Accepted Manuscript

Title: Animated Conversational Agents and e-Consumer

Productivity: The Roles of Agents and Individual
Characteristics

Author: Mohammed Slim BEN MIMOUN Ingrid PONCIN

Marion GARNIER

PII: S0378-7206(16)30353-6
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.im.2016.11.008
Reference: INFMAN 2955

To appear in: INFMAN

Received date: 23-2-2016

Revised date: 25-8-2016
Accepted date: 27-11-2016

Please cite this article as: Mohammed Slim BEN MIMOUN, Ingrid PONCIN,
Marion GARNIER, Animated Conversational Agents and e-Consumer Productivity:
The Roles of Agents and Individual Characteristics, Information and Management
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2016.11.008

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 Animated Conversational Agents and e-Consumer Productivity:

The Roles of Agents and Individual Characteristics

Mohammed Slim BEN MIMOUN

SKEMA Business School, Université de Lille

m.slim_benmimoun@skema.edu

Phone : +33 320424713 /Fax : + 33 320215959

SKEMA, Avenue W. Brandt, 59777 Euralille (France)

Ingrid PONCIN

Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain School of Management (LSM)

ingrid.poncin@uclouvain-mons.be

UCL-Mons, Chaussée de Binche, 151, 7000 Mons (Belgique)

Marion GARNIER

SKEMA Business School – Université de Lille

marion.garnier@skema.edu

SKEMA, Avenue W. Brandt, 59777 Euralille (France)

1
 Animated Conversational Agents and e-Consumer Productivity:

The Roles of Agents and Individual Characteristics

Despite experiential marketing being seen as a topical outcome for websites (Rose et al., 2012),

utilitarian motivations still coexist and even remain prominent for consumers that use Internet for its

convenience and rapidity. Facing more and more complex websites, consumers can get lost, feel like

they are losing time within the profusion of offers, and consequently fail to complete their shopping

task (Markellou et al., 2005; Pan and Zinkhan, 2005; Kalczynsk et al., 2006; Punj and Moore, 2009;

Hausman and Siekpe, 2009; Kukar-Kinney and Close, 2010; Mai et al. 2014). Consumers then pay

attention to their productivity in the shopping activity (Anitsal and Schumann, 2007), which can be

defined as their efficiency and effectiveness in achieving a (online) shopping task, estimated through a

ratio between consumers‘ inputs in the shopping experience and outputs that are obtained (Ben

Mimoun et al., 2014). This e-consumer productivity can be both objective and perceived.

Online merchants are implementing solutions in terms of website design to provide a satisfying

shopping experience to clients. Particularly, even if it allows a direct contact with the retailer, e-

commerce usually is depicted as cold, distant, and impersonal. One possible solution has been found in

virtual agents. Hostler, Yoon, and Guimaraes (2005) argue that virtual agent technology could exert a

significant effect in this setting. Holzwarth, Janiszewski, and Neumann (2006) suggest in particular

that using virtual agents to inform consumers about products could mitigate the impersonal sense

inherent to online purchases, and several studies indicate that the presence of an animated

conversational agent (ACA) on a website can have positive effects on customer relationships, trust,

and satisfaction (Wood, Solomon and Englis 2005; Keeling and McGoldrick 2008; Qiu and Benbasat

2009). Furthermore, facing more demanding clients, firms seek to maximize the benefits perceived by

each client in each interaction, similar to how a sales agent in a traditional setting can largely create

and reinforce the firm–client relationship (Reynolds and Beatty, 1999). The benefits of interacting

with a salesperson are functional and social for consumers and include time saving, ease of purchase,

advice, better purchase decisions, pleasure gained through interactions, and feeling important to the

firm (Holzwarth et al., 2006). A link can then be assumed between the use of a virtual agent such as an

2
ACA on a website and e-consumer productivity and the inputs in terms of time or effort and the

outputs or functional, social, and pleasant benefits consumers can get through the online shopping

experience.

Therefore, beyond the mere presence of such an agent, the virtual interaction may be the source of

perceived benefits for Internet users. Accordingly, Holzwarth et al. (2006) suggest that interacting

with virtual agents influences decision and purchase processes in a way that is similar to the effect of

human sales agents in real-world settings such that it facilitates time saving, advice, or parasocial1

benefits. Ben Mimoun et al. (2013) in turn showed that in a 3D website, interacting with a virtual sales

agent improves consumer productivity, in the form of efficiency and effectiveness, during an online

purchase. This outcome is crucial because challenges associated with online agents led some of them

to disappear and prevented others from becoming common and popular (Ben Mimoun et al., 2012).

Despite very positive results presented in the academic and professional literature regarding the effects

of the presence of ACA on commercial websites (Wood, et al. 2005; Holzwarth et al., 2006; Gulz and

Haake, 2006; Wang et al., 2007; Keeling and McGoldrick 2008; Qiu and Benbasat 2009), it can be

observed that this technology has not yet met expectations. A better understanding of the productivity

benefits that interactions with ACA offer consumers could represent valuable information for

practitioners in particular and additional knowledge in academic literature as ACA has never been

confronted, to our knowledge, to the problematics of consumer productivity online.

This research accordingly investigated how the effective use of and interaction with an ACA on a

commercial website might improve the consumer‘s own productivity, a view of productivity that

entails an input–output duality. Unlike studies that rely on the technology acceptance model (Davis,

1989: Davis et al. 1989, Venkatesh and Davis, 2000), this research focused on effective use, rather

than acceptance, of the agent. In addition, unlike most prior research on virtual agents, we studied

detailed interactions with and the use of the agent and not just its mere presence (vs. absence). This

research will then first contribute to the understanding of objective vs. perceived productivity related

to interacting with a virtual agent and will also further contribute to better understand the effect of

using and interacting with a virtual agent. By integrating consumer characteristics in our hypothesis,

3
we also contribute to the identification of the conditions (the users‘ profile) that conduct a better

effectiveness in ACA‘s usage.

In the next section, we provide a review of literature focused on e-consumer productivity, virtual

agents, and their potential interaction by specifying various inputs and outputs linked to virtual agents.

We then discuss individual characteristics that may exert an influence in relation with ACA use and

productivity. We conducted two studies with complementary methodologies, namely a laboratory

study using eye-tracking techniques to study the effect of the level of interaction with the ACA on

objective and perceived consumer productivity and a natural online study that highlights the

importance of individual variables. After presenting the two studies and discussing their results, we

conclude on the present study‘s contributions and implications.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW

The growing complexity of e-commerce, characterized by wide and diverse offers, more sophisticated

website designs, increased quantities of information, and secure payment processes, makes the online

shopping process longer, which tends to reduce e-consumer productivity (Ben Mimoun et al., 2013).

Many consumers fail to complete a transaction when they visit a website to make purchases (Cho,

2004; Hausman and Siekpe, 2009; Kukar-Kinney and Close, 2010) because of the difficulties in

finding a preferred product (Ranganathan and Grandon, 2005), the complexity of the navigation and

purchase process (Markellou et al., 2005; Kalczynsk et al., 2006), the effects of intangibility, or the

absence of a helpful salesperson (Punj and Moore, 2009). However, productivity is an increasingly

important goal for modern consumers who have less time to devote to self-service commerce tasks

(Anitsal and Schumann, 2007). If existing literature identifies the importance of personal and social

experiences for consumers, which they seek through shopping, utilitarian motivations associated with

online shopping (e.g., speed, convenience) nevertheless remain prominent. Website managers

implement decision support systems to help navigation and decisions; for example, virtual agents

through those laters do not necessarily get acceptance from consumers, failing to really demonstrate

their usefulness or interest (Ben Mimoun et al., 2012). It is consequently crucial for researchers and

digital marketing practitioners to better understand e-consumer productivity, its stakes and

4
consequences, and how a website‘s design and features can influence it. This literature review will

then present the concept of e-consumer productivity and a specific virtual agent named ACA before

relating the two.

