. However, the implementation of AI-based chatbots is not without challenges. Issues such as the accuracy of information, user trust, and ethical considerations regarding data privacy are critical factors that need to be addressed to optimize their effectiveness. Additionally, the adaptability of these chatbots to rapidly evolving health scenarios is essential for their sustained relevance. Despite these challenges, the potential of AI-driven chatbots to transform public health communication during emergencies is significant. This review highlights the importance of continuous development and the integration of AI chatbots into public health strategies to enhance preparedness and response efforts during infectious disease outbreaks. Their role in providing accessible, accurate, and timely information makes them indispensable tools in modern public health emergency management.
... Furthermore, perceived trust is desire or confidence of consumers toward the quality and competence of the service [51]. In e-commerce, consumers have benefits regarding the object of the products, such as authenticity, visualization, and responsiveness, which could explore the information of seller identity and product quality [49]. ...
Technology advancement has given rise to a new online purchasing paradigm known as e-commerce. Online shopping in e-commerce platform has altered consumer behavior and purchasing decisions. However, a few studies have conducted by considering cognitive-affective process in making purchase decision on e-commerce. Therefore, the current study examines consumer behavior from perspective of stimulus-organism-response theory and the internal perception process (cognitive and affective) to understand consumer’s purchase decisions. We use structural equation model-partial least square technique to analyze the data of 308 consumers in Indonesia. Our findings report that two dimensions of the stimulus environment (credibility and product usefulness) significantly contributed to perceived trust; convenience has an insignificant impact on perceived trust and perceived value. In comparison, three dimensions of the stimulus environment (convenience, informativeness, and product price) contribute to consumers’ perceived trust. Furthermore, the stimulus environment indicators (credibility, informativeness, product price, and product usefulness) effect on perceived value, while convenience has an insignificant on consumers’ perceived value. The internal perception process or cognitive and affective process, perceived trust has an insignificant impact on perceived pleasure, while perceived value has a significant impact on perceived pleasure. Lastly, perceived pleasure significantly influences consumer purchase decisions in online shopping and e-commerce. The findings of this study can expand the research on e-commerce how consumer’s consider their cognitive and affective factor on product purchase decision. The study suggests that the optimize the features and products as way to improve the consumer purchase decision, and it affects toward cognitive and affective components such as perceive trust, value, and pleasure. This study has contributed both theoretically and practically to stakeholders, policy makers, and practitioner in e-commerce.
... Trust is a crucial factor in HRI [21], [22], especially when humans require the robots help by delegating them complex tasks to achieve [12]. Building on insights from social psychology [23], [24] and Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) [25], [26], research in HRI categorized trust attitude in two dimensions: cognitive trust and affective trust [27]. Cognitive trust is based on the human's rational judgment of the robot's competence and consistency in achieving a task. ...
Human trust in social robots is a complex attitude based on cognitive and emotional evaluations, as well as a behavior, like task delegation. While previous research explored the features of robots that influence overall trust attitude, it remains unclear whether these features affect behavioral trust. Additionally, there is limited investigation into which features of robots influence cognitive and emotional attitudes, and how these attitudes impact humans' willingness to delegate new tasks to robots. This study examines the interplay between competence, autonomy, and personality traits of robots and their impact on trust attitudes (cognitive and affective trust) and trust behavior (task delegation), within the context of task-oriented Human-Robot Interaction. Our findings indicate that robot competence is a key determinant of trust, influencing cognitive, affective, and behavioral trust. In contrast, robot personality traits significantly impact only affective trust without affecting cognitive trust or trust behavior. In addition, autonomy was found to moderate the relationship between competence and cognitive trust, as well as between personality and affective trust. Finally, cognitive trust was found to positively influence task delegation, whereas affective trust did not show a significant effect. This paper contributes to the literature on Human-Robot Trust by providing novel evidence for the design of robots that can interact effectively with humans and enhance their trust.
... Kişilerarası duygusal bağlar güçlendikçe organizasyondaki ilişkiler şeffaflaşmaktadır. Bu bağlamda duygusal güven ortamı oluştuğunda kişilerarası risk azalmaktadır(Johnson & Grayson, 2005).Organizasyon içinde birlikte çalışan insanların birbirleri hakkında olumlu düşüncelere sahip olması ve dürüst ilişkiler kurmaları birbirlerine karşı olumlu tutum ve davranışlar oluşturmalarına olanak sağlamaktadır. Güvenin bu boyutuna özdeşleşme temelli güven denmektedir ve özdeşleşme temelli güven karşımızdaki bireyin arzu ve isteklerine empatik yaklaşma mantığına dayanmaktadır. ...
Bir üniversite hastanesinde çalışan hemşirelerde lider üye etkileşiminin iş doyumuna etkisinde yöneticiye güvenin aracılık rolünü belirlemek amacıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir.
