Wilson Ozuem

Prior research has shown that customers’ perceptions of chatbots may be influenced by the situational context in which human–chatbot interactions take place. This research advances understanding of artificial intelligence (AI)‐enabled chatbot‐led service failure recovery (SFR) in the context of customer loyalty. Using a social constructivist philosophical perspective and an inductive approach, 52 in‐depth interviews were conducted to capture individuals’ perceptions of chatbot‐led interactions during a SFR process and how these perceptions impacted their trust in, and commitment to, brands. Utilizing commitment‐trust theory and trust transfer theory, we propose a framework that characterizes the relationships between a chatbot‐led SFR process and customer loyalty intentions. Based on the emergent data, customers’ evaluations of a service recovery journey led by chatbots can be grouped into four main outcomes: continued trust in, and commitment to, chatbot and brand; continued trust in, and commitment to, brand; discontinued trust in, and commitment to, chatbot; and discontinued trust in, and commitment to, chatbot and brand. Our findings extend current understanding of how consumers’ trust and commitment during chatbot‐led interactions during SFR evolve and highlight the dynamic relationship between consumers and the context of interactions. This study has theoretical and practical implications for developing and leveraging customers’ loyalty in AI‐enabled chatbot‐led SFR environments.

Purpose: Advertisers utilize paid search ads and bid on the branded keywords of companies that are ranked organically in search results to acquire customers from their competitors. Understanding of the actual effect of the advertisers on organically ranked companies is vague and underdeveloped. As a response, this study examines the impact of paid search ads on organically ranked companies. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a social constructivist perspective and utilizing a netnographic approach, the present study examines the effect that advertisers have on organically ranked companies and explores how advertisers utilize branded keywords to target customers throughout their shopping journey. Findings: The present study concludes with a framework that expands theoretical understanding of paid search ads and addresses the inconclusiveness and contradictory findings in the literature. In practical terms, it provides insights that organically ranked companies could utilize to strategize paid search ads in a way that defends their customers from advertisers, regardless of customers' stage in the shopping journey. Originality/value: The present study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to explore the effects of paid search ads on organically ranked companies using a holistic approach. The approach includes analysis of the key factors that are recognized to explain customer clicks, namely positioning, impression and promotional messages, and it is applied across all stages of a customer's shopping journey.

Although a substantial body of research has explored the application of thematic analysis within qualitative enquiry, considerable variation remains regarding how scholars might operationalise the method. More importantly, the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced additional complexity to the expanding corpus of secondary data. The volume and evolving characteristics of AI-generated content necessitate a critical re-evaluation of existing analytical frameworks. In response to these emerging challenges, this study develops a carefully constructed and theoretically grounded thematic analysis framework to support researchers in conducting analysis within an AI-driven context. Drawing on a previous framework, it highlights the flexibility of thematic analysis and its capacity to generate rich, contextually grounded insights, particularly in the synthesis of existing knowledge through secondary data analysis. This paper proposes the RIPES (Reflexivity, Interpretation, Procedural consistency, Evaluation, and Situatedness) model, outlines the key stages of conducting thematic analysis, examines its application to secondary data, and evaluates both the benefits and the challenges associated with this approach in qualitative enquiry. It aims to assist researchers and practitioners in critically engaging with both primary and secondary data while maintaining methodological integrity within an increasingly technologically mediated research environment.

Thematic analysis is a highly popular technique among qualitative researchers for analyzing qualitative data, which usually comprises thick descriptive data. However, the application and use of thematic analysis has also involved complications due to confusion regarding the final outcome’s presentation as a conceptual model. This paper develops a systematic thematic analysis process for creating a conceptual model from qualitative research findings. It explores the adaptability of the proposed process across various research methodologies, including constructivist methodologies, positivist methodologies, grounded theory, and interpretive phenomenology, and justifies their application. The paper distinguishes between inductive and deductive coding approaches and emphasizes the merits of each. It suggests that the derived systematic thematic analysis model is valuable across multiple disciplines, particularly in grounded theory, ethnographic approaches, and narrative approaches, while also being adaptable to more descriptive, positivist-based methodologies. By providing a methodological roadmap, this study enhances the rigor and replicability of thematic analysis and offers a comprehensive strategy for theoretical conceptualization in qualitative research. The contribution of this paper is a systematic six-step thematic analysis process that leads to the development of a conceptual model; each step is described in detail and examples are given.