1.1. E-consumer productivity

The concept of productivity based on economic research is central to multiple research approaches and

academic studies (Cox, 1948; Ingene, 1982, 1984; Sink, 1985; Martin et al., 2001; Parasuraman, 2002;

Xue and Harker, 2002; Grönroos and Ojasalo, 2004; Johnston and Jones, 2004; Anitsal, 2005; Anitsal

and Schumann, 2007; Xue et al., 2007; for a review, see Ben Mimoun et al., 2013).

Originally an industrial issue, Ingene (1984) took a consumer perspective on productivity and argued

that, similar to industrial production, shopping productivity could be measured by the relationship

between the outputs a shopper gains (e.g., purchased products, information, pleasure) and the inputs

dedicated to the process (e.g., time, effort, money). Anitsal and Schumann (2007) then proposed the

concept of consumer productivity, which combines the benefits of the industrial approach of

productivity that focuses on the concept of efficiency and inputs to the production system and the

services approach that focuses on effectiveness and outputs of the system. They argue that during a

shopping task, clients pay attention to their individual productivity and are conscious of how they save

or expend their inputs (time, effort, money) to reach the expected outcomes (Anitsal and Schumann,

2007).

In addition to monetary aspects, time and effort represent the main inputs for consumers, in both

offline and online shopping contexts. According to Xiao and Benbasat (2007), for online shopping,

consumer effort involves information gathering, evaluation of alternatives, and website navigation,

which is reflected in the level of energy the consumer expends to perform these tasks (Anitsal and

Schumann, 2007) while navigating the website. Time entails the amount of time a consumer spends on

the website to choose and complete the purchase (Xiao and Benbasat, 2007). Then, the shopping

outputs involve three forms: utilitarian such as decision quality, cost of navigation, and usefulness;

playfulness; and social benefits (Bloch et al., 1994), which we will detail later.

5
To assess productivity, two main indicators are the key. Efficiency refers to the minimization of inputs

to reach an outcome, that is, in words, ―the degree to which an activity generates a given quantity of

outputs with a minimum consumption of inputs, or generates the largest possible outputs from a given

quantity of inputs.‖ (Vuorinen et al., 1998, p. 379) or ―the degree to which the system uses the ‗right‘

resources.‖ (Ojasalo, 1999, p. 43). In general, efficiency equals the ratio of expected resource

consumption to actual resource consumption (Sink, 1985). Regarding effectiveness, it requires

maximizing the expected effect by achieving the ―right‖ or desired outputs (Sink, 1985).

We then define e-consumer productivity as a combination of the efficiency with which the consumer

uses resources in online shopping tasks and the effectiveness of this shopping process. Classical

analyses of productivity, which were linked to manufacturing processes, generally used the ratio of

outputs produced by a system (goods, services) to the inputs (work, capital, equipment) required to

produce them (Xue and Harker, 2002). When applied to the online shopping process, this assessment

might refer to the inputs and outputs inherent to an online consumer‘s shopping process.

Using a manufacturing approach, productivity in a shopping process would be estimated objectively

and measured as the transformation of some certain number of inputs into some certain number of

outputs. Yet shopping productivity is also relative, reflecting the individual perceptions of shoppers.

For the same amount of inputs, the transformation into outputs might be assessed differently by

different individuals. Unlike classical measures in production settings (e.g., some quantity of materials

transforms, over some given time, into some quantity of goods), inputs such as effort and energy are

matters of individual perceptions, depending on the situation and individual characteristics. Thus, time

spent can be a relative and perceptual measure of provided efforts. This approach is often adopted in

consumer settings (Johnston and Jones, 2004; Anitsal, 2005; Anitsal and Schumann, 2007) but has

never been studied in a digital setting.

This research intends to study both objective and perceived e-consumer productivity. Therefore, we

focus on a specific website feature that can affect the e-consumer information search and shopping

process: ACA.

6
 1.2. ACA and e-commerce: toward improved consumer productivity?

The literature on virtual agents has drastically expanded in recent years and encompasses various

terms (intelligent, conversional, recommendation, interface, and conversational embodied agents) and

improper uses of the term avatar (Garnier and Poncin, 2013). Our research focuses on one of those

elements, the ACA, as a website feature implemented to assist consumers in their online shopping

tasks.

The ACA represents a combination of the characteristics of embodied virtual agents and chatterbots,

in that it is a virtual agent (i.e., computer process, with some intelligence and autonomy;

Papadopoulou et al., 2000; Dehn and Vanmulken, 2000; Diesbach and Midgley 2007; Chang, 2010)

that is represented by a human or humanoid character (embodied, taking a human form; Cassell et al.,

2000; Groom et al.; 2009), in 2D or 3D, and possesses conversational abilities (like chatterbots;

Semeraro et al., 2008). They can be defined, in line with Cassell et al. (2000), as a graphic character

created by a computer that possesses the ability to engage in face-to-face dialog with the user. Figure 1

summarizes the relation between ACA and other types of agents.

Figure 1. ACA and other types of virtual agents.

Following Cassell et al.‘s (2000) groundbreaking work, several studies have addressed the effect of

ACAs in e-commerce and consumer behavior (Wood et al., 2005; Holzwarth et al., 2006; Gulz and

Haake, 2006; Wang et al., 2007). Some studies have highlighted the effect of ACA on emotion and

social presence (i.e., feeling of being with another human being; Jeandrain and Diesbach, 2008); on

presence and immersion (Wood et al., 2005; Keeling and McGoldrick, 2008; McGoldrick et al., 2008;

7
Punj and Moore, 2009); and on trust, recommendation intentions, and user satisfaction (Notebaert,

2005; Wood et al., 2005; Keeling and McGoldrick, 2008; Punj and Moore, 2009). Punj and Moore

(2009) specified that satisfaction results from the agent‘s ability to facilitate the users‘ information

search and identify products that fit the users‘ needs. Furthermore, in reference to marketing research

dealing with human salespeople (Beatty et al. 1996; Baron et al. 1996), Reynolds and Beatty (1999)

established that a social relationship between the salesperson and the costumer increases their

satisfaction, loyalty, positive word of mouth, and purchases. McGoldrick et al. (2008) established a

parallel between virtual and human salespeople and identified three possible roles for online virtual

salespeople: friend (social role), personal buyer (recommendation agent), and helper. They

accordingly insisted on the crucial role of sales agents for building the relationship between the firm

and clients, based on not only friendship and trust but also the ability of the sales agent to understand

clients‘ needs, provide the expected help, and enable them to succeed in their purchase task.

Consequently, a relationship between ACA and e-consumer productivity can be assumed and is

interesting both because the lens of productivity can enhance the understanding of ACA‘s potential

effects and because studying ACA can reinforce our understanding of e-consumer productivity

processes. As summarized in the concept of e-consumer productivity, the inputs and outputs inherent

to online shopping are considered to offer an interesting approach for assessing interactions with ACA

and their potential usefulness for consumers. In contrast, just as interacting with human sales agents

can facilitate a consumer‘s shopping process, using ACAs could affect both the inputs to the shopping

process (information search, efforts) and the outputs achieved (decision quality, playfulness, social

links).

However, to explicate how virtual agents, similar to sales agents, may affect visits and purchase

processes, studying the mere presence of agents or their appearance is insufficient, particularly to

describe how they affect consumer productivity during an online shopping process. In fact, most

research on virtual agents merely adopts a binary ―presence vs. absence of the agent‖ approach (Ben

Mimoun et al., 2012). However, such an approach would not allow to study the actual usefulness of

using an ACA and interacting with it to various extents. We therefore propose to focus on the idea of

actually interacting with an ACA.

8
Studying the effects of actual interactions with an ACA can help enrich literature that addresses the

mere presence (vs. absence) or the appearance of the ACA. Studying productivity also expands our

understanding of the effect of an ACA during a shopping process because we consider specific and

distinct effects on the inputs and outputs of the online shopping experience. It also consequently and

potentially enriches knowledge on e-consumer productivity when shopping online, which could be an

argument in favor of virtual agents‘ relevance and usefulness for consumers. Thus, as our first

research question, we ask, how does an interaction with the ACA affect e-consumer productivity?