... So, in advertising, the ATT of the source has a positive impact on customer attitude, product perception, and product persuasiveness (Joseph, 1982;Ohanian, 1990). In livestreaming, LA increases customer trust (Johnson & Grayson, 2005;Ziegler & Golbeck, 2007), and trust increases CEM (Wongkitrungrueng & Assarut, 2020). Thus, we formulated our first hypothesis (H): H1: LA is positively related to CEM. ...
This study investigates the drivers of customer engagement in e-commerce livestreaming, examining the roles of livestreamer attributes and of community support. With data from 532 Chinese livestreaming customers, we examine the effects of livestreamer credibility and attractiveness, together with informational and emotional support from the community, on customer engagement. Findings reveal that livestreamer credibility is the only positive driver of customer engagement. Emotional support from the community reduces engagement. Livestreamer attractiveness and credibility enhance emotional and informational support within the community, respectively, but neither type of support positively influences customer engagement. These results challenge assumptions about the uniformly beneficial nature of community interactions and underscore the pivotal role of livestreamer credibility in driving engagement. The study contributes to theoretical frameworks on customer engagement and on source credibility models offering actionable insights for e-commerce livestreaming platforms.
... α T3 = .85) [35]. Social trust items such as 'I feel I can trust others' advice to me' were rated from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. ...
Background: To make confident referrals to link worker social prescribing (LWSP) programs, GPs and other health providers need evidence of their overall effectiveness and the value of the relationships and social activities that contribute to their outcomes. This research aimed to examine these questions in data collected from participants of a LWSP program over an 18-month follow-up period. Methods: Sixty-four participants ( M age = 53.59) enrolled in the LWSP arm of a controlled trial provided data at three timepoints: baseline (T1, n =64), +8-weeks (T2, n =50) and +18-months (T3, n =30) on group activities, relationship quality with link worker and community group facilitators, and outcomes on loneliness, distress, wellbeing, trust and health. Results: Participants were referred to a diverse range of social group programs, and the number of meaningful social groups increased from a median of 2 groups at T1, to 3 groups at T2 and T3. Loneliness reduced at T2 and T3, and these effects were large. Moderate-to-large effects were also found at 18-months for psychological distress and self-rated health. Participants’ relationships with link workers and group facilitators’ skill in fostering belonging at T2 (but not at T1), were associated with participant improvements at T3. Conclusions: Positive effects of LWSP were found in all outcome measures at 18-months follow-up. There was also evidence that the relational skills of link workers in building interpersonal rapport and community group facilitators in enabling a sense of belonging were key to participants’ positives outcomes. These findings emphasise that social prescribing is a multifaceted and highly relational health pathway. Strong relational and integrated care are important in achieving improved health outcomes. Trial registration: ANZCTR, retrospectively registered on 08/06/2022, https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12622000801718.aspx
... In addition to its utilitarian characteristics, brand trust has many other additional features. The new conception of brand trust emphasizes both the emotional (affective) assessments of positive brand experiences as well as the utilitarian (cognitive) tasks that a brand should fulfill based on observable product-level qualities (Johnson & Grayson, 2005). According to Singh et al. (2012), consumers' emotive connections with brands are the source of brand trust. ...
The health sector is one comprising trust and consumer loyalty; hence, understanding the factors leading to consumer engagement and advocacy in this sector is a challenge. Existential large bodies of literature focus exclusively on brand trust in consumer goods and services; however, very little research focuses on how brand trust functions within the health sector. Additionally, there is a dearth of existing literature on the contribution of cultural variables, influencer knowledge, and brand experience to fostering advocacy, loyalty, and trust in healthcare marketing. The study closes this gap by examining how influencer knowledge and brand experience affect brand trust and evaluating how individual-level collectivist ideals affect the link between brand loyalty and brand trust. The desire to understand how healthcare companies may build customer trust in a high-stakes, trust-dependent business has led to the development of this research challenge. This study was based on a quantitative approach by using snowball sampling to collect data from an audience in Karachi through a Google Form. Seven hypotheses are tested here that relate brand experience with influencer expertise, brand trust, parasocial relationships, brand loyalty, and brand advocacy. From the empirical evidence of the research study, it has been proven that brand experience and influencer expertise positively affect building brand trust. This in turn would have positive spillover effects for developing parasocial relationships, brand loyalty, and brand advocacy. Furthermore, the ILVC moderated the relationship between brand trust and brand loyalty. It, therefore, adds to the richness of cultural aspects in consumer behaviour relating to healthcare marketing. This paper contributes to the academic theoretical base by advancing a comprehensive model for building brand trust and loyalty in the healthcare sector by relating brand experience, influencer expertise, and cultural context. This study gives healthcare marketers practical advice on how to use cultural values and establish experiences that foster trust while implementing marketing strategies. This study's geographical reach is constrained because it was restricted to Karachi and the data was self-reported, which restricts how far the results can be applied. To further understand the mechanisms that foster trust across industries, future studies can broaden its scope geographically, investigate other cultural aspects, and examine how these findings might be used in other fields.
