Enhance Customer Experience Research Articles

The impact of the internet of things on the perceived quality and customer involvement of smart product-service systems

Despite emerging business trends reshaping the business strategies through disruptive digitalization technologies, there is a notable lack of research evaluating the customer's experience and quality attributes in Smart Product-Service Systems (SPSS) and their connection with the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. To address these challenges, this paper proposes and tests through six application cases, and eight use cases a novel methodology supporting firms to (i) assess the impact of IoT technologies on the perceived quality of SPSSs and (ii) assess the intensity of customer engagement through the IoT in the SPSS lifecycle to enhance the perceived quality of customers and stakeholders. A mixed-methods approach was used as the research design of the study. Overall, our findings show that the methodology supports SPSS scholars and practitioners in enhancing customer experience, prioritizing investments in adopting cutting-edge technologies, identifying the main quality determinants affected by the IoT in SPSS business and the critical technical factors related to the perceived quality of customers. The study bridges the current knowledge gap between quality determinants and emerging IoT technologies in SPSS business, proposing a methodology to assess the perceived quality determinants in SPSS enabled by IoT technologies.

Bank Loan Fraud Detection with Integrated KYC Verification System

In today's technologically-driven financial landscape, bank loan fraud poses a significant threat to both financial institutions and their customers. While traditional methods of fraud detection have been moderately effective, the increasing sophistication of fraudsters necessitates the implementation of more advanced measures. This research proposes an integrated system for bank loan fraud detection that leverages the robustness of Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. By combining traditional KYC processes with advanced machine learning algorithms, this system seeks to provide a more comprehensive approach to detecting and preventing fraudulent loan applications. Initial results indicate a marked reduction in successful fraud attempts, as well as a decrease in false positives compared to conventional systems. Furthermore, the integrated system offers enhanced customer experience by streamlining the loan application process, reducing verification times, and ensuring greater security of personal data. As financial institutions continue to grapple with the challenges of fraud, this research underscores the importance of integrating traditional verification methods with cutting-edge technological solutions for optimal results

China’s New Retail Business Model: the Case of Super Species

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the purpose of investigating the business model of "New Retail” which is crucial for understanding industry innovation, enhancing the customer experience, exploring business model innovation, assessing economic impact, and recognizing global influence. Theoretical framework: This comprehensive theoretical framework provides the foundation for analyzing the multifaceted dynamics of "New Retail" with the inclusion of value proposition, value network, revenue model, tacit knowledge, and explicit knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology employed in this study encompasses a case study of innovative retail businesses, Super Species. It investigates how these businesses have leveraged technology to enhance customer experiences. Findings: The study's findings underscore the pivotal role of "New Retail" in reshaping the traditional retail landscape through technology-driven innovations. It elucidates the impact of "New Retail" on industry dynamics and its potential to secure competitive advantages through analyzing the business model. Research, Practical & Social implications: This research has implications for understanding the transformative power of "New Retail" in the retail industry. It provides insights into consumer expectations, policy influence, and the integration of online and offline retail. Additionally, it highlights the importance of new retail business model and its effects on economic and global dimensions. Originality/value: The originality of this study lies in its comprehensive examination of "New Retail" as a transformative force in the retail industry. It explores the interplay of digital technologies, consumer behavior, government policies, and innovative business models, shedding light on the unique value proposition and implications of "New Retail."

