The double-edged sword effect of chatbot anthropomorphism on customer acceptance intention: the mediating roles of perceived competence and privacy concerns

This study examines the double-edged sword effect of chatbot agent anthropomorphism on customer acceptance in retail e-commerce using social response theory. Scenario-based experiments with a between-subject design were conducted to test hypotheses. Study 1 investigated the differences in positive and negative psychological perceptions (i.e. perceived competence, privacy concerns) and acceptance intention among 138 participants for different anthropomorphism levels of chatbots. Study 2 randomly assigned 282 subjects to 2 (anthropomorphism: high vs. low) × 2 (time pressure: high vs. low) experiments. Data collected from users of chatbot services in the retail e-commerce platforms were analysed using methods of reliability and validity analyses, one-sample t-test, independent-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and PROCESS bootstrap analyses. The results showed that chatbot anthropomorphism increased customers’ perceptions of chatbot competence and thus increased their intention to accept chatbot services, but also increased customers’ privacy concerns and thus decreased acceptance intention. Under high (vs. low) time pressure, customers perceived highly anthropomorphic chatbots as more competent, but time pressure did not moderate the effect of anthropomorphism on privacy concerns. This study extends research on social response theory and time pressure in the e-commerce management field, and provides guidance for retail e-commerce enterprises to develop chatbot anthropomorphism level differentiation strategies.