This study aims to investigate how credibility cues from doctors and celebrities influence trust formation and consumer intention in cosmetic surgery livestreams. Guided by source credibility theory and signaling theory, we explore the mediating role of utilitarian and hedonic values between source credibility and two dimensions of trust—cognitive and affective. A mixed-method approach combines qualitative analysis of livestream content and comments with a quantitative survey (N = 190) analyzed using PLS-SEM. Findings reveal that doctor credibility enhances utilitarian value, fostering cognitive trust, while celebrity credibility significantly impacts both hedonic value and trust, emphasizing emotional engagement. Trust emerges as a critical driver of consumer intention to use cosmetic services, highlighting the complementary roles of doctors and celebrities in livestreaming contexts. This study contributes to digital healthcare marketing by offering actionable guidance: livestream strategies should assign informational roles to doctors to boost cognitive trust, and use celebrities to enhance emotional engagement, ultimately increasing conversion intentions.
Purpose
Previous research has not examined the influence of perceived preference heterogeneity, a contextual antecedent, on consumer response to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven recommendations. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring this issue through the theoretical perspective of lay belief, which suggests that AI recommendations, often thought to rely on “collective wisdom,” may overlook individual idiosyncratic preferences.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey (involving 159 consumers) is conducted to provide general evidence (across product categories) for the impact of perceived preference heterogeneity on consumer acceptance of AI-driven recommendations. Three follow-up experiments with 597 participants provide causal evidence and examine the mediating role of cognitive trust (versus affective trust) as well as the moderating role of recommendation framing and the human likeness of the AI recommender.
Findings
Perceived preference heterogeneity negatively affects consumer acceptance of AI-driven recommendations, which is caused by decreased cognitive (rather than affective) trust. The effect is eliminated when the unfavorable lay belief is attenuated by a personal-based (versus others-based) recommendation framing and by increasing the AI recommender’s human likeness in cognitive ability or appearance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper conducts survey and lab experiments, and future research may use field experiments to provide further evidence. Future research may extend the study to categories where consumers are highly uncertain about their own preference and use highly humanlike AI recommenders.
Practical implications
Companies may highlight the personalization nature of the recommendations rather than the powerful and “collaborative” recommendation process. When consumers perceive high preference heterogeneity, companies would better use personal-based framings and increase the AI recommender’s human likeness in cognitive ability or appearance.
Originality/value
This research shows that perceived preference heterogeneity is an important antecedent that hinders consumer acceptance of AI-driven recommendations because of consumers’ unfavorable lay belief. This research also suggests that AI (when adopted to offer product recommendations) may not generate positive responses even in the cognitive domain, whereas most research focuses on its lack of affective abilities.
This research investigates the interactive effect of price discounts and prosocial identity on charitable contributions. Across three experiments (N = 810), we examine how price discount tactics that temporarily lower the cost of helping influence individuals' charitable contributions. We demonstrate that price discounts reduce charitable contributions, particularly among individuals with high prosocial identity. Our results further show that this reduction is driven by diminished trust in the charity, stemming from negatively impacted perceptions of its sincerity and transparency. However, when price discounts were accompanied by clear information on how donations would be used and the necessity of the promotion, individuals with high prosocial identity did not respond negatively. These findings provide practical insights for nonprofits considering the use of marketplace promotional tools in their fundraising efforts, highlighting potential challenges and offering strategies to mitigate backlash while maintaining donor trust and engagement.
Generating and maintaining consumer-broadcaster engagement in e-commerce live streaming is critical for broadcasters to enhance relationships with consumers. Broadcasters’ characteristics are principal factors that affect consumer behavior. Drawing on the literature on communication, social judgment, and stimulus-organism-response theory, we aim to investigate how matching broadcaster images (i.e., competent, warm) to broadcaster speech rates can be adjusted to enhance consumer-broadcaster engagement. We conducted four experiments to examine our hypotheses. The results demonstrate that (1) a competent broadcaster image accompanied by a fast speech rate creates more consumer-broadcaster engagement by increasing consumer cognitive trust; (2) a warm broadcaster image accompanied by a normal speech rate creates more consumer-broadcaster engagement by stimulating consumer affective trust; and (3) product type moderates the matching effect of a warm broadcaster and normal speech rate on consumer-broadcaster engagement. This study provides specific implications for how warm and competent broadcasters can enhance consumer broadcaster engagement by varying speech rates while representing different product types.
