Search results
1 – 2 of 2Xiaodong Yuan and Fan Hou
Firms may suffer differently from the patent thickets in a particular technology field. This paper explores how patent thickets affect the financial performance of firms with…
Abstract
Purpose
Firms may suffer differently from the patent thickets in a particular technology field. This paper explores how patent thickets affect the financial performance of firms with different patent propensities and technological leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
From the perspective of patent strategy, the authors study how patent propensity, the possibility that a firm applies for patents, affects the patent thickets and financial performance. Additionally, this paper uses patent stock to measure technological leadership, the degree to which a firm can develop, maintain and enhance technology and product innovation, to study the impact of patent propensity on firms. A three-way interaction model is used to explore the relationship among patent thickets, patent propensity, technological leadership and financial performance based on an unbalanced panel of 69 Chinese telecommunication equipment firms from 2008 to 2019.
Findings
The authors find that patent propensity positively moderates patent thickets and financial performance. Notably, technological leadership negatively moderates the moderating effect of patent propensity.
Originality/value
This paper enriches the heterogeneous literature of patent thickets and financial performance. It sheds light on the fact that firms with different technological leadership may use different patent strategies to cut through patent thickets.
Details
Keywords
Shichang Liang, Rulan Li, Bin Lan, Yuxuan Chu, Min Zhang and Li Li
This study explores how chatbot gender and symbolic service recovery may improve the satisfaction of angry customers in the context of service failures. It provides a strategy for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how chatbot gender and symbolic service recovery may improve the satisfaction of angry customers in the context of service failures. It provides a strategy for companies to deploy chatbots effectively in customer anger.
Design/methodology/approach
This research relies upon a systematic literature review to propose three hypotheses, and we recruit 826 participants to examine the effect of chatbot gender on angry customers through one lab study and one field study.
Findings
This research shows that female chatbots are more likely to increase the satisfaction of angry customers than male chatbots in service failure scenarios. In addition, symbolic recovery (apology vs. appreciation) moderates the effect of chatbot gender on angry customers. Specifically, male (vs. female) chatbots are more effective in increasing the satisfaction of angry customers when using the apology method, whereas female (vs. male) chatbots are more effective when using the appreciation method.
Originality/value
The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technology have significantly enhanced the effectiveness of chatbots as virtual agents in the field of interactive marketing. Previous research has concluded that chatbots can reduce negative customer feedback following a service failure. However, these studies have primarily focused on the level of chatbot anthropomorphism and the design of conversational texts, rather than the gender of chatbots. Therefore, this study aims to bridge that gap by examining the effect of chatbot gender on customer feedback, specifically focusing on angry customers following service failures.
Details