| Chatbots,as a typical product of artificial intelligence technology,are profoundly changing the customer service system of society as a whole.For enterprises,chatbots offer many advantages,including low cost and high efficiency.As a result,more and more enterprises are adopting various strategies to encourage consumers to use this new service mode.One of the most radical and widely used strategies is to force consumers to use chatbots without their awareness.While the accuracy and effectiveness of chatbots have greatly improved at the consumer level,the overall attitude towards chatbots remains negative,and most consumers are unwilling to actively use them.Currently,academic research on chatbots focuses primarily on improving the technology behind them,and research on the factors affecting consumers’ willingness to use them also centers on chatbots themselves.Empirical research from the perspective of enterprise promotion behavior is relatively scarce.Therefore,the thesis examines the relationship between consumers’ perceptions and use intention in the context of forced use of chatbots,and analyzes the psychological mechanisms behind consumers’ reluctance to use chatbots.The thesis not only supplements existing theories,but also has strong practical implications.The thesis develops a research model based on psychological reactance theory and technology acceptance model.It uses consumers’ perceived freedom threat and perceived ease of use as independent variables,consumers’ willingness to use as the dependent variable,psychological reactance as the mediating variable,and ethical risk perception as the moderating variable.The study investigates the potential relationship between the five variables.A total of 621 sample data were collected through two stages of preliminary and formal investigation,among which 503 were valid.Based on the analysis of all valid samples,six hypotheses were tested,and the following conclusions were drawn:(1)Perceived threats to freedom and perceived ease of use have a significant positive effect on consumers’ intention to use;(2)Psychological reactance has a significant mediating effect on perceived threat to freedom,perceived ease of use,and consumers’ intention to use;(3)Consumers’ perceived ethical risk of Chatbot has a positive moderating effect between perceived ease of use and use intention,and a negative moderating effect between perceived ease of use and psychological reactance.Based on the research conclusions,the thesis presents theoretical contributions and practical insights at both the theoretical and practical levels.It provides practical recommendations and countermeasures for enterprises and governments based on its practical implications.Finally,the study points out the limitations of the thesis and suggests future research directions. |
