{"title":"可爱的语言风格聊天机器人会让消费者更不道德吗?","authors":"Jialiang Chen , Wenxin Ke , Yin Wu , Jian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2025.102941","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, offline retailers are increasingly adopting chatbots with a cute language style to enhance customer service experiences. Although such chatbots have shown potential in improving customer satisfaction, their impact on consumer unethical behavior remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate the influence of chatbots with a cute language style on consumer unethical behavior and its underlying mechanisms. Across four experimental studies (N = 436), the results demonstrate that cute language style chatbots can increase consumer unethical behavior by enhancing the consumer’s moral self-concept. Furthermore, the findings reveal that avatar type moderates the effect of chatbot language style on moral self-concept. Emotional arousal is also identified as a psychological mechanism underlying the relationship between chatbot language style and unethical behavior. These findings not only advance our understanding of the unintended consequences of deploying chatbots with cute features but also offer practical insights for offline retailers in designing and implementing chatbot services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48422,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Information Management","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102941"},"PeriodicalIF":20.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Do cute language style chatbots make consumers more unethical?\",\"authors\":\"Jialiang Chen , Wenxin Ke , Yin Wu , Jian Zhang\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2025.102941\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, offline retailers are increasingly adopting chatbots with a cute language style to enhance customer service experiences. Although such chatbots have shown potential in improving customer satisfaction, their impact on consumer unethical behavior remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate the influence of chatbots with a cute language style on consumer unethical behavior and its underlying mechanisms. Across four experimental studies (N = 436), the results demonstrate that cute language style chatbots can increase consumer unethical behavior by enhancing the consumer’s moral self-concept. Furthermore, the findings reveal that avatar type moderates the effect of chatbot language style on moral self-concept. Emotional arousal is also identified as a psychological mechanism underlying the relationship between chatbot language style and unethical behavior. These findings not only advance our understanding of the unintended consequences of deploying chatbots with cute features but also offer practical insights for offline retailers in designing and implementing chatbot services.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":48422,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"International Journal of Information Management\",\"volume\":\"85 \",\"pages\":\"Article 102941\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":20.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-06-26\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"International Journal of Information Management\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"91\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401225000738\",\"RegionNum\":1,\"RegionCategory\":\"管理学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Information Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401225000738","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
Do cute language style chatbots make consumers more unethical?
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, offline retailers are increasingly adopting chatbots with a cute language style to enhance customer service experiences. Although such chatbots have shown potential in improving customer satisfaction, their impact on consumer unethical behavior remains underexplored. This research aims to investigate the influence of chatbots with a cute language style on consumer unethical behavior and its underlying mechanisms. Across four experimental studies (N = 436), the results demonstrate that cute language style chatbots can increase consumer unethical behavior by enhancing the consumer’s moral self-concept. Furthermore, the findings reveal that avatar type moderates the effect of chatbot language style on moral self-concept. Emotional arousal is also identified as a psychological mechanism underlying the relationship between chatbot language style and unethical behavior. These findings not only advance our understanding of the unintended consequences of deploying chatbots with cute features but also offer practical insights for offline retailers in designing and implementing chatbot services.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Information Management (IJIM) is a distinguished, international, and peer-reviewed journal dedicated to providing its readers with top-notch analysis and discussions within the evolving field of information management. Key features of the journal include:
Comprehensive Coverage:
IJIM keeps readers informed with major papers, reports, and reviews.
Topical Relevance:
The journal remains current and relevant through Viewpoint articles and regular features like Research Notes, Case Studies, and a Reviews section, ensuring readers are updated on contemporary issues.
Focus on Quality:
IJIM prioritizes high-quality papers that address contemporary issues in information management.