Mapping digital ecosystem for competitive advantage using technological advancements

‘Digital Ecosystem’ is the interdependence of computer software, hardware, and digital services that play a significant role in fulfilling the organization’s objectives. It is a convergence of recent broadband adoption and technological advancement that has pushed the state-of-the-art technologies, and industrial commerce into a flux, for greater market penetration. One of the most significant advantages of the Digital Ecosystem includes mapping of consumer interest (with product or services) to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The research presents various tangible and intangible benefits received by the organization with the help of the Digital Ecosystem. In the future, customers are likely to align their buying behavior based on ‘Digital Ecosystems’ they prefer. The variables involved in buying behavior are complex as well as difficult to measure; hence the qualitative approach has been followed to integrate various aspects of the proposed study. This research is significant because the ‘Digital Ecosystem’ can be a part of a business strategy that can gauge customer requirements, enhance customer experience, and retain customer loyalty.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Employment Structure of the Tourism Industry: An Interview with ChatGPT

This study aims to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workforce in the tourism sector, suggest measures that managers and employees can utilize to mitigate the adverse effects of AI, and predict the future of employment in tourism. In the study, the interview technique was used in qualitative research approaches. ChatGPT was used as an interviewer. Eight questions were posed during the interviews using the ChatGPT question screen (https://chat.openai.com/chat). The study showed that artificial intelligence (AI) will emerge in fifteen new job positions within tourism. The study revealed that integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in the tourism industry has several advantages for employees, such as enhancing job satisfaction and commitment, making more informed decisions, reducing their workload and burnout, formulating more effective business strategies and service offerings, continuing professional development, discover new career paths, and acquiring practical problem-solving abilities. The study highlighted that AI has potentially adverse effects on employees on subjects, including job displacement, job mismatches, skills gap, reskilling challenges, adopting, creativity, decision-making, workload, burnout, ethical, fairness, job performance, job satisfaction, sense of monotony, career advancement, and identity lost.

Market share improvement strategy formulation through application digital platform in Sharia Bank of Indonesia

The digital platform brings changes in the competitive advantage-building strategy for companies. In this regard, digital platforms have a crucial role in providing added value to companies by providing opportunities to improve effective information management. The research aims to determine the utilization of the digital platform of Bank Syariah Indonesia in improving market share and know the strategy of Bank Syariah Indonesia in improving market share through the utilization of the digital platform. This research method is a qualitative-research using SWOT analysis. The results of this study indicate that the utilization of the digital platform Bank Syariah Indonesia in improving market share with ease in opening an account online, digital service improvement, convenience and accessibility, cost efficiency and operational benefits, enhanced customer experience, increased customer base and market reach, increased security and improved BSI performance. Bank Syariah Indonesia's strategy for increasing market share through the utilization of digital platform based on swot analysis there are 20 alternative strategies that can be carried out namely 5 (five), SO Strategy (Strengths-Opportunities), 5 (four) WO strategies (Weaknesses-Opportunities), 5 (five) ST Strategy (Strengths-Threats) and 5 (five) WT Strategies (Weaknesses-Threats).

Eye Contact Matters for Consumer Trust – Even with Robots

Abstract The integration of AI into consumer services is transforming the way people make decisions. AI is becoming more human-like, with chatbots, voice assistants and robots adopting human features and behavior. Consumers react differently to assistants with a human-like appearance than to advice from a web page, and the behavior of AI advisors influences consumer trust and decision-making. The results of an experiment comparing human advisors, robotic advisors with and without eye contact, and text-based services show that human advisors are trusted the most, but robotic advisors are preferred over text-based services. Human-like advisors increase trust and satisfaction. Extended human features like eye contact are essential for establishing trust and positive consumer responses. Companies should consider using humanoid advisors and incorporating eye contact to enhance customer experience. Consumers should be aware of the influence of human-like AI and stay informed about AI developments.

Analyzing the Impact of Open Data Ecosystems and Standardized Interfaces on Product Development and Innovation

