Browsing by Author "Silva, Maria Levi"
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- Gamified chatbots : creating value and engagement in online brands’ interactions with consumersPublication . Silva, Maria Levi; Silva, Susana Cristina Lima da Costa e; De Cicco, RobertaThe rapid and ongoing transformation of digital economies created a need for developing innovative consumer engagement strategies and find new communication tools to ensure its success. In this sense, using gamification in consumer-brand experiences started to gain much attention, but the existence of little research on its complexity and development of its designs resulted in many businesses failing their engagement strategies. Because of the growing interest in chatbot systems as innovative communication tools and its inevitable association with graceful experiences, the main purpose of this research became to develop the design of a gamified chatbot, to understand whether and how young consumers’ value perceptions affect the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural engagement dimensions. The design was developed with achievement-related game components borrowed from Werbach and Hunter’s (2012) DMC Pyramid, to assess its specific effect on utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions, and engagement. The chatbot and brand used to test the proposed model were created for the present study, and the interaction with the agent had 165participants, that answered the purposely developed questionnaire used as a data collection technique. Structural equation modelling was then applied to treat the obtained data. Empirical results show that hedonic value was found to highly influence all engagement dimensions, while the utilitarian value effect is lower and even non-existent when considering cognitive engagement. Even so, the relationships from the structural model can adequately explain all engagement dimensions. Thus, the study provides a better understanding of the factors that affect consumer-brand engagement and offers useful insights into the importance of designing a strategy that includes intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics for a gamified experience with chatbots.
- How gamifying AI shapes customer motivation, engagement, and purchase behaviorPublication . Elmashhara, Maher Georges; Cicco, Roberta De; Silva, Susana C.; Hammerschmidt, Maik; Silva, Maria LeviRecently, firms started to gamify conversational artificial intelligence (AI) agents, such as chatbots, to improve purchase outcomes. This article explores strategies for incorporating gamification into AI systems by investigating the impact of utilitarian and hedonic motivations facilitated by gamified chatbots on various dimensions of customer engagement (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral), as well as the subsequent effects of these dimensions on customers' purchase behavior. By conducting one cross-sectional and two experimental studies involving real interactions with gamified chatbots, this research identifies two crucial paths that warrant attention: an optimal path from hedonic motivation to behavioral engagement, resulting in enhanced purchase, and a detrimental path from utilitarian motivation to emotional engagement, which reduces purchase. Furthermore, the research compares the effects of two types of gamified chatbots and reveals that a game-of-chance-based chatbot, as opposed to a knowledge-sharing gamified chatbot, aligns with the optimal path, leading to higher purchasing while at the same time avoiding that customers feel obligated to play the game. Based on these findings, the article provides actionable insights for eliciting favorable psychological and behavioral responses through gamified AI interactions.
- Revolutionizing customer engagement via gamified chatbots: a paradigm shiftPublication . Elmashhara, Maher Georges; Cicco, Roberta De; Silva, Susana C.; Hammerschmidt, Maik; Silva, Maria LeviIn today’s fast-paced marketplace, companies are using AI, particularly chatbots, to enhance customer experiences and boost sales. Despite advancements, many consumers are still hesitant to use chatbots for purchases, often abandoning them after initial interactions. To address this, businesses are adding gamification elements like rewards and discounts to chatbot interactions. This research examines how gamified chatbots influence customer engagement and sales, focusing on two motivations: utilitarian (practical) and hedonic (pleasure-based). Through three empirical studies, the findings reveal that emotional engagement can decrease purchase intent for utilitarian motivations, while hedonic motivation more effectively drives purchases. Different types of gamification, such as knowledge-based and chance-based rewards, also affect buying behavior. The study highlights the importance of consumer autonomy, showing that chatbots with chance-based rewards are more effective. These insights help businesses improve engagement and sales through gamified chatbot strategies.