1.3. ACAs as supports for inputs and outputs optimization in the productivity process

As mentioned in Section 1.2, the effects of ACAs are numerous and varied, both in terms of their

unique contributions and as analogies with the effect of real sales agents. The parallel between

productivity inputs and outputs and desirable outputs of a shopping experience leads us to consider the

probable effects of using and interacting with ACAs. We begin with utilitarian aspects linked to

reducing inputs (effort and time) while increasing effectiveness and other utilitarian outputs. Then we

turn to social and playful aspects as potential outputs of the online shopping process.

1.3.1. Utilitarian contributions of ACAs: effort minimization as inputs and utilitarian outcomes

as outputs of productivity

Substantial literature on intelligent agents emphasizes their ability to reduce inputs during an online

purchase (Swaminathan 2003; Wang and Benbasat 2005; Punj and Moore 2009). They can decrease

information search time and costs and help consumers make faster decisions (Chang, 2010). We can

consequently hypothesize the following:

H1. Interacting with an ACA positively influences efficiency (in achieving the shopping task)

Agents can also reduce consumers‘ cognitive effort and improve decision quality (Hotler et al., 2005),

notably by supporting more detailed analyses of fewer alternatives (Xiao and Benbasat, 2007).

Decision quality is defined as ―the objective or subjective quality of a consumer‘s purchase decision‖

(Xiao and Benbasat, 2007, p. 150) or as ―the extent to which the decision outcome (a choice) is

optimal, both in an objective and subjective sense‖ (Kamis and Davern, 2005, p. 5). In a first sense,

this notion of decision quality can then be related to objective effectiveness within the productivity

9
process, namely properly and successfully achieving the shopping task. Consequently, we can

formulate the following hypothesis:

H2. Interacting with an ACA positively influences effectiveness (in achieving the shopping task)

However, the definition of decision quality also relates to perception and consequently to a perceived

approach of productivity. Baier and Stüber (2010) introduced two measures of decision quality: output

quality, which refers to the ―usefulness‖ of the virtual agent, including the quality of its

recommendations and the extent to which recommended products fit consumers‘ preferences, and

shopping relevance, which refers to the ease of use of the virtual agent. Building on evidence from

Xiao and Benbasat (2007), Aksoy et al. (2011), and Baier and Stüber (2010), we therefore focus on

recommendation quality, the extent to which recommended products fit the wishes and desires of

consumers, and the perceived usefulness of the agent as productivity outputs. We consequently

formulate the following hypothesis:

H3. Interacting with an ACA influences perceived productivity outputs by (a) positively

influencing perceived usefulness and (b) positively influencing perceived recommendation

quality

However, another stream of literature questions the ability of intelligent agents to limit inputs and

improve decision quality. Controversial points of view exist regarding the virtual effect of agents on

perceived input. A first stream of research indicates that the presence of an intelligent agent,

particularly an ACA, on commercial websites might increase navigation time (Diesbach and Midgley,

2007), effort (more pages visited), and the loss of concentration on the main purpose of the visit (Dehn

and Vanmulken, 2000; Olson and Widing, 2002). A third stream of research nevertheless emphasizes

the ability of virtual agents to reduce inputs during an online purchase (Swaminathan 2003; Wang and

Benbasat 2005; Punj and Moore 2009). As we hypothesized that the usage of virtual agents will

improve objective efficiency by reducing input (H1), we expect the same effect for perceived

reduction of input. We can then hypothesize the following:

H4. Interacting with an ACA influences perceived productivity inputs by decreasing perceived

navigation costs

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Although using an agent will influence the utilitarian aspects of e-consumer productivity (decrease in

perceived navigation cost, better usefulness, and better perceived recommendation quality), the usage

of ACA on a commercial web site might also be associated with an improvement in playful or social

outputs, with an overall positive effect on productivity.

1.3.2. Social contribution of ACAs: social presence as a productivity output

Consumers expect interpersonal contacts, advice, and service in sales settings, and Burke (2002)

showed that these expectations remain similar on a website. Internet users are sensitive to various cues

in this social link, which then constitutes a pertinent element of productivity, in terms of the outputs

achieved through the use of a website as a desirable consequence of an online shopping process.

Holzwarth et al. (2006) even suggested that ACAs have important influences on the process (visit,

decision), similar to the influence of a human sales agent, and could create a pleasant social link.

To operationalize this notion of a social link as an output, we focused on social presence or the

impression of being with others (Lombard and Ditton, 1997; Davis et al., 2009; Feinhofer et al., 2014),

including a sense of human contact, warmth, or sociability, which is achieved through interactions

with others (Bickmore 2002; Hess, Fuller and Campbell, 2009) through some medium, such as the

Internet. In research dealing with computer-mediated behavior, social presence constitutes a key

communication construct (Biocca et al., 1995; Ogara et al. 2014). Social presence is required in

computer-mediated environments to enhance and foster online social interactions (Tu, 2000;

Traphagan et al. 2010), thus enabling a sense of connection between a website and visitors (Hassanein

and Head, 2006; Qiu and Benbasat, 2010) and influencing consumer attitudes and behaviors (Argo et

al., 2005; Dahl et al., 2001; Fransena et al. 2011; He et al., 2012). It consequently has various effects

on the website‘s attractiveness, stickiness, perceived usefulness, information disclosure, and

persuasion (Cassell et al., 2000; Jeandrain and Diesbach, 2008; Zimmer et al. 2010; Ogonowski et al.

2014) and also consumers‘ attitudes, trust, loyalty, purchase intentions, and satisfaction (Holzwarth et

al. 2006; Hassanein and Head, 2004; Cyr et al., 2007, Kumar and Benbasat, 2006).

Qiu and Benbasat (2009, p. 149) investigated the construct by referring ―to the feeling of being with

another, to describe the ‗quasi-social‘ relationships between the agent and its users and to evaluate the

users‘ perceptual differences of the agent‘s social characteristics.‖ This approach is relevant to ACA;

11
therefore, we adopted it for the present study. Anthropomorphic representations, such as photographs

of people or software-generated ―talking faces,‖ can thus be important sources of social presence when

interacting online (Qiu and Benbasat, 2009) because e-commerce restricts direct human interactions

between salespeople and shoppers (Cyr et al., 2007; Ogonowski et al. 2014). With social cues such as

voice, interactivity, and social roles, ACA enables a feeling of being in contact with others (Hess et al.,

2009; Keeling and McGoldrick, 2008; Qiu and Benbasat, 2010; Wood et al., 2005, Wang et al. 2007).

We consequently formulate the following hypothesis:

H5. Interacting with an ACA influences perceived productivity outputs by positively influencing

perceived social presence

Wang et al. (2007) highlighted a link between the presence of social cues on websites and perceptions

of playful and agreeable aspects. Therefore, the playful aspect offers a probable output of the shopping

productivity process, which is linked to visits to a website with an ACA.

1.3.3. Playful aspects of ACAs: playfulness as a productivity output

Emerging from research into play, playfulness offers an appropriate construct for studying human–

computer interactions because computers incorporate playful features such as multimedia, graphics,

and animation (Serenko and Turel, 2007). In prior literature, playfulness has been conceptualized as a

trait and a state (Moon and Kim, 2001; Ingham et al. 2014). The trait-based approach focuses on

playfulness as a motivational characteristic, whereas state-based research emphasizes the subjective

experience (Moon and Kim, 2001; Lin et al. 2005), that is, states are short-lived cognitive or affective

experiences of an individual that are influenced by both situational factors and the interactions of the

individual with the situation (Hackbarth et al. 2003; Moon and Kim, 2001). We considered playfulness

as an individual state for this research because the consumer might feel more or less playful at various

points during an interaction with a website or ACA. We then follow Moon and Kim (2001) and

consider playfulness as a cognitive or affective experience that people feel while using a website to

make a purchase such that consumers can obtain as much pleasure from the use of the system (e.g.,

browsing the website) as from the product itself (Ahn et al., 2007).