The financial services industry is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by the convergence of technological advancements, regulatory mandates, and changing consumer expectations. Central to this transformation is the emergence of Open Banking, a strategic initiative reshaping traditional banking paradigms by advocating for collaboration, interoperability, and customer-centricity. Open Banking, fundamentally facilitated through standardized Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), enables secure and seamless sharing of customer-permissioned financial data and services between traditional financial institutions and external third-party developers. Concurrently, the API economy has emerged as a critical enabler of this collaborative model, offering a standardized interface that underpins the integration of diverse systems, allowing for the efficient exchange of data and functionality. This scholarly article delves into the intertwined realms of Open Banking and the API economy, aiming to elucidate their collective role in propelling collaborative financial services innovation. Open Banking serves as a pivotal force, affording financial institutions a comprehensive view of their customers' financial landscapes, thereby fostering the creation of tailored, responsive, and innovative financial solutions. Complementing this, the API economy acts as the technical scaffolding that enables seamless data sharing and integration, engendering a more connected, agile, and innovative financial ecosystem. By tracing the evolution of Open Banking from its origins to its present-day global presence, this research highlights its transformative potential, emphasizing its capacity to spur competition, drive innovation, and enhance customer experiences. Moreover, the significance of the API economy is analyzed, shedding light on its pivotal role in establishing open, standardized interfaces, thereby promoting a culture of collaboration and innovation. In conclusion, this article envisions a future where the symbiotic relationship between Open Banking and the API economy fuels an era of collaborative financial services innovation, ultimately leading to a more inclusive, efficient, and customer-centric financial landscape

Retail robots as sales assistants: how speciesism moderates the effect of robot intelligence on customer perceptions and behaviour

PurposeRetailers increasingly endeavour to implement artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, such as humanoid social robots (HSRs), to enhance customer experience. This paper investigates the interactive effect of HSR intelligence and consumers' speciesism on their perceptions of retail robots as sales assistants.Design/methodology/approachThree online experiments testing the effects of HSRs' intellectual intelligence on individuals' perceived competence and, consequently, their decision to shop at a retail store that uses HSRs as sales assistants are reported. Furthermore, the authors examine whether speciesism attenuates these effects such that a mediation effect is likely to be observed for individuals low in speciesism but not for those with high levels of speciesism. Data for all studies were collected on Prolific and analysed with SPSS to perform a logistic regression and PROCESS 4.0 (Hayes, 2022) for the mediation and moderated-mediation analysis.FindingsThe findings show that the level of speciesism moderates the relationship between HSR intellectual intelligence and perceived competence such that an effect is found for low but not for high HSR intelligence. When HSR intellectual intelligence is low, individuals with higher levels of speciesism (vs low) rate the HSR as less competent and display lower HSR acceptance (i.e. customers' decision to shop using retail robots as sales assistants).Originality/valueThis research responds to calls in research to adopt a human-like perspective to understand the compatibility between humans and robots and determine how personality traits, such as a person's level of speciesism, may affect the acceptance of AI technologies replicating human characteristics (Schmitt, 2019). To the best of the authors' knowledge, the present research is the first to examine the moderating role of speciesism on customer perceptions of non-human retail assistants (i.e. human-like and intelligent service robots). This study is the first to showcase that speciesism, normally considered a negative social behaviour, can positively influence individuals' decisions to engage with HSRs.

A Critical Evaluation of Business Improvement through Machine Learning: Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices

This paper presents a critical evaluation of the impact of machine learning (ML) on business improvement, focusing on the challenges, opportunities, and best practices associated with its implementation. The study examines the hurdles faced by businesses while integrating ML, such as data quality, talent acquisition, algorithm bias, interpretability, and privacy concerns. On the other hand, it highlights the advantages of ML, including data-driven decision-making, enhanced customer experience, process optimization, cost reduction, and the potential for new revenue streams. Furthermore, the paper offers best practices to guide businesses in successfully adopting ML solutions, covering data management, talent development, model evaluation, ethics, and regulatory compliance. Through real-world case studies, the study illustrates successful ML applications in different industries. It also addresses the ethical and social implications of ML adoption and discusses emerging trends for future directions. Ultimately, this evaluation provides valuable insights to enable informed decisions and sustainable growth for businesses leveraging machine learning.