While academic research on brand trust is extensive, there remains a gap in understanding how commercial researchers measure and operationalise this concept. This study addresses this gap by exploring how industry practitioners are assessing brand trust in the evolving consumer landscape, and how these practices align with academic frameworks. Through in-depth interviews with industry experts, we examine the methods used by commercial researchers to measure brand trust and compare them to academic approaches. Our research is anchored in the trust-as-process framework, originally developed for interpersonal and organisational trust, which offers a multi-faceted view of trust, including disposition to trust and perceived trustworthiness. Rather than defining trust narrowly, this framework helps to clarify various conceptualisations of trust and their roles in fostering trust intentions and behaviours. Our findings highlight that both commercial and academic researchers focus primarily on perceived trustworthiness, emphasising its importance in brand trust measurement. We recommend adopting perceived trustworthiness measures, and advocate for further research into the development of valid single-item scales, a method favoured by commercial researchers, for measuring each dimension of perceived trustworthiness.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare operations. Nevertheless, particularly in the context of preventive care, little is known about how laypeople perceive and accept AI and change their behavior accordingly. Grounded in a solid theoretical framework of trust, this study bridges this gap by exploring individuals’ acceptance of AI‐based preventive health interventions and following health behavior change, which is critical for preventive care providers’ operational and business performance. Through a randomized field experiment with 15,000 users of a mobile health app complemented by a survey, we first show that the use and disclosure of AI in preventive health interventions improve their effectiveness. However, individuals are less likely to accept and achieve the health behavior change suggested by AI than when they receive similar interventions from health experts. We also observe that the effectiveness of AI‐based interventions can be improved by combining them with human expert opinions, increasing their algorithmic transparency, or emphasizing their genuine care and warmth. These results collectively suggest that, different from conventional technologies, AI's deficient affective trust, rather than comparable cognitive trust, play a decisive role in the acceptance of AI‐based preventive health interventions. This study sheds light on the literature on the role of new‐age information technologies in behavioral operations management, consumer marketing, and healthcare as well as the role of trust in technology acceptance. Valuable practical implications for more effective management of AI for preventive care operations and promotion of consumers’ health behavior are also provided.
In this chapter a theory of motivation and emotion developed from an attributional perspective is presented. Before undertaking this central task, it might be beneficial to review the progression of the book. In Chapter 1 it was suggested that causal attributions have been prevalent throughout history and in disparate cultures. Studies reviewed in Chapter 2 revealed a large number of causal ascriptions within motivational domains, and different ascriptions in disparate domains. Yet some attributions, particularly ability and effort in the achievement area, dominate causal thinking. To compare and contrast causes such as ability and effort, their common denominators or shared properties were identified. Three causal dimensions, examined in Chapter 3, are locus, stability, and controllability, with intentionality and globality as other possible causal properties. As documented in Chapter 4, the perceived stability of a cause influences the subjective probability of success following a previous success or failure; causes perceived as enduring increase the certainty that the prior outcome will be repeated in the future. And all the causal dimensions, as well as the outcome of an activity and specific causes, influence the emotions experienced after attainment or nonattainment of a goal. The affects linked to causal dimensions include pride (with locus), hopelessness and resignation (with stability), and anger, gratitude, guilt, pity, and shame (with controllability).
Used a longitudinal study of heterosexual dating relationships to test investment model predictions regarding the process by which satisfaction and commitment develop (or deteriorate) over time. Initially, 17 male and 17 female undergraduates, each of whom was involved in a heterosexual relationship of 0-8 wks duration, participated. Four Ss dropped out, and 10 Ss' relationships ended. Questionnaires were completed by Ss every 17 days. Increases over time in rewards led to corresponding increases in satisfaction, whereas variations in costs did not significantly affect satisfaction. Commitment increased because of increases in satisfaction, declines in the quality of available alternatives, and increases in investment size. Greater rewards also promoted increases in commitment to maintain relationships, whereas changes in costs generally had no impact on commitment. For stayers, rewards increased, costs rose slightly, satisfaction grew, alternative quality declined, investment size increased, and commitment grew; for leavers the reverse occurred. Ss whose partners ended their relationships evidenced entrapment: They showed relatively low increases in satisfaction, but their alternatives declined in quality and they continued to invest heavily in their relationships. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
This chapter outlines the two basic routes to persuasion. One route is based on the thoughtful consideration of arguments central to the issue, whereas the other is based on the affective associations or simple inferences tied to peripheral cues in the persuasion context. This chapter discusses a wide variety of variables that proved instrumental in affecting the elaboration likelihood, and thus the route to persuasion. One of the basic postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model—that variables may affect persuasion by increasing or decreasing scrutiny of message arguments—has been highly useful in accounting for the effects of a seemingly diverse list of variables. The reviewers of the attitude change literature have been disappointed with the many conflicting effects observed, even for ostensibly simple variables. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) attempts to place these many conflicting results and theories under one conceptual umbrella by specifying the major processes underlying persuasion and indicating the way many of the traditionally studied variables and theories relate to these basic processes. The ELM may prove useful in providing a guiding set of postulates from which to interpret previous work and in suggesting new hypotheses to be explored in future research.