Prior studies reveal that attitudinal outcomes of emotion, pleasure, and satisfaction can result from

playfulness (Zolkepli and Kamarulzaman, 2015). Perceived playfulness positively relates to behavioral

12
intentions and perceived ease of use; improves attitude toward e-services; contributes to satisfaction

and intention to use the website; and demonstrates a positive relationship with both intentions to use,

attitude toward the use of online retailing, and behavioral responses to using a website (Moon and

Kim, 2001; Hsu and Chiu, 2004; Lin et al., 2005; Ahn et al., 2007; Sledgianowski and Kulviwat,

2009). However, Shobeiri et al. (2013) also argued that playfulness may have mixed (positive and

negative) effects across different dimensions of an e-retailer‘s website personality.

Playfulness can result from browsing experiences on a website with an ACA (Diesbach and Midgley,

2007; Qiu and Benbasat, 2009; Wang et al., 2007). With more specific usage frameworks, some

authors highlight the positive effect of the agent on the playful aspect of the navigation experience

(Wang et al., 2007; Diesbach and Midgley, 2007). This aspect in turn offers an appreciable output,

which is linked to consumer productivity when visiting a website. We consequently formulate the

following hypothesis:

H6: Interacting with an ACA influences perceived productivity outputs by positively influencing

perceived playfulness

In summary, the use of an ACA can act on objective productivity (efficiency and effectiveness),

perceived inputs (by helping the consumer in a way that is similar to the way a real sales agent would),

and perceived outputs. Among the classical inputs to consumer productivity, the time and effort

required to visit the website and search for products may be affected by the ACA. Consumer

productivity then depends on the extent to which these inputs transform into desirable outputs. In

terms of perceived inputs, the perceived navigation costs can be affected. Of all possible outputs, we

argue that an ACA may have notable effects on recommendation quality, perceived usefulness,

perceived social presence, and perceived playfulness. The six hypotheses (H1 to H6) will be tested

through a first study.

As stated previously and elaborated through our hypotheses about perceived inputs and outputs,

individuals‘ perceptions of productivity can vary across situations and because of individual

characteristics that may affect the navigation and shopping process. In particular, psychology,

sociology, consumer behavior, and marketing research often cite individual characteristics as crucial

influences on consumers‘ shopping behavior. They might also affect the experiences of Internet users

13
(Novak et al., 2000) such that they determine the perceptions of productivity. The time and efforts

expended vary with the individual because of their perceptions of their time and abilities, their

strategies to find information or products, or the challenges associated with the navigation structure.

Therefore, our second research question stems from this reflection to understand more, particularly the

following issue: How do individual characteristics influence the use of the ACA to affect e-consumer

productivity?

1.4. Individual characteristics, productivity, and the use of ACA

For the specific case of ACA on commercial websites, individual user characteristics may moderate

the effects of the agent and consumers‘ reactions to that agent (McGoldrick et al. 2008; Dehn and

Vanmulken, 2000; Huang et al. 2006; Yoon et al. 2013). Individual characteristics that can

simultaneously influence the shopping behavior, the Internet user behavior, and the perception of

productivity are numerous. For parsimony in this study, we focused on individual characteristics that

have invoked general consensus in research into Internet user behavior and that potentially relate to

the previously identified perceived inputs and outputs: level of Internet skills, involvement in the

product category, familiarity with the product, and need for social interaction. Two of these individual

characteristics are related to the links between the individual and product category (involvement in the

product category, familiarity with the product category) and the two others are associated with the link

between the consumer and the channel or the shopping activity (Internet skills and need for social

interaction).

1.4.1. Internet skills

The level of skills in using the Internet is one of the most cited individual characteristics (Ondrusek,

2004). Internet skills is a widely recognized variable that has influence on user performance (Khalifa

and Liu, 2007), time and effort devoted to information search (Laroche et al. 2005), and online

consumer behavior in general (O‘Cass and Fenech, 2003; Ondrusek, 2004). However, its effects

remain controversial. McGoldrick et al. (2008) argued that more skilled or expert consumers

underestimate the potential contribution of the agent, but Nowak and Rauh (2008) asserted that more

expertise improves consumers‘ satisfaction when they use ACAs. Qiu and Benbasat (2009) observed

14
that Internet skills and expertise also encourage perceptions of social presence. From the positive

outcomes of Internet skills on a majority of people, we tend to think that it will provide favorable

results when linked to the use of an ACA. We therefore investigated the extent to which Internet skills

can moderate the effect of ACA use on perceived productivity by formulating the following

hypothesis:

H7. Internet skill level positively moderates the effect of using an ACA on (a) perceived

productivity inputs and (b) perceived productivity outputs

1.4.2. Involvement in the product category

Involvement in the product category may also influence perceived productivity. Product involvement

is a critical determinant of consumer behavior (Mitchell, 1986; Dholakia, 2001; Behe et al. 2015;

Hong 2015). Mitchell (1979, p. 194) defines product involvement as ―an individual level, internal state

variable whose motivational properties are evoked by a particular stimulus or situation.‖ It refers to the

perceived personal relevance and importance consumers attach to different product categories,

according to their needs, values, and interests (Mitchell, 1979; Zaichkowsky, 1985; De Wulf et al.,

2001; Drossos et al., 2014; Hong, 2015; Lee et al., 2015). Regarding interaction with virtual agents,

Holzwarth et al. (2006) argued that involvement moderates the agent‘s effects, and Spiekermann et al.

(2001) suggested that involvement is a determinant.

However, independent of ACA usage, the literature indicates that product involvement deeply

influences consumer productivity. In fact, product involvement influences the amount of mental and

physical effort a consumer devotes to the buying process (Drossos et al., 2014; Behe et al., 2015) such

that highly involved consumers search for more information and process the relevant information in

greater detail (Laaksonen, 1994; Breugelmans and Campo, 2011; Hong, 2015). Thus, according to the

literature, we expect that more involved consumers will have a better productivity independent of

ACA usage.

H8. Involvement positively influences (a) perceived productivity inputs and (b) perceived

productivity outputs independent of using an ACA

1.4.3. Product familiarity

15
Extensive research describes the role of product familiarity for different consumer behavior facets

(Alba, 1983; Bettman and Park, 1980; Brucks, 1985; Heimbach et al., 1989; Lee and Lee, 2011). Two

approaches coexist to define product familiarity. The first refers to the ―number of product-related

experiences that have been accumulated by the consumer‖ (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987, p. 411). The

second instead focuses on cognitive representations of an experience, which get stored in memory

(Bettman, 1979; Russo and Johnson, 1980). Therefore, familiarity represents knowledge of what, why,

where, and when others do what they do (Gefen, 2000; Artigas et al., 2015). In turn, product

familiarity should influence the process of product evaluation (Heimbach et al., 1989). People who are

familiar with a product category know where to find necessary information and thus should be more

effective in their information searches (Brucks, 1985; Lee and Lee, 2011), including in an online

context (Holscher and Strube, 2000; Nysveen and Pedersen, 2005; Kamis and Stohr, 2006). Therefore,

for involvement, familiarity may positively influence e-consumer productivity independent of the

usage (or not) of ACA by decreasing the perceived costs of an online shopping trip and providing a

better evaluation of the shopping outputs, specifically for utilitarian aspects (better decision quality

and better usefulness). We investigate how product familiarity may influence e-consumer productivity

through the following hypothesis:

H9. Product familiarity positively influences the (a) perceived productivity inputs and (b)

perceived productivity outputs (better decision quality and better usefulness) independent of

using an ACA

1.4.4. Need for interaction

Finally, some psychological traits could influence consumer reactions to an ACA, which is designed to

mimic the role of a salesperson (Holzwarth et al., 2006; McGoldrick et al., 2008). Studies of client–

seller interactions (Dabholkar 1996; Curran and Meuter, 2005; Curran et al. 2003; Oh et al., 2013)

include the need for interaction as a variable that influences the effects of the agent. Dabholkar and

Bagozzi (2002) asserted that the need for interaction during a purchase episode reflects the importance

the consumer assigns to a human interaction. Consumers with a high need for interaction might

appreciate interacting with an ACA more than those with a low need for interaction. Thus, we expect

16
that people with a higher need for interaction using the ACA should perceive better shopping

outcomes and thus the outputs of productivity. We then formulate the following hypothesis:

H10. Need for interaction positively moderates the effect of using an ACA on perceived

productivity outputs

To answer our second research question, all these individual characteristics will be integrated and

measured in a second study. The choice has indeed been made to deal with the two research questions

separately: first to concretely test objective vs. perceived productivity and then to focus on the link

between individual variables and perceived productivity. In addition, when simultaneously studying

the level of interaction with the ACA, objective vs. perceived productivity and individual variables

would have led to a too complex design and possible biases and confounding effects. The following

table summarizes our different research questions, their related hypotheses, and through which study

they are going to be tested.