Exploring the Implication of ChatGPT AI for Business: Efficiency and Challenges

This empirical study aims to examine the impact of ChatGPT AI on various business sectors, evaluating its benefits and challenges. Specifically, the study analyzes how ChatGPT AI is transforming business operations and enhancing customer experience in customer service, e-commerce, healthcare, finance, marketing, and developer business sectors. Using a comprehensive literature review approach, this study draws on relevant academic articles to identify and analyze the key applications of AI in the business sector, the benefits realized, and the challenges faced in adopting this technology. The study explores the implications of ChatGPT AI for businesses, including its potential to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance competitiveness. Additionally, ethical and legal considerations surrounding the use of ChatGPT AI in business operations are evaluated, including issues related to data privacy, bias, and transparency. The study provides insights into future directions for the application of ChatGPT AI in business and the potential impact of this technology on various business sectors. The objective is to provide a comprehensive review of the impact of ChatGPT AI on businesses, its potential benefits, and challenges for businesses looking to adopt this technology. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering both the benefits and limitations of AI adoption in businesses, as well as the ethical and legal implications of its use.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Customer Experience: A Case Study of Global E-commerce Platforms

This study explores the pivotal role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing customer experience on global e-commerce platforms. Through an extensive literature review, we examine how AI-driven technologies, such as personalized recommendations, chatbots, and predictive analytics, are transforming customer interactions and satisfaction. The findings suggest that AI not only streamlines operations but also provides significant value by tailoring experiences to individual customer preferences. Moreover, the study highlights the challenges and ethical considerations in implementing AI, particularly in maintaining data privacy and transparency. The implications of AI adoption in e-commerce are profound, influencing both consumer behavior and business strategies globally. This paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on digital transformation, offering insights for practitioners and researchers alike. Ultimately, the study underscores the importance of balancing technological innovation with ethical responsibility to achieve sustainable growth in the e-commerce sector.

State of Digitalization in Lifestyle Apparel Industry

Objective: The objective of this research study was to assess the extent of digitalization in the Lifestyle Apparel Industry and identify any loopholes in the ideal supply chain management. The study aimed to examine the integration of retailers with their partners, the understanding of key industry trends, and the decision-making process regarding the right retail format and digitalization level.
 
 Method: This research adopted a descriptive approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. A sample of 80 Lifestyle Apparel Retailers from the Mumbai region was selected using a simple random sampling procedure. Data was collected through surveys and interviews to gather insights into the utilization of technology platforms in the industry.
 
 Result: The findings of the study revealed that Universal Product Coding, Unified Payments Interface, E-Commerce platforms, ERP Solution, and Loyalty Programs are the most extensively used technology platforms in the Lifestyle Apparel Industry. These platforms have significantly transformed the supply chain process, enhanced customer experience, and improved operational efficiency.
 
 Conclusion: In conclusion, this research highlights the pivotal role of technology in shaping the Lifestyle Apparel Industry. The adoption of various technology platforms has empowered retailers to optimize their operations, enhance customer engagement, and remain competitive in the market. The study also points out the importance of integrating retailers with partners, understanding industry trends, and making informed decisions to achieve an ideal supply chain management in the digital era. These insights are valuable for industry stakeholders and policymakers to drive further advancements and growth in the Lifestyle Apparel sector.

How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing the Banking Sector: The Applications and Challenges

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology with the potential to revolutionize various industries, including banking. The study provides an overview of the applications and challenges of AI in the banking sector. It highlights the significant impact of AI on improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience, and enabling more accurate risk assessment and fraud detection. The study also explores the growth of machine learning algorithms and overview of Application Programming Interface (API)-driven banking ecosystems. However, the adoption of AI in the banking sector also presents certain challenges, such as data privacy and security concerns, ethical considerations, and the need for effective regulation.