Purpose: Prior research has advanced several explanations for social media influencers' (SMIs’) success in the burgeoning computer-mediated marketing environments but leaves one key topic unexplored: the moderating role of SMIs in service failure and recovery strategies.Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a social constructivist perspective and an inductive approach, 59 in-depth interviews were conducted with millennials from three European countries (Italy, France and the United Kingdom). Building on social influence theory and commitment-trust theory, this study conceptualises four distinct pathways unifying SMIs' efforts in the service failure recovery process.Findings: The emergent model illustrates how source credibility and message content moderate service failure severity and speed of recovery. The insights gained from this study model contribute to research on the pivotal uniqueness of SMIs in service failure recovery processes and offer practical explanations of variations in the implementation of influencer marketing. This study examines a perspective of SMIs that considers the cycle of their influence on customers through service failure and recovery.Originality/value: The study suggests that negative reactions towards service failure and recovery are reduced if customers have a relationship with influencers prior to the service failure and recovery compared with the reactions of customers who do not have a relationship with the influencer.

Purpose: User-generated content (UGC) and service failure have attracted considerable marketing inquiry over the last two decades. Previous studies primarily focused on the outcome of service failure and the impact of UGC on perceived failure severity. This article departs from previous studies as it examines the moderating role of UGC on the relationship between service failure recovery (SFR) and customer–brand relationship.Design/methodology/approach: Building on commitment-trust theory and from a phenomenological hermeneutical perspective, this article explores this phenomenon through the interpretation of 60 in-depth interviews with millennials from three European countries: Italy, France and the UK. An analysis of the data was conducted using a qualitative approach to understand the main constructs and relationships derived from the data.Findings: This study conceptualises four distinct moderating characteristics of UGC in the SFR process: satisfaction with experience and brand, dissatisfaction with experience and brand, satisfaction with brand and dissatisfaction with brand. The insights from the responsiveness, empathetic response, counterfactual thinking and brand salience (RECB) framework contribute to research on UGC and shed light on the relationship between SFR and consumer–brand relationships in the fashion industry.Originality/value: Overall, this study demonstrates that customer interactions with UGC significantly affect their responses to, and relationships with, a brand. The proposed framework opens up interesting avenues for future research on the moderating role of UGC on the relationship between SFR and customer–brand relationships.

COVID-19 has changed the way people live, bank, shop, and work by moving them toward digitalization. It has also driven the trend toward a cashless society, and this change has taken place in an increasingly uncertain and fearful environment. This study explores the social practice of mobile banking (MB) adoption during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from banking customers and managers using online customer reviews, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups to develop an in-depth understanding of the subjective realities of their use of MB. This approach also ensured that social distancing practices were maintained during interviews conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak. Analysis of the data suggests that social media, social circles, family members, and teams of customer service agents play an important role in developing the social practice of MB. This study culminates in the presentation of the social practice of MB adoption (SPOTA) framework. This framework is based on extended social practice theory in the context of MB adoption. The study discusses the practical implications of the findings for systems developers. The many expectations of people with or without disabilities of MB are discussed and the findings could be used to improve the accessibility and habitual practice of MB adoption.

Whereas the need for integrated marketing communication has been given considerable attention by researchers in recent decades, the integration of creativity into integrated marketing communication has not. Differences between how creativity is valued in advertising versus specialized digital marketing agencies within an integrated marketing communication environment may lead to brand message diffusion. The current study addresses these differences and investigates what defines, drives, and inspires creative collaboration and how it relates to the motivational theory of creativity. Drawing on a social-constructivist methodology, the authors generated empirical data from leaders of industry-acclaimed agencies from four European countries (Norway, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom). On the basis of that data, the authors propose a conceptual model which managers can use as a roadmap for improving the creative integrated marketing communication process, while opening the door to future research possibilities.