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Virtual customer service agents: Using social presence and personalization to shape
online service encounters
Verhagen, T.; van Nes, J.; Feldberg, J.F.M.; van Dolen, W.M.
2011
document version
Early version, also known as pre-print
Link to publication in VU Research Portal
citation for published version (APA)
Verhagen, T., van Nes, J., Feldberg, J. F. M., & van Dolen, W. M. (2011). Virtual customer service agents: Using
social presence and personalization to shape online service encounters. (Research Memorandum; No. 2011-
10). FEWEB VU University.
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Download date: 02. nov. 2021
,Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
Virtual customer service agents: Using social
presence and personalization to shape online
service encounters
Research Memorandum 2011-10
Tibert Verhagen
Jaap van Nes
Frans Feldberg
Willemijn van Dolen
, Virtual Customer Service Agents:
Using Social Presence and Personalization to Shape Online Service
Encounters
TIBERT VERHAGEN
VU University Amsterdam, Knowledge Information and Networks- research group,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
JAAP VAN NES
VU University Amsterdam, Knowledge Information and Networks- research group,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
FRANS FELDBERG
VU University Amsterdam, Knowledge Information and Networks- research group,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
WILLEMIJN VAN DOLEN
Department of Management, University of Amsterdam Business School.
1
, Virtual Customer Service Agents:
Using Social Presence and Personalization to Shape Online Service
Encounters
ABSTRACT
By performing tasks traditionally fulfilled by service personnel in physical settings and
having a humanlike appearance, virtual customer service agents seem to bring classical
service personnel characteristics to the online service encounter, which in turn may elicit
social responses and feelings of personalization. This paper sheds light on these dynamics by
proposing and testing a nomological structure drawing upon the theories of implicit
personality, social response, primitive emotional contagion, and social interaction. The focus
of the proposed model is on the role of three classical service personnel characteristics –
specifically friendliness, expertise, and smile- as determinants of perceptions of social
presence, personalization, and online service encounter satisfaction. An experimental design
(n= 296) was applied to test the model. The key finding of the study is that friendliness and
expertise strongly influence social presence and personalization, which in their turn lead to
online service encounter satisfaction. Overall, the study highlights the value of transposing
traditional service personnel characteristics via virtual customer service agents to the web,
and underlines that integration between technology and personal aspects may lead to more
social online service encounters.
KEYWORDS
Online service encounter, virtual customer service agent, social presence, personalization,
friendliness, expertise, smile, experimental study.
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