Unleashing the Potential: An Integrated Analysis of Human Resource and Marketing Strategies in Empowering East Java's Tourism SMEs

This study examines the implementation of human resource management (HRM) and marketing strategies in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within East Java's tourism sector. The imperative for examination arises from the observation that tourism SMEs in Indonesia have not yet fully regained their pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of recovery. There is also a lack of holistic research of HRM and marketing strategies implementation in SMEs in the tourism sector in East Java. The research involves 1320 respondents from 440 tourism SMEs and utilizes the Path Analysis method. The findings highlight significant relationships between spiritual marketing, innovation culture, quality of work life, and rewards within SMEs. These factors positively influence the market orientation of SMEs, facilitating the development of products and services that meet market demands, enhance customer experiences, and foster competitive advantage. Additionally, the study reveals that the interplay of spiritual marketing, innovation culture, quality of work life, and rewards directly impacts individual performance, consequently leading to enhanced overall SME performance, as measured by marketing performance.This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge in business research, offering valuable insights into the current dynamics of tourism SMEs in the region. Moreover, it provides strategic solutions to address the decline in tourist arrivals post the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data Privacy and Security in Big Data: A Comparative Analysis

The rapid proliferation of big data and data- driven decision-making has brought about unprecedented technological advancements, revolutionizing various industries. Organizations now harness extensive data to extract valuable insights, optimize operations, and enhance customer experiences. However, this data-driven landscape raises concerns about individual privacy and data security. As personal information collection and analysis become more prevalent, robust privacy approaches are imperative. This research paper conducts a comparative analysis of privacy approaches in the context of big data and data-driven decision-making. It examines traditional methods such as cryptography, anonymization, and access controls, alongside emerging techniques like differential privacy, homomorphic encryption, and secure multi-party computation. Qualitative content analysis and thematic coding gather insights from academic literature, reports, and expert interviews. The findings highlight each approach's strengths, limitations, and trade-offs, offering valuable insights for organizations aiming to balance data utility with privacy preservation. This study contributes to understanding ethical concerns, legal compliance, data quality, trust, and technological advancements in the pursuit of responsible data-driven decision-making while safeguarding privacy. Key Words: privacy preservation, big data analytics, data privacy strategies, ethical data use, emerging privacy techniques

Unveiling digital transformation: Investigating technology adoption in Vietnam's food delivery industry for enhanced customer experience

Digital platforms are increasingly playing a crucial role in the digital transformation process, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to gain a competitive advantage and achieve their business objectives. This research study aims to extend the Technology Acceptance Model by incorporating the Stimulus-Organism-Reaction theory to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing satisfaction, continued intention to use, and positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the context of Food Delivery Apps (FDAs). A quantitative approach was employed, and data were collected through a survey administered to 346 FDA users. The results reveal that both Information quality and Task-technology fit have a positive impact on satisfaction and continued intention to use. Additionally, satisfaction was found to have the greatest influence on continued intention to use and positive eWOM, with information quality exerting the most significant impact on satisfaction. Furthermore, the study findings demonstrated that promotion has a significant impact on generating positive eWOM. This study makes a substantial contribution to the existing literature by providing valuable insights into the factors influencing FDA usage and their impact on satisfaction, continued intention to use, and positive eWOM. It serves as a foundation for further research in this emerging field and offers practical implications for stakeholders involved in the development, management, and utilization of FDAs.

Research on the Influence of Consumer Confusion on Consumer Negative Word-of-Mouth Dissemination -- The Mediating Role of Perceived Gain and Loss

