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Service robots can offer benefits to consumers (e.g. convenience, flexibility, availability, efficiency) and service providers (e.g. cost savings), but a lack of trust hinders consumer adoption. To enhance trust, firms add human-like features to robots; yet, anthropomorphism theory is ambiguous about their appropriate implementation. This study therefore aims to investigate what is more effective for fostering trust: appearance features that are more human-like or social functioning features that are more human-like.

In an experimental field study, a humanoid service robot displayed gaze cues in the form of changing eye colour in one condition and static eye colour in the other. Thus, the robot was more human-like in its social functioning in one condition (displaying gaze cues, but not in the way that humans do) and more human-like in its appearance in the other (static eye colour, but no gaze cues). Self-reported data from 114 participants revealing their perceptions of trust, anthropomorphism, interaction comfort, enjoyment and intention to use were analysed using partial least squares path modelling.

Interaction comfort moderates the effect of gaze cues on anthropomorphism, insofar as gaze cues increase anthropomorphism when comfort is low and decrease it when comfort is high. Anthropomorphism drives trust, intention to use and enjoyment.

To extend human–robot interaction literature, the findings provide novel theoretical understanding of anthropomorphism directed towards humanoid robots.

By investigating which features influence trust, this study gives managers insights into reasons for selecting or optimizing humanoid robots for service interactions.

This study examines the difference between appearance and social functioning features as drivers of anthropomorphism and trust, which can benefit research on self-service technology adoption.

This contribution explores intergenerational relations and negotiations in Viet-German families. Due to family members' diverging socialization experiences in Vietnam and Germany as well as social ties in both societies, we assume that different ideas of intergenerational relations and mutual obligations may be found in Viet-German families. We distinguish between interdependent and independent intergenerational patterns of solidarity. Based on interviews with young adults – the descendants of Vietnamese migrants – four thematic areas are identified, in and through the shaping of which intergenerational relations are continuously negotiated at the face of migration-related challenges. These are (1) a childhood for the future, (2) reciprocal support, (3) individualization of family members and intimization of the family and (4) boundaries against kinship and the Vietnamese community. Our analysis reveals the emergence of a new, hybrid pattern of intergenerational solidarity, for which we suggest the term “individualized interdependence.” The role of young adults in the elaboration of this new family order stands out.

Traditional studies in the sociology of science have highlighted the self-organized character of the academic community. This article focuses on recent interrelated changes that alter that distinctive governance structure and its related patterns of competition and cooperation. The changes that we identify here are contractualization and large-scale cooperative research. We use different data sources to exemplify these new patterns and discuss the illustrative role of research clusters in German academia. Research clusters as funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) are both a highly prestigious scarce good in the competition for reputation and resources and a means of fostering cooperation. Our analysis of this German example reveals that this new institutional configuration of universities as organizations, academic researchers, and the state has a profound effect on organizational practices. We discuss the implications of our empirical findings with regard to collegiality in academia. Ultimately, we anticipate a further weakening of collegial bonds, not only because universities and the state have become more active in shaping the nature of academic competition and cooperation but also because of the increasing strategic and individualistic orientation of academic researchers. In the final section, we summarize our findings and address the need for further research and an international comparative perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychological influence that the presence of music has on consumers’ evaluations of the service environment. Specifically, it investigates how emotion regulation processes and the impact of emotions/mood are linked to consumers’ evaluation of service and product quality.

An exploratory study was conducted using industry professionals in order to garner insight about the value of music and its benefits in the service environment. A field experiment was then conducted to test hypotheses.

Industry professionals offer implicit theories about the value of music. Specifically, they propose that music can be used to help customers regulate emotions and improve mood, enhance the customer experience and help in attracting new consumer segments. Results from the field experiment found that those exposed to music were likely to improve mood, express more favorable evaluations of the service and product quality of the establishment, as well as exhibit stronger intentions to continue to patronize the establishment.

Using live music in the service environment can be beneficial to organizations by improving customers’ emotional/psychological status as well as their evaluation of the consumption experience.

This research contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating how emotion regulation processes and the impact of emotions/mood are linked to consumers’ evaluation of service and product quality. Also, support for mood congruency judgment is found. Participants in the field study who had been exposed to music indicated that they made efforts to improve their mood and subsequently had more favorable judgments of service and product quality.

Companies utilize increasingly capable Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to deliver modern services across a range of consumer service industries. AI autonomy, however, sparks skepticism among consumers leading to a decrease in their willingness to adopt AI services. This raises the question as to whether consumer trust in companies can overcome consumer reluctance in their decisions to adopt high (vs low) autonomy AI services.

Using a representative survey (N = 503 consumers corresponding to N = 3,690 observations), this article investigated the link between consumer trust in a company and consumers' intentions to adopt high (vs low) autonomy AI services from the company across 23 consumer service companies accounting for six distinct service industries.