Table 1. Hypotheses summary

Research question and Study

Hypotheses
aims

H1. Interacting with an ACA positively influences efficiency

(in achieving the shopping task).

H2. Interacting with an ACA positively influences

How does an interaction
with the ACA affect e-
consumer productivity?
Studying the level of
interaction with an ACA
(instead of mere presence)
Comparing its effects on
objective vs. perceived
productivity
effectiveness (in achieving the shopping task).
H3. Interacting with an ACA influences perceived
productivity outputs by (a) positively influencing perceived
usefulness and (b) positively influencing perceived
Study
recommendation quality.
1
H4. Interacting with an ACA influences perceived
productivity inputs by decreasing perceived navigation costs.
H5. Interacting with an ACA influences perceived
productivity outputs by positively influencing perceived
social presence.

H6: Interacting with an ACA influences perceived

productivity outputs by positively influencing perceived
playfulness.

How do individual Study

H7. Internet skill level positively moderates the effect of

17
 characteristics interact using an ACA on (a) perceived productivity inputs and (b) 2
with the use of the ACA perceived productivity outputs.
to affect e-consumer
productivity? H8. Involvement positively influences (a) perceived
productivity inputs and (b) perceived productivity outputs
Studying interactions independent of using an ACA.
between using an ACA and
individual variables H9. Product familiarity positively influences the (a)
perceived productivity inputs and (b) perceived productivity
Focusing on the effect on outputs independent of using an ACA.
perceived productivity
H10. Need for interaction positively moderates the effect of
using an ACA on perceived productivity outputs.

2. STUDY 1: EFFECTS OF INTERACTING WITH THE ACA ON E-CONSUMER PRODUCTIVITY

In this first study, we seek to answer our first research question regarding the effect of interacting with

an ACA on e-consumer productivity and test H1 to H6. Two demands guided our methodological

choices: (1) to isolate and measure inputs specific to the interaction with the ACA and (2) to precisely

measure the outputs linked to the use of a website containing an ACA. Therefore, we developed a lab

study using eye-tracking techniques. Although we might have used log file analyses (Ben Mimoun et

al., 2014), which are based on clicks and open web pages, it does not support the determination of all

the activities conducted on each unique web page or different interactions with the ACA like it is

possible with eye tracking.

2.1. Study design

Forty-two people participated in this first study (50% women; 10 aged 18–29 years, 14 aged 30–39

years, 8 aged 39–50 years, and 10 older than 50 years). The study took place in a testing room

equipped with audio and video recording material (Figure 2). The arrangement of the room allowed

researchers to observe participants from a control room rather than sitting near them, which helps

avoid potential biases linked to the researcher‘s presence.

Participants sat at computers equipped with a Windows system and an eye-tracking system (Tobii

V2.1.14). This eye-tracking software analyzes the user‘s gaze and produces a warmth map that reveals

where the user looked on the page and for how long. This system is fixed (on the computer screen) and

18
can depict the whole navigation session, without being intrusive. It thus approximates a natural use

environment.

TEST ROOM Camera CONTROL ROOM

Technician

Subject

Ergonomist

Figure 2. Test room arrangement.

The study protocol asked participants to visit the IKEA website and look for a couch of their choice2

by asking for help from the ACA, ―Anna from IKEA.‖ To ensure all participants started the navigation

in the same conditions, the IKEA website with Anna appeared on screen at the beginning of the

session (Figure 3).

Figure 3. IKEA website with Agent Anna.

2
At first sight, the task may seem quite open to be able to assess effectiveness as ―achieving the right outcome.‖
Effectiveness will therefore be considered as the success in achieving the task in the given time.

19
We set a time limit on the navigation session, beyond which the participant was considered to have

failed in achieving the task. This time limit was determined according to the ISO/PAS 20282-33 norm

and was equal to three times the time necessary to complete the task. We calculated this time on the

basis of several preliminary tests, which also served as pretests of the study process, in conditions

similar to those used for the official data collection.

With the eye-tracking system (Tobii), we could identify, for all participants, the most observed zones,

particularly during their interactions with Anna. The warmth maps revealed that although all users

looked at Anna‘s face, her physical representation received little attention from the participants at any

point during the test. Instead, the zone dedicated to exchanges (input field, Anna‘s answers) received

the users‘ primary focus (see Figure 4). This finding confirms the need to study actual interactions

rather than the mere presence or appearance of an ACA.

For our consideration of productivity, the eye-tracking system also provides data about the website

navigation behavior of each participant. Therefore, we gathered the following information for each

user:

- Total number of interactions with agent Anna (i.e., the total number of queries)

- Total interaction time with agent Anna

- Time remaining before the end of the session

- Time spent on the search engine

- Time spent on the center of the webpage

- Failure or success in achieving the task

- Type of exchange with the ACA (i.e., key words vs. natural language)

3
ISO/PAS 20282-3 Ease of use of Everyday Products.

20
 Not looked
Little looked
Looked
Looked a lot
The most looked

Figure 4. Warmth map for all the participants.

2.2. Measures

We seek to measure both the level of interaction with the ACA and e-consumer productivity. The

behavioral data enable us to measure the level of interaction with the ACA, with two indicators: the

total number of interactions with agent Anna and the time spent interacting with agent Anna. Building

on our discussion in Section 1.3 and research by Ben Mimoun et al. (2014), we also used two

approaches simultaneously to measure e-consumer productivity: (1) an objective approach focused on

the results of the eye tracking and (2) a perceived approach that considers the perception of different

outputs linked to the interaction with the agent. Table 2 summarizes the measures for each concept in

Study 1.

21
Table 2. Measures in Study 1

Concept Indicator or scale

Independent variables

Total number of interactions with the ACA

Interaction with the ACA
Time spent interacting with the ACA

Dependent variables

Objective productivity

Efficiency Time remaining before the end of the session

Number of successful task achievements (i.e., finding a product

Effectiveness
or not finding a product)*

Perceived productivity inputs

Cost of navigation Scale from Baier and Stuber (2010)

Perceived productivity outputs

Perceived usefulness Scale from Ahn et al. (2007) based on Davis (1989)

Recommendation quality Scale from Baier and Stuber (2010)

Playfulness Scale from Novak et al. (2000)

Social presence Scale from Qiu and Benbasat (2009)

*This measure is continuous (success in 0 or 1 task) rather than nominal (success vs. failure).

Objective e-consumer productivity was measured with notions of effectiveness and efficiency. As

mentioned in Section 1.1., efficiency refers to the optimization of the use of resources (inputs);

effectiveness is linked to maximizing the expected effect and achieving the desired outputs (Sink,

1985; Anitsal and Schumann, 2007). Using Ben Mimoun et al.‘s (2014) approach, we measured

effectiveness by calculating the number of tasks successfully completed, although the participants in

our study only had to complete one task (rather than the three in their study)4, and we set a time limit

4
We included only one task in our effort to eliminate potential sources of bias linked to the succession of
different tasks. Another means to address those biases would be to use an experimental website with the same
number of subcategories of product categories and the same number of products in the subcategories. Instead, we
chose to study a real website, over which we had no control (i.e., IKEA), whose ACA Anna is one of the oldest
and most cited ACA in prior literature. This choice of a single task also reflected logistical considerations linked
to the cost of renting the eye tracker.

22
on the navigation session, beyond which the participant was considered to have failed in achieving the

task. Consequently, the measure depends on achieving the given task in the given time. For a measure

of (global) efficiency, the only objective indicator of inputs used during the session was the time

remaining before the end of the session, that is, the more the time remaining, the less the respondent

used time resources and thus the more efficient this participant was.

