The effect of automated service interactions on customer value – a review and research agenda

Abstract

Firms face new opportunities to interact better with customers, as technology allows automated service technology (AST) interactions to happen anywhere, anytime. ASTs empower customers to be more involved in service production and associated value co-creation. However, customer interaction predominantly through technology renders building and sustaining of customer engagement more challenging. Despite growing interest, extant literature on customer interactions through ASTs is unsystematic and disjointed, suggesting a clear need for new research. We draw from a systematic literature review of 41 sources, exploring value co-creation through AST interactions and associated customer engagement. Value emerging from interactions with ASTs is dynamic, complex and multidimensional. We find that extant research focuses on positive value outcomes, without much attention to when and how value can be co-destroyed during AST interactions. Literature treating the dimensions of value emerging from newer advanced technologies’ interactions is fragmented, offering an incomplete understanding about value co-creation. Our study identifies these gaps in the understanding of value co-creation dimensions in AST settings and proposes a research agenda along theoretical, empirical and methodological avenues. Moreover, we offer a renewed understanding of customer behaviors when interacting with AST that can help service providers improve offers to amplify customer engagement.