Copyright © 1986 Academic Press Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Success in selling demands effective trust earning behavior. This article examines and compares the perceptions of manufacturers' reps and purchasing executives in relation to this process of earning the buyer's trust. The results indicate statistically significant differences over the two groups in their perceptions of how various trust earning components contribute to the development of buyer trust. Manufacturers' reps overestimated the trust earning potential of the “likeable,” “competent,” and “dependable” constructs. Manufacturers' reps also held an inflated view of the overall extent to which they were trusted by purchasing executives.
In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.
This study addressed the nature and functioning of relationships of interpersonal trust among managers and professionals in organizations, the factors influencing trust's development, and the implications of trust for behavior and performance. Theoretical foundations were drawn from the sociological literature on trust and the social-psychological literature on trust in close relationships. An initial test of the proposed theoretical framework was conducted in a field setting with 194 managers and professionals.
The authors investigate the role of trust between knowledge users and knowledge providers. The kind of knowledge of special concern is formal market research. Users include marketing and nonmarketing managers; providers include marketing researchers within a user's own firm and those external to the firm. A theory of the relationships centering on personal trust is developed to examine (1) how users' trust in researchers influences various relationship processes and the use of market research and (2) how the relationships vary when examined across dyads. The relationships were tested in a sample of 779 users and providers of market research information. Results indicate that trust and perceived quality of interaction contribute most significantly to research utilization, with trust having indirect effects through other relationship processes, as opposed to important direct effects on research utilization. Deeper levels of exchange, including researcher involvement in the research process and user commitment to the research relationship, however, have little effect on research use. Finally, the relationships in the model show few differences depending on whether the producer and user share marketing or research orientations. Interogranizational dyads, however, generally exhibit stronger model relationships than intraorganizational dyads.
Proposes to develop a service quality model, based on test of a sample of business executives, which describes how the quality of services is perceived by customers. Looks at its marketing implications, in which functional quality is seen to be a very important dimension of a perceived service. Concludes that quality dimensions are interrelated and that the importance of image should be recognised.
in this chapter we will examine the development and impact of trust in the context of close relationships
we will begin with a definition of trust and a discussion of its roots in individuals' interpersonal histories
we will go on to explore the development of trust in intimate relationships, emphasizing how its foundations are colored by the seminal experiences that mark different stages of interdependence
we will then consider the various states of trust that can evolve and their consequences for people's emotions and perceptions in established relationships (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Tested a theoretical model of interpersonal trust in close relationships with 47 dating, cohabiting, or married couples (mean ages were 31 yrs for males and 29 yrs for females). The validity of the model's 3 dimensions of trust—predictability, dependability, and faith—was examined. Ss completed scales designed to measure liking and loving, trust, and motivation for maintaining the relationship. An analysis of the instrument measuring trust was consistent with the notion that the predictability, dependability, and faith components represent distinct and coherent dimensions. The perception of intrinsic motives in a partner emerged as a dimension, as did instrumental and extrinsic motives. As expected, love and happiness were closely tied to feelings of faith and the attribution of intrinsic motivation to both self and partner. Women appeared to have more integrated, complex views of their relationships than men: All 3 forms of trust were strongly related, and attributions of instrumental motives in their partners seemed to be self-affirming. There was a tendency for Ss to view their own motives as less self-centered and more exclusively intrinsic than their partner's motives. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Developed scales to assess one individual's trust in another in meaningful interpersonal relationships. For males, the scale included factors of reliableness, emotional trust, and general trust. For females, similar but not identical reliableness and emotional trust factors emerged. The scales demonstrated adequate reliability and were discriminable from the related constructs of liking and love. In Exp I, 435 undergraduates' responses on the Reliableness subscale varied appropriately as a function of the reliable or nonreliable behavior of the target person. In Exp II, 84 undergraduates' responses on the Emotional Trust subscale varied appropriately when the target person either betrayed or did not betray a confidence. In both experiments, the appropriate subscale was more sensitive to experimental manipulations than were the other trust subscales, attesting to the discriminant validity of the trust factors. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
textlessptextgreaterThe attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s. While quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is largely undefined and unresearched. The authors attempt to rectify this situation by reporting the insights obtained in an extensive exploratory investigation of quality in four service businesses and by developing a model of service quality. Propositions and recommendations to stimulate future research about service quality are offered.
A salesman's expert and referent social power bases are analyzed experimentally to assess their impact on the customer's trust in the salesman, attitude, and behavioral intentions. Findings indicate that expertise is generally more effective than referent power in producing the desired customer changes.
A new approach for research on effectiveness in sales interactions is proposed. This approach is based on considering the moderating effect of the salesperson's resources, the customer's buying task, and the customer-salesperson relationship. A contingency framework is presented and research directions related to the framework are suggested.