For measuring perceived productivity, we used the inputs and outputs linked to the navigation process

according to a series of measurement scales previously validated in marketing and information

systems literature. For perceived input, we applied a measure of the global cost of navigating the

website (Baier and Stuber, 2010), which reflects Venkatesh and Davis‘s (2000) scale. It accounts for

both perceived time and perceived effort. In addition, we measured three types of outputs, as

highlighted in our literature review: utilitarian (perceived usefulness and global recommendation

quality), playfulness (fun aspect), and social (social presence). All the scales displayed satisfactory

psychometric qualities according to our exploratory factorial and reliability analyses.5

2.3. Results

We conducted simple linear regressions using SPSS21 to analyze the collected data. Our focus was on

the effect of the degree of interaction with the ACA on objective and perceived e-consumer

productivity. We estimated the influence of this interaction separately for each dependent variable.

The data indicated a significant effect of the degree of interaction on objective e-consumer

productivity, particularly with regard to efficiency, that is, the time spent with the agent (R² = 0.430; β

= 0.656; t = 5.424; p < 0.001) and the number of interactions with the ACA (R² = 0.276; F = 13.364; β

= 0.526; t = 3.656; p < 0.005) have positive effects on the time remaining before the end of the

session. When consumers interact a lot with the ACA, they complete the task more efficiently, as

indicated by the greater time remaining. Therefore, H1 is validated.

The results regarding the influence of the degree of interaction with the ACA on effectiveness are

more unexpected though. The number of interactions has no effect (n.s.), whereas the time spent with

5
We use the same scales in Study 2, with a larger sample; therefore, we present them in detail, together with
measures of their psychometric quality, in the presentation of that second study.

23
the ACA exerts a negative influence on e-consumer productivity in the form of effectiveness in

achieving the task (R² = 0.142; β = –0.377; t = –2.571; p < 0.005). H2 is therefore rejected.

Finally, the amount of time spent interacting with the ACA does not exert any effect on the perceived

indicators of e-consumer productivity: recommendation quality, fun, social presence, perceived

usefulness, or perceived cost (all n.s.). Similarly, the number of exchanges with the ACA has no

effects on these perceived measures. Consequently, H3, H4, H5, and H6 are all rejected.

2.4. Discussion: Why does interacting with the ACA influence objective but not perceived

productivity?

With this first study, we sought to specify the effect of interacting with the ACA on e-consumer

productivity using an eye-tracking technique to isolate the indicators of the degree of interaction for

each participant. Our first result relates to the interaction mode with the ACA. Even if literature on

ACA pays a lot of attention and importance to their anthropomorphic nature, with this method and the

resulting warmth map, we show that the physical appearance of the ACA attracted virtually no

attention from participants. In contrast, participants focused most on the portion of the screen

dedicated to exchanges. This result reinforces the idea that the ability of an ACA to answer users‘

requests is more important than its physical appearance (Ben Mimoun et al., 2012). Moreover, the

more interesting result lies in the fact that the degree of interaction with the ACA acts on the objective

productivity of the e-consumer but not on its perceived productivity, which is quite surprising. We

derive three main implications from this general result.

First, increased interactions with the ACA, in terms of usage time or number of exchanges, improves

the efficiency for the user (time gain). This result is logical, but the empirical and objective evidence

affirms the efficiency improvement provided by an ACA. It also verifies that the stickiness

phenomenon, as mentioned in some ACA studies (e.g., Diesbach and Midgley, 2007), involves more

than a loss of time linked to the use of the agent. The time spent interacting with the agent leads to a

gain, not a loss, of time and efficiency in executing a search task on the website.

Second, the time of interaction with the ACA has a negative effect on e-consumer effectiveness. To

interpret this result accurately, we conducted complementary analyses, studying the relationships

24
between the time spent on the search engine, time spent on the center of the page, and e-consumer

effectiveness. The results are comparable to those obtained for the interaction with the ACA. We again

observe a negative relationship of effectiveness with both time spent on the search engine (R² = 0.456;

β = –0.676; t = –5.796; p < 0.001) and time spent on the center of the page (R² = 0.227; β = –.476; t =

–3.427; p < 0.05). Therefore, the decrease in effectiveness does not come from the different help tools

available on the website (ACA, search engine, and hypertext links). Respondents who failed to

achieve the task spent all their available time on the tools, that is, difficulty in completing the task led

to more time spent on the different tools and not vice versa. This finding raises questions about other

variables in addition to using an ACA that might explain the level of effectiveness, such as the

potential influence of individual variables, as we could already assume.

Third, the degree of interaction with the agent had no effect on any of the perceived e-consumer

productivity measures. This result is unexpected and contrasts with studies on the presence of ACA on

commercial websites (Chang, 2010; Hostler et al., 2005; Xiao and Benbasat, 2007). Previous research

generally studied the effects of the presence (vs. absence) of the ACA or some specific characteristics

of the ACA without considering various levels or degrees of interaction with the ACA. However, we

have detailed the degree of interaction objectively such that all participants used the same ACA but to

different degrees. Another explanation of this result may stem from perceptions such as global

elements are more important than detailed ones. Instead of studying the degree of interaction, it might

be interesting to address the effect of using (vs. not using) an ACA on perceived productivity, as we

plan to do in Study 2. Finally, we acknowledge that we did not account for any individual

characteristics that might indeed interact with the use of the ACA as we rather chose to focus on

objective vs. perceived productivity at first. Yet the perception of the ACA and productivity certainly

could be affected by individual specificities.

Study 2 is more relevant and interesting. We could integrate the individual characteristics we

mentioned previously and also study the effect of using (vs. not using) the agent in the second study.

3. STUDY 2: INTERACTION OF ACA USE WITH INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER CHARACTERISTICS

25
Study 1 provided some answers but also suggested the need to address the individual characteristics of

users when studying the effects of using ACAs. Therefore, in Study 2, we seeked to answer our second

research question and test hypotheses H7 to H10.

3.1. Methodology and measures

We conducted an online study using a link posted on several Facebook groups—a source that is

justified by the site‘s 58% penetration rate6 among the Internet user population in France and 90% for

young people. Although the 554 participants who completed the questionnaire represent a convenience

sample, this population matches the targets of the IKEA website.7

Participants could choose to use the agent or not, although the protocol indicated its presence. This

choice procedure helped us exclude confounding effects between use of the agent (vs. not using it) and

its presence (vs. absence) and thereby ensure that the results reflect usage effects. In pretests, many

users did not naturally perceive the presence of the ACA, which could create confusion in the effects

of awareness and actual use. All participants were required to execute a task (choose a three-seat sofa

and matching coffee table) on the IKEA website in the presence of Agent Anna and then answer an

online questionnaire. One-third of the participants used the ACA (67% did not). Other than the use of

the agent (two-modality factor), the variables were measured on five-point Likert scales. The scales

for Studies 1 and 2 are available in the appendix; they all were obtained from prior literature and have

been validated; therefore, we provided only the explained variance and Cronbach‘s alpha values here.

3.1.1. Measure of individual characteristics

As a preliminary analysis, we assessed the dimensionality and reliability of the scales with an

exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results in Table 3 indicate that all the measures account for

more than 50% explained variance, with Cronbach‘s alpha values >0.70.

Table 3. Measures of individual characteristics

Variables Initial scales EFA results

6
See http://www.toutfacebook.fr/les-francais-sont-desormais-22-millions-sur-facebook/
7
Although no detailed figures are available about IKEA clients, young people clearly are a primary target.