In the context of the growing Internet, the growth and fragmentation of information on the Internet has had a profound impact on consumers' ability to discern information and to make their own judgements. The similarity, overload and ambiguity of products not only confuse consumers in the decision making process, but also make it more difficult for consumers to make decisions. With the development of consulting apps, applets and public websites, ready access to information has become a must for consumers to make purchase decisions, which will undoubtedly increase Consumer Confusion. I reviewed previous research on Consumer Confusion and introduced the mediating variable of Customer Perceived Sacrifices of profit to investigate the influence of three dimensions of Consumer Confusion, namely, similar confusion, overload confusion and ambiguous confusion, on the spread of Negative Consumer Word-of-mouth. The results of the study show that: all three dimensions of Consumer Confusion have a significant positive impact on Customer Perceived Sacrifices of profit; all three dimensions of consumer confusion have a positive impact on Consumer Negative Word-of-mouth Communication; and Customer Perceived Sacrifices of profit mediates between Consumer Confusion and Consumer Negative Word-of-mouth Communication. Finally, based on the empirical study, this paper makes recommendations to companies and discusses marketing countermeasures that should be taken to address different dimensions of Consumer Confusion in order to help companies rationalise their product lines, highlight their product promotions and make their product features obvious in order to reduce the phenomenon of Consumer Confusion, reduce Customer Perceived Sacrifices and enhance customer experience and satisfaction, thereby avoiding the risk of Negative Word-of-mouth spread by consumers due to negative purchase sentiment and excessive perceived profit loss.

Embedding Technology Interface and Digital Payment Drivers in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 Model: Transforming Behavioral Intention to Sustained Intention

Purpose: The present study was undertaken with the purpose of embedding Technology Interface drivers and Digital Payment drivers as additional drivers in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to examine their influence on the Behavioral Intention of online shoppers. Technology Interface drivers include chatbots (CBs) and virtual try-on (VTO) technology. Further, this study also links Behavioral Intention with Sustained Intention to analyze whether it translates into repeated online buying. Research Methods: The study is based on a survey instrument using snowball sampling with data collected from 600 consumers from northern India. The study uses PLS-SEM for gauging the association of UTAUT2 drivers, Technology Interface drivers, and Digital Payment drivers with Behavioral Intention. Findings/Results: The results show a positive and significant association with Behavioral Intention of Technology Interface drivers and Digital Payment drivers as additional drivers to UTAUT2 drivers. UTAUT2 drivers had the highest impact (β: 0.465), followed by Digital Payment and Technology Interface drivers (β: 0.263 and β: 0.211). Further examination suggests a positive impact of Behavioral Intention on Sustained Intention (β: 0.868). The outcomes reflect that the model explained 69.5% of the variation in Behavioral Intention and 75.4% of the variation in Sustained Intention. Implications: The study suggests that Indian managers need to adopt DPM as a support service to make online shopping a worthwhile experience. Technology Interface drivers have a comparatively lower coefficient, indicating that in India, they are yet to reach the optimum level for consumers to adopt them fully. Efforts to transform Behavioral Intention into repeated online buying or Sustained Intention may go a long way in building a strong, committed community of online sellers to assist in enhancing customer experience.

Wakefit Innovations: overcoming challenges of online sales of furniture & furnishings

Learning outcomes After reading and discussing the case, the participants would be able to: apply 7S and VRIO framework for online furniture retail; evaluate the profitability of horizontal versus vertical marketplaces for selling furniture online; articulate the challenges faced by online furniture retailers; discuss the applicability of technology to enhance customer experience in online furniture retail; and discuss the omni-channel strategy which online furniture companies can adopt. Case overview/synopsis Although furniture has traditionally been an unorganized category, the online furniture platforms have been on an upward curve since past few years. Digitization of economy and usage of smartphones to access internet had given a thrust to online purchases. This case on Wakefit Innovations Private Limited is intended to provide the readers with the business and marketing insights of selling furniture using online platform. The readers will be able to understand how retailing furniture using e-commerce is full of challenges and how various marketing activities have helped Wakefit improve their customer base. The readers can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of horizontal versus vertical e-commerce marketplaces and various challenges associated with online furniture retailing. Whether Wakefit should continue setting up experience centres and the benefits that could accrue by usage of virtual reality, augmented reality and data analytics are additional dimensions which can be discussed by the readers. The case will benefit the professionals in understanding the challenges and marketing strategies used by online furniture retailers and the same can be replicated by other players in this sector. Complexity academic level This case is suitable for students enrolled for full credit course on e-commerce at post graduate level. The case can be discussed towards the middle of the course once the students have studied different formats of e-commerce marketplace. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.