Salespeople involved in the marketing of complex services often perform the role of “relationship manager.” It is, in part, the quality of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer that determines the probability of continued interchange between those parties in the future. A relationship quality model is advanced and tested that examines the nature, consequences, and antecedents of relationship quality, as perceived by the customer. The findings suggest that future sales opportunities depend mostly on relationship quality (i.e., trust and satisfaction), whereas the ability to convert those opportunities into sales hinges more on conventional source characteristics of similarity and expertise. Relational selling behaviors such as cooperative intentions, mutual disclosure, and intensive followup contact generally produce a strong buyer-seller bond.
Marketing managers must know the time orientation of a customer to select and use marketing tools that correspond to the time horizons of the customer. Insufficient understanding of a customer's time orientation can lead to problems, such as attempting a relationship marketing when transaction marketing is more appropriate. The author suggests that long-term orientation in a buyer/seller relationship is a function of two main factors: mutual dependence and the extent to which they trust one another. Dependence and trust are related to environmental uncertainty, transaction-specific investments, reputation, and satisfaction in a buyer/seller relationship. The framework presented here is tested with 124 retail buyers and 52 vendors supplying to those retailers. The results indicate that trust and dependence play key roles in determining the long-term orientation of both retail buyers and their vendors. The results also indicate that both similarities and differences exist across retailers and vendors with respect to the effects of several variables on long-term orientation, dependence, and trust.
Service marketing, to be effective and successful, requires a mirror-opposite view of conventional “product” practices.
Building upon work from social exchange theory and channels of distribution, a model of distributor-manufacturer working relationships from the distributor's perspective is presented. An initial empirical test, using a structural equation methodology, provided acceptable support of the model, given some measurement limitations. Further work on modeling both perspectives of the exchange relationship is discussed.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
Complex, highly intangible services such as life insurance consist largely of credence properties. Insurance providers engage in relationship-building activities that emphasize buyer-seller interaction and communication. Economists contend consumers are prone to make quality generalizations based on the strength of these relationships, perhaps to the detriment of price competition. The authors report contrary results suggesting that, though relationship marketing adds value to the service package, it is not a substitute for having a strong, up-to-date core service.
The authors integrate theory developed in several disciplines to determine five cognitive processes through which industrial buyers can develop trust of a supplier firm and its salesperson. These processes provide a theoretical framework used to identify antecedents of trust. The authors also examine the impact of supplier firm and salesperson trust on a buying firm's current supplier choice and future purchase intentions. The theoretical model is tested on data collected from more than 200 purchasing managers. The authors find that several variables influence the development of supplier firm and salesperson trust. Trust of the supplier firm and trust of the salesperson (operating indirectly through supplier firm trust) influence a buyer's anticipated future interaction with the supplier. However, after controlling for previous experience and supplier performance, neither trust of the selling firm nor its salesperson influence the current supplier selection decision.
This chapter describes research on interpersonal attraction in relation to a philosophy of science in terms of the historical antecedents and current developments. The co relational studies of attraction and similarity of attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and values have essentially involved attempts to determine the validity and to extend the generality of this formulation. With minor variations, these studies involved the identification of pairs of individuals who indicate mutual attraction (spouses, fiances, and sociometrically identified friends), an assessment of these individuals on one or more attitudinal measures, and a statistical determination of the pairs' similarity. Often, this similarity is evaluated not only in terms of departure from a theoretical base line of chance pairings but also by comparison with the similarity of random pairs or mutually antagonistic pairs from the same population. The study of attitude similarity between pairs of friends has fed to results parallel to those involving married couples. Misunderstandings and confusions about research goals and research methods in personality and social psychology occur frequently. There are several issues involved when research interest moves from “real-life” studies closely tied to naturalistic observations into laboratory research in which some variables are manipulated and others controlled. A possible research paradigm for the study of attitude similarity–dissimilarity and attraction has been discussed. The chapter also mentions the generality of the similarity–attraction relationship and theory of attraction as reinforcement model.
Although trust is an underdeveloped concept in sociology, promising theoretical formulations are available in the recent work
of Luhmann and Barber. This sociological version complements the psychological and attitudinal conceptualizations of experimental
and survey researchers. Trust is seen to include both emotional and cognitive dimensions and to function as a deep assumption
underwriting social order. Contemporary examples such as lying, family exchange, monetary attitudes, and litigation illustrate
the centrality of trust as a sociological reality.
Marketing managers must know the time orientation of a customer to select and use marketing tools that correspond to the time horizons of the customer. Insufficient understanding of a customer's time orientation can lead to problems, such as attempting a relationship marketing when transaction marketing is more appropriate. The author suggests that long-term orientation in a buyer/seller relationship is a function of two main factors: mutual dependence and the extent to which they trust one another. Dependence and trust are related to environmental uncertainty, transaction-specific investments, reputation, and satisfaction in a buyer/seller relationship. The framework presented here is tested with 124 retail buyers and 52 vendors supplying to those retailers. The results indicate that trust and dependence play key roles in determining the long-term orientation of both retail buyers and their vendors. The results also indicate that both similarities and differences exist across retailers and vendors with respect to the effects of several variables on long-term orientation, dependence, and trust.