26
 Explained Reliability
Dimensionality variance
(Cronbach‘s alpha)

Novak et al. (2009)

One dimension
Internet skills One-dimension 51% α = 0.80
6 items
scale (6 items)

Ratchford (1987)
Involvement in One dimension
One-dimension 79% α = 0.73
product category 2 items
scale (3 items)

Smith and Park

Familiarity with (1992) One dimension
55% α = 0.72
product category One-dimension 4 items
scale (4 items)

Dabholkar and
Need for Bagozzi (2002) One dimension
59% α = 0.76
interaction One-dimension 4 items
scale (4 items)

3.1.2. Measures of perceived productivity

On the basis of literature and Study 1, we assessed perceived productivity with measures of inputs and

outputs linked to the navigation process. For the input, we adapted a measure of the global cost of

navigation (3 items) from Baier and Stuber (2010). The EFA confirmed the one-dimensional scale

(65% explained variance, α = 0.71). For outputs, we used the scales from Study 1, which again

showed satisfactory psychometric qualities (Table 4).

Table 4. Measures of outputs

Variables Initial scales EFA Results

27
 Explained Reliability
Dimensionality variance
(Cronbach‘s alpha)

Ahn et al. (2007)

Perceived One dimension
One-dimension 52% α =0.81
usefulness 6 items
scale (8 items)

Baier and Stuber

Recommendation (2010) One dimension
67% α = 0.75
quality One-dimension 3 items
scale (3 items)

Novak et al.
(2000)) One dimension
Playfulness 58% α = 0.72
One-dimension 4 items
scale (7 items)

Qiu and Benbasat

(2009) One dimension
Social presence 66% α = 0.87
One-dimension 5 items
scale (5 it.)

3.2. Results

With a GLM model applying the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS 21, we analyzed our

data, studying the interaction effects of using the agent (two-modality factor) and individual

characteristics (metric covariables) on perceived e-consumer productivity (metric dependent variable).

Table 5 summarizes the study results.

28
 Dependent variables
Main and interaction Hypotheses
effects Recommendation Social status
Inputs Usefulness Playfulness
quality presence

F = 4.147 F = 3.718 F = 5.383

ACA usage n.s n.s
p = 0.042 p = 0.054 p = 0.021

F = 21.340 F = 150.064 F = 3.892

Internet skills n.s n.s
p = 0.00 p = 0.000 p = 0.049 H7a and H7b

Use of the ACA × Internet F = 9.941 F = 4.730 F = 4.724 validated

n.s n.s
skills p = 0.002 p = 0.030 p = 0.030

F = 4.707 F = 14.244 F = 10.453

Involvement n.s n.s
p = 0.030 p = 0.00 p = 0.001 H8a rejected
Use of the ACA × H8b validated
n.s n.s n.s n.s n.s
involvement

F = 5.426 F = 3.654
Familiarity n.s n.s n.s
p = 0.020 p = 0.056
H9a and H9b
rejected
Use of the ACA ×
n.s n.s n.s n.s n.s
familiarity

F = 8.848 F = 4.853 F = 10.88 F = 12.937

Need for interaction n.s
p = 0.003 p = 0.028 p = 0.001 p = 0.000
H10 validated
Use of the ACA × need for F = 3.312 F = 6.198 F = 80.004
n.s n.s
interaction p = 0.078 p = 0.013 p = 0.005

Table 5. Results of Study 2: main and interaction effects

29
 3.2.1. Direct effect of using ACA on perceived e-consumer productivity

We uncovered the expected main effect of the use of the ACA on perceived e-consumer productivity,

as reflected in the perceived outputs, that is, social presence (F = 5.383; p = 0.021), recommendation

quality (F = 3.718, p = 0.054), and perceived usefulness (F = 4.147; p = 0.042). However, we did not

observe any main effect for the playful output or input (global cost). This finding is not very surprising

as the perception of efforts by users generally depends on their individual characteristics, such as

Internet skills and product category familiarity. Therefore, this result confirms the relevance of

studying interaction effects.

3.2.2. Direct and interaction effects of individual characteristics

We introduced the use of the agent as a factor and the four individual characteristics as covariables in

the ANCOVA. In the general equation, we introduced the direct effects of the use of the agent and the

individual characteristics and the interaction effects between the use of the agent and each individual

characteristic.

With regard to Internet skills, we obtained a main effect (Table 5) on perceived inputs and some

perceived outputs (i.e., perceived usefulness and playfulness) and an interaction effect with use of the

agent. When Internet users have weak skills, the global cost (input) is perceived as more important

when interacting with the ACA, and the improvement in outputs (usefulness and playfulness) has a

limited effect (Figure 5).8 Conversely, for more skilled Internet users, perceptions of the global cost

are reduced by the interaction with the ACA, and the improvement in outputs is more important. Thus,

some minimal level of Internet skills appears necessary to perceive a positive effect of the agent on e-

consumer productivity (see Figure 5). Consequently, H7a and H7b are confirmed.

For involvement, independent of the use of the ACA (see Table 5), consumers who indicate strong

involvement in the product category perceive more utilitarian (perceived usefulness and

recommendation quality) and playful (playfulness) outputs. Thus, H8b is confirmed (whereas H8a is

rejected as there is no effect on inputs).

8
To investigate the interaction effects further, we transformed the different individual characteristics into
qualitative variables, distinguishing three levels for each: low, medium, and high. We used GLM model with
ANOVA analysis and the results were similar to those with the original variables.

30
For familiarity, again independent of the use of the agent, social presence is weaker for consumers

who are weakly familiar with the product category, and playfulness is more important for those who

are familiar with the product category (see Table 5). However, we found no direct effects of

involvement on inputs or on recommendation quality and usefulness. As a consequence, H9a and H9b

are rejected.

Figure 5. Interaction effects between use of the agent and Internet skills.

We found no effect of need for interaction on perceptions of the global cost (input) but an important

effect on the three outputs (utilitarian, social, and playful). Accordingly, we validate H10. The most

salient result is the one regarding social presence. As shown in Figure 6, for users with a strong or

average need for interaction, using the ACA increases perceived social presence. The effect is opposite

for people with a low need for interaction. It appears that people with a strong need for interaction

31
appreciate human interaction better (Dabholkar and Bagozzi, 2002), and they assimilate their

interaction with the ACA as a human presence. The effect on perceived usefulness is also notable; the

need for interaction with the sales agent is strong (Figure 6). However, interacting with an ACA is less

useful for people with a low need for interaction. In contrast, perceptions of recommendation quality

improve after the use of the ACA, regardless of the level of need for interaction (Table 5). In terms of

playfulness, the effect of the ACA is negative and decreases among consumers with a low need for

interaction. However, using the agent increases playfulness among people with a high or average need

for interaction. Thus, people with a low need for interaction do not appear to find it fun or amusing to

interact with an artificial human, whereas people with an average or high need for interaction

assimilate the interaction as pleasant and playful, just as they might with a real salesperson.

32
 Figure 6. Interaction between use of the agent and need for interaction.

3.3. Discussion: Influences of individual variables and interaction with the ACA on e-

consumer productivity

Individual characteristics have important effects on perceived e-consumer productivity, which is

associated with interacting with an ACA. Interesting results pertain to the effect of Internet skills and

need for interaction, which affect both the inputs and the outputs of e-consumer productivity, that is,

the influence of the ACA on perceived inputs strongly depends on users‘ Internet skills: using the

agent leads to a decrease in perceived inputs only when skills of the user are sufficiently high. This

finding corroborates the results of studies that show that users with strong Internet abilities appreciate

the effects of ACAs more (McGoldrick et al., 2008; Nowak and Rauh, 2008; Qiu and Benbasat, 2009).

The effect of using an ACA on perceived usefulness depends on Internet skill levels and the need for

interaction. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, Internet skills and need for interaction have comparable

effects on the impact of using an agent on perceived usefulness, that is, if people have a strong need

for interaction or good Internet skills, using the ACA increases perceived usefulness. This latter result

contrasts with the observations of Xiao and Benbasat (2007) who argue that highly skilled individuals

need the agent less than weakly skilled ones. It is important to state that it is not the objective

productivity that depends on Internet skills (in study 1, we demonstrated that objective productivity is

positively affected by the interaction with the ACA), but it is the ability to perceive an improvement in

productivity that depends on Internet skills. Perhaps less skilled users lack sufficient abilities to

perceive what the agent can do for them. These two individual variables also influence the effect of the

use of the ACA on playful outputs. In line with previous studies (McGoldrick et al., 2008; Qiu and

Benbasat, 2009), we found that using the agent increases playfulness only among people with a certain

level of skill. The effect of need for interaction is even more marked: using the ACA increases

playfulness for people with a strong need for interaction but decreases it for those with a low need. In

turn, need for interaction influences the effect on social presence such that using the ACA produces a

positive effect only if the user displays at least a minimum level of need for interaction.