The results confirm a significant and positive relationship between consumer trust in a company and consumers' intentions to adopt AI services from the same company. AI autonomy, however, moderates this relationship, such that high (vs low) AI autonomy weakens the positive link between trust in a company and AI service adoption. This finding replicates across all 23 companies and the associated six industries and is robust to the inclusion of several theoretically important control variables.

The current research contributes to the recent stream of AI research by drawing attention to the interplay between trust in companies and adoption of high autonomy AI services, with implications for the successful deployment and marketing of AI services.

This paper aims to assess the direct effects of antecedents of initial trust, the mediating effect of trust and the moderating effect of demographic variables on non-adopters’ behavioral intention to use mobile banking.

The study tested the models of theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior to evaluate potential antecedents of trust (diffusion of trust, infrastructure quality, perceived costs, privacy and security) moderators (demographic variables) and mediators (initial trust) that will influence behavioral intention to use mobile banking. The Hayes’ Process Macro developed by Andrew F. Hayes (2013) was used as a statistical analysis in SPSS to estimates the path coefficients using multiple regression. The tool provides insights on the direct and indirect effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable through the existence of moderating variables and mediation variables.

The results show that the non-adopters of mobile banking asserted that the antecedents of initial trust played a significant influence on behavioral intention to use online banking services.

There is a dearth of literature addressing mobile banking in the Philippines. The first initial trust formation in internet banking using computer workstations and laptops in the Philippines was conducted by Chiu et al. (2016). This research fills in the gap by expanding and formulating a deeper understanding of the antecedents of initial trust that influence consumer behavioral intention that might be responsible for the slow diffusion of mobile banking services in the country. The results from this study will help financial institutions create a beneficial connection with consumers while alleviating the fears of non-adopters and enhancing their understanding of the benefits of mobile banking.

The adoption of digitalization and sustainability is key phenomenon that has changed perception and behaviors of people recently. As there is a rising power of digital communication by social media platforms, there is higher interaction between people globally. In addition, consumers can influence each other to adopt new consumption pattern. At this point, this paper aims to examine the role of green women influencers on promoting sustainable consumption patterns via social media platforms.

This study employed qualitative research method. The study included four top-lists for green/sustainable social media influencers as a sample case. Then, the data were analyzed by descriptive content analysis. To determine the role of green women influencers in sustainable consumption, this study used classification and categorization technique through descriptive content analysis.

The study indicates that green women are seen as a primary social media influencer because of promoting sustainable consumption patterns in general. Especially, green women have more power to change consumption patterns via digital platforms. Green women social media influencers, who are micro-celebrities, share primary contents such as sustainable fashion, green foods, sustainable travel, sustainable lifestyle, conscious choices, green cosmetics and zero waste life to promote sustainable consumption patterns. Women social media influencers are much more effective than men influencers to transform society's consumption behaviors into sustainable consumption patterns.

The study provides some qualitative findings based on the selected four top-listed green social media influencers by different social media platforms. Future studies can find out different results based on different sample cases and employ quantitative research methodology.

The study suggests policymakers to cooperate with green women social media influencers to achieve sub-targets of 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Especially, it is suggested to cooperate with micro-celebrities or Internet celebrities to promote sustainable consumption patterns.

The study proves that women social media influencers have the essential role in promoting green/sustainable consumption patterns via digital platforms. In addition, green women influencers can guide their followers to adopt sustainable consumption patterns.

Despite a fast-growing interest in leadership development programs, there is limited research on the impacts of leadership development and a narrow focus on professional competencies as outcomes. The authors’ aim was to test whether authentic leadership development (ALD), an identity-based leadership development approach, is associated with positive changes in leaders' psychological well-being.

In a large sample of leaders (N = 532) from five different ALD programs, the authors conducted a pre-registered outcome-wide analysis and tested within-person changes in key indicators of psychological well-being and explored individual differences moderating these changes.

Results showed significant increases in self-concept clarity, sense of purpose in life and personal growth about two to three weeks after the programs ended. Changes in stress and health were not consistent. These changes did not differ across socio-demographic status (gender, age), work-related factors (leadership, industry and tenure) and most personality factors (extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience). Those with high emotional variability experienced greater improvements in some outcomes of well-being while individuals with higher income and conscientiousness (who had high baseline self-concept clarity) experienced smaller improvements. Longer follow-up assessments were associated with smaller changes.

As one of the most comprehensive assessments of ALD outcomes to date, this study shows the potential of ALD for improving outcomes beyond leadership skills, the well-being of leaders, highlighting the return on value in leadership development and pointing to learning and development as a workplace well-being intervention.