Building upon work from social exchange theory and channels of distribution, a model of distributor-manufacturer working relationships from the distributor's perspective is presented. An initial empirical test, using a structural equation methodology, provided acceptable support of the model, given some measurement limitations. Further work on modeling both perspectives of the exchange relationship is discussed.
A salesman's expert and referent social power bases are analyzed experimentally to assess their impact on the customer's trust in the salesman, attitude, and behavioral intentions. Findings indicate that expertise is generally more effective than referent power in producing the desired customer changes.
A new approach for research on effectiveness in sales interactions is proposed. This approach is based on considering the moderating effect of the salesperson's resources, the customer's buying task, and the customer-salesperson relationship. A contingency framework is presented and research directions related to the framework are suggested.
Trust was conceptualized as the extent to which a salesperson exhibited five attributes: dependable, reliable, honest, responsible, and likeable. Scales were developed to measure each component as well as overall trust. The measures were found to satisfy some of the basic psychometric criteria for measurement. Also, descriptive information on the extent to which industrial buyers trusted salespeople found that while buyers tended to trust salespeople, room for improvement existed.
Complex, highly intangible services such as life insurance consist largely of credence properties. Insurance providers engage in relationship-building activities that emphasize buyer-seller interaction and communication. Economists contend consumers are prone to make quality generalizations based on the strength of these relationships, perhaps to the detriment of price competition. The authors report contrary results suggesting that, though relationship marketing adds value to the service package, it is not a substitute for having a strong, up-to-date core service.
This study investigated how industrial salespeople gain the trust of their customers. Results show that trust increases as the customer gains the impression that the salesperson is dependable, honest, competent, customer oriented, and likeable. Based on the results, a general model of trust building is suggested.
This paper examines the interplay between emotions expressed by patients and their families (consumers) and those expressed and recruited by physicians (service providers) in the pediatric department of a subspecialty medical setting. Detailed observations made during a year of fieldwork demonstrate that physicians enacted comedic performances in response to patient families' negative emotions. These comedies are a vehicle for the display and generation of fun: incompatible with the anxiety, fear, and despondence patient families typically bring to medical encounters. They further invite a move to positive emotions because the performances themselves are cues for optimism. Four comedies were identified, selectively presented by physicians at various emotional junctures in the service delivery process. Sociability comedy is initiated as physicians and patient families first come face-to-face, and it invites the former to like and feel comfortable with the performing physicians. Mastery comedy induces feelings of reassurance in families at the moment when physicians lay hands on the patients' bodies. Ostentatious Celebratory comedy promotes feelings of joy as it marks treatment successes while carefully modulated Magical performances bid for resilience at those times when patient families find it difficult to be hopeful about the medical prognosis.
The positive feelings engendered by these comedies likely expedite physicians' and patient families' dependence on each other. For example, liking, feeling comfortable with, and reassured with their physicians will make patient families less likely to hesitate about cooperating with the diagnostic and treatment procedures the former suggest. Reciprocally, confident of these feelings, physicians can be assured that families will continue in the service relationship and follow through with their medical recommendations.
The account provided in this paper has several implications for the study of organizational emotions and of service encounters. For example, the emotional exchanges described in this paper underscore the appropriateness of understanding clients as co-participants in the service process because the emotional displays of physician providers arise in response to various feelings that clients bring to encounters. Additionally. where previous studies of emotion in service encounters highlight the relationship between providers' emotional displays and client satisfaction, this study suggests the emotions that prevail in service encounters influence client cooperation with the service delivery process. And, they may be important to the quality of services generated.
The greening of corporate America has added a new and different type of criterion to some organizational buying decisions-social responsibility. Scholars have given little attention to such noneconomic buying criteria. On the basis of a study of 35 buying processes in ten organizations and an in-depth examination of 21 of those processes, the author addresses how and why socially responsible buying comes about in organizations. The findings suggest that two factors have been key to the success of socially responsible buying initiatives. One factor is the presence of a skillful policy entrepreneur. Policy entrepreneurs are found to have many of the same characteristics as business entrepreneurs, but invest their resources in instituting new organizational policies. Their zeal for socially responsible buying is rooted in a commitment based on a complex and often difficult process of moral reasoning. The second factor influencing the success of socially responsible buying is the organizational context within which policy entrepreneurs operate. The author differentiates organizational contexts on the basis of whether the socially responsible buying is part of a deliberate corporate strategy and further classifies them through a framework and identifies themes observed across the contexts. Guidance is offered for vendors marketing socially responsible products and services.