33
4. CONCLUSION

In light of ongoing searches for efficiency and effectiveness, we studied the influences of an

interaction with an ACA on a commercial website on e-consumer productivity. We sought to

understand the role of an ACA, beyond its appearance and mere presence. These agents have not

caught on widely on websites (Ben Mimoun et al., 2012); therefore, a better understanding of their

effects is crucial for both researchers and practitioners.

With eye-tracking techniques, we showed that an effective interaction with the ACA in the

conversation field, rather than its physical appearance (as it is generally highlighted in literature),

attracts consumers‘ attention. Although objective e-consumer productivity clearly depends on the time

spent and number of interactions with the ACA, things are different for perceived productivity. If

consumers do not perceive the benefits of using an ACA, it can hinder its use and success. Following

this first study, the effect of individual characteristics of the Internet user appeared as essential to

understand the process.

Then, in a more ―natural‖ setting, we highlighted the importance and influence of individual

characteristics on perceived e-consumer productivity when interacting with the agent. These variables

affect the outputs, particularly utilitarian (recommendation quality), social (social presence), and

playful (playfulness) outputs. The two variables related to product category (product involvement and

product familiarity) directly affect the e-consumer productivity (outputs) independent of the usage of

the ACA. The two remaining individual characteristics, Internet skills and need for interaction,

deserve a specific focus. Lowering global cost as an input is possible only if users display a

sufficiently high level of competence. This result clarifies previous results that suggest that skilled

Internet users assess the effects of agents better (McGoldrick et al., 2008; Qiu and Benbasat, 2009). In

addition, the use of the agent is more appreciated by people who have a strong need for interaction.

With this work, we demonstrate the specific effects of interacting with an ACA on the different

elements of e-consumer productivity. We contribute to extant knowledge by revealing that objective e-

consumer productivity improves because of interactions with the ACA; however, the effect on

perceived productivity depends on individual user characteristics. Theoretically, our study highlights

the importance of considering both objective and perceived productivity because the results vary

34
across them. In addition, by borrowing the need for interaction concept from services literature

(Dabholkar and Bagozzi, 2002), we verified its potential for explaining the effects of virtual agent use.

This study thus represents a call to integrate sales and human resource research into the study of

commercial virtual agents and consider the individual characteristics of online consumers when

conducting studies on human–computer interactions and online consumer behavior.

With respect to methodological contributions, to our knowledge, this is the first study to use eye-

tracking techniques to study e-consumer productivity in an objective manner. Our study emphasizes

the potential of such a technique to clarify online consumer behavior and obtain relevant behavioral

and objective data. Moreover, our study offers a framework to measure both objective and perceived

e-consumer productivity. It focuses on measures of perceived productivity, which are less widespread

in academic research than measures of objective productivity.

From a managerial perspective, this research confirms the potential benefits of using an ACA to

improve utilitarian, playful, and social outputs of a website. Our results highlight the necessity to

personalize websites with an agent to lead to better effectiveness; an agent may or may not be offered

depending on the user‘s profile and individual characteristics. The main conclusion from our results is

that despite the fact that interaction with the ACA has a positive effect on e-consumer productivity,

only consumers with a specific profile (high or medium level of Internet skills and need for

interaction) can appreciate this effect. Website managers need to identify people with this profile and

can do that.

For example, website managers could assess a user‘s Internet skills from her or his behaviors on the

site. With collaborative filtering techniques, they also may identify different user profiles and skill

levels. With social network tools (e.g., analyzing which social networks are used, how many, and to

what extent or frequency), managers could also determine consumers‘ need for interaction. The access

to social networks information can be enabled by giving the user the possibility to log on with their

social network ID and by using mashup platforms. Companies that adopt a cross-channel strategy can

infer the level of need from interaction from the level of interaction of the customer with real

salespeople in brick and mortar stores. This study thereby complements Ben Mimoun et al.‘s (2012)

conclusions about failures associated with implementing virtual agents; focusing on the appearance of

35
the agent may be a mistake. Instead, the interaction capacities and tools of the ACA should be

elaborated further to ensure that they match consumer expectations, practices, and characteristics.

Our work is not free of limitations, which can be considered as future research perspectives. We tested

only one agent, one website, and one product category. Replicating this research on other websites and

with other products would improve its external validity. In particular, consumers considering the

relatively expensive and durable products on the IKEA website likely require extensive information;

however, they may engage in less information search if they were purchasing products such as books

or DVDs. Differences in the need for information because of the nature of the product or website

represent a relevant research perspective for studying the influence of ACAs on consumer

productivity. We posit that consumers may interact differently (time, number of interactions) with

agents in these settings. Other individual variables, such as animation predisposition (Ben Mimoun,

2013) or task orientation (Homburg et al., 2011), could also be studied. Finally, it may be important to

test how consumers with different individual profiles react to different agent types or roles.

36
Bio

Dr. Mohamed Slim Ben Mimoun is an associate professor of marketing at SKEMA Business School,
University of Lille, and a member of the MERCUR research center. He is also an associate professor of
marketing at University of Sousse, Tunisia. He holds a PhD in marketing form IAE of Lille, University of
Lille, and a master degree in Marketing from the ISG of Tunis, University of Tunis. He also graduated
from the Habilitation Universitaire in 2014 at University of Sousse. His current research includes
examination of online consumer behavior, embodied virtual agents, human–computer interaction
issues, social networks, adoption of new technologies, smart retailing, and shopper marketing. He
has published works in international peer-reviewed academic journals (Information & Management,
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, International Journal of Internet Marketing and
Advertising, etc.) and international and national academic conferences proceedings (Advances in
Consumer Research, Association Française de Marketing, EMAC, Academy of Marketing, American
Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science, etc.)

Ingrid Poncin is a professor of marketing at Catholic University of Louvain and a member of Center of
Excellence on Consumers and Marketing Strategy. She was an ICM fellow (Intercollegiate Center for
Management Sciences, Brussels) and an EDEN fellow (The European Institute for Advanced Studies in
Management's Doctoral Educational Network). She completed her PhD in marketing at Facultés
Universitaires Catholiques de Mons, Belgique, Louvain School of Management, for which she
received the “Gouverneur Cornez Award.” She is a qualified researcher (HDR) from Lille II University,
France. Her research interests concern use and measurement of affect in marketing, attachment
toward brand and company, multichannel consumer behavior, avatars, adoption of new
technologies, and 3D online merchant virtual environments. She has published works in French
academic journals (Recherche et Applications en Marketing (RAM), Revue Française du
Marketing,etc.) and in International journals such as Journal of Advertising, Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, and Journal of Business Research. She participated in international and national
academic conferences and regularly published in their proceedings (Advances in Consumer Research,
European Marketing Academy, Association Française de Marketing, and Academy of Marketing).

Dr. Garnier is an associate professor of marketing at SKEMA Business School, University of Lille, and a
member of the MERCUR research center. She completed her PhD in marketing in 2006 at Pierre
Mendès-France Grenoble II University, France. She also graduated from the Habilitation à Diriger des
Recherches in 2014 at Lille II University, France. She has broad-ranging interests in the area of online
marketing, including more specifically the use of avatars for marketing, virtual experience on 3D
online merchant virtual environments, online consuming experience, usability and marketing,
evolutions of consumer behaviors due to Internet, search engine and free websites marketing,
relational marketing online, and traditional retailing. She is also developing research on consumer
behavior, particularly on gender and consumption. She has published works in Recherche et
Applications en Marketing, Information & Management, International Journal of Internet Marketing
and Advertising, Journal of Marketing Management, Management et Avenir, and Journal of Retailing
and Consumer Services and in international and national academic conference proceedings

37
(Advances in Consumer Research, Association Française de Marketing, EMAC and Academy of
Marketing, where she won an award for best paper in a Track).

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