Salespeople involved in the marketing of complex services often perform the role of "relationship manager." It is, in part, the quality of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer that determines the probability of continued interchange between those parties in the future. A relationship quality model is advanced and tested that examines the nature, consequences, and antecedents of relationship quality, as perceived by the customer. The findings suggest that future sales opportunities depend mostly on relationship quality (i. e., trust and satisfaction), whereas the ability to convert those opportunities into sales hinges more on conventional source characteristics of similarity and expertise. Relational selling behaviors such as cooperative intentions, mutual disclosure, and intensive followup contact generally produce a strong buyer-seller bond.
It is dangerous to take the marketing concepts that apply to products, and try to transfer them to services. Products are tangible; services are not-and that makes a lot of difference in how you market them.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
A critical element in the evolution of a fundamental body of knowledge in marketing, as well as for improved marketing practice, is the development of better measures of the variables with which marketers work. In this article an approach is outlined by which this goal can be achieved and portions of the approach are illustrated in terms of a job satisfaction measure.
A thorough understanding of how businesses gain and maintain long-term relationships with clients is critical in today’s environment.
This study develops a scale for salesperson listening behavior and investigates the impact of customers’ perceptions of salespeople’s
listening behavior on trust, satisfaction, and anticipation of future interaction. A structural equations model is developed
and empirically tested using a sample of new car buyers. The research results suggest that listening is a higher-order construct
composed of three dimensions: (a) sensing, (b) evaluating, and (c) responding. When customers perceive a high level of listening
behavior by a salesperson, it enhances their trust in the salesperson and leads to greater anticipation of future interaction.
Implications and future research issues are discussed.
Criteria for evaluating structural equation models with latent variables are defined, critiqued, and illustrated. An overall
program for model evaluation is proposed based upon an interpretation of converging and diverging evidence. Model assessment
is considered to be a complex process mixing statistical criteria with philosophical, historical, and theoretical elements.
Inevitably the process entails some attempt at a reconcilation between so-called objective and subjective norms.
In the search for satisfaction, researchers have developed the disconfirmation model to represent the process used to arrive at such a judgment. This model has evolved through the use of product-based research. The applicability of such a model to the services setting has not been explored. At question is the applicability of the components of the disconfirmation model and the relationships among these components. The current research attempts to assess the applicability of the disconfirmation model, along with the affective extension suggested by Oliver (1993), to the services setting. Affect is posited to have a direct positive effect on performance evaluations, satisfaction with the service encounter, and repeat patronage intentions. Disconfirmation is hypothesized to have a direct positive effect on satisfaction with the service encounter. A videotaped service encounter was shown to 163 southeastern university students. The structural model tested has an acceptable fit to the data (χ23df = 3.81, p ≥ .05). An alternative structural model without the affect constructs was assessed to test the influence of affect. The alternative model provided an unacceptable fit to the data (χ210df = 137.36, p ≤ .05). The chi-square difference test of the two nested models revealed that the model containing affect is a significant improvement over the model without affect (χ27df = 133.55, p ≤ .05). The influence of disconfirmation, which is prevalent in product-based applications of the model, was not significant in the current service setting. Affect has a significant influence on performance evaluations only. The significant influence of affect in the model may be due to the nature of services (e.g., experience and credence qualities).
The authors integrate theory developed in several disciplines to determine five cognitive processes through which industrial buyers can develop trust of a supplier firm and its salesperson. These processes provide a theoretical framework used to identify antecedents of trust. The authors also examine the impact of supplier firm and salesperson trust on a buying firm's current supplier choice and future purchase intentions. The theoretical model is tested on data collected from more than 200 purchasing managers. The authors find that several variables influence the development of supplier firm and salesperson trust. Trust of the supplier firm and trust of the salesperson (operating indirectly through supplier firm trust) influence a buyer's anticipated future interaction with the supplier. However, after controlling for previous experience and supplier performance, neither trust of the selling firm nor its salesperson influence the current supplier selection decision.
Used a longitudinal study of heterosexual dating relationships to test investment model predictions regarding the process by which satisfaction and commitment develop (or deteriorate) over time. Initially, 17 male and 17 female undergraduates, each of whom was involved in a heterosexual relationship of 0–8 wks duration, participated. Four Ss dropped out, and 10 Ss' relationships ended. Questionnaires were completed by Ss every 17 days. Increases over time in rewards led to corresponding increases in satisfaction, whereas variations in costs did not significantly affect satisfaction. Commitment increased because of increases in satisfaction, declines in the quality of available alternatives, and increases in investment size. Greater rewards also promoted increases in commitment to maintain relationships, whereas changes in costs generally had no impact on commitment. For stayers, rewards increased, costs rose slightly, satisfaction grew, alternative quality declined, investment size increased, and commitment grew; for leavers the reverse occurred. Ss whose partners ended their relationships evidenced entrapment: They showed relatively low increases in satisfaction, but their alternatives declined in quality and they continued to invest heavily in their relationships. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)