Abstract
Of the objective of this paper is to develop and test a model of the effects of an embodied virtual agent (EVA) on the user of an online interface. The tested interface is a brand website—a possible channel of purchase, but also a media of information about products or services. The process of relationship building between website and user is the focus of interest here, a perspective that is richer than what is often called “acceptability” in the literature. Instead the paper proposes a construct of “stickiness;” i.e. the capacity of the interface to retain the user and to create positive behavioral intentions towards it. An integrative model is proposed. The effects of the presence of an EVA and of its congruency with the website are measured, and two possible routes of influence to stickiness investigated. Simple effects (with no route of influence) are observed on behavioral stickiness, whereas other effects via attitudinal and via affective routes, are observed, on intentional stickiness.
Chapter PDF
References
Richard, B.: The role of psychophysiology in consumer research. In: Robertson, R., Kassarjian, H. (eds.) Handbook of Consumer Behavior, pp. 124–161. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs (1991)
Bagozzi, R., Yi, Y.: Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement errors: A comment. Journal of Marketing Research 18, 375–381 (1981)
Bagozzi, R., Gopinath, M., Nyer, P.: The role of emotions in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27, 184–206 (1999)
Rajeev, B.: The Role of Affect in Consumer Behavior, Robert, P., Wayne, H., William, W. (eds.), pp.17–52 (1986)
Rajeev, B., John, M., David, A.: Advertising Management. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs (2002)
George, B., Michael, B.: Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. McGraw Hill, New York (1998)
Bjorn, B., Judee, B., Carl, C., Joseph, B., Magnus, L.: The impact of Anthropomorphic interfaces on influence, understanding, and credibility, (Hawaii International Conference on Computer and Systems Sciences, Maui, HI, &) Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (2001)
Timothy, B.: Relational agents, Effective change through human-computer relationships, PhD Dissertation, MIT, Medialab, p. 284 (2003)
Jo, B.M.: Evaluating service encounters: The effects of physical surroundings and employee responses. Journal of Marketing 54, 69–92 (1990)
Jo, B.M.: Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing 58, 57–71 (1992)
Scott, B., Clifford, N., Kevin, H.: Computers that care: investigating the effects of orientation of emotion exhibited by an embodied computer agent, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 62(2), 161–178 (2005)
Bruner, G.C., Kumar, A.: Web commercials and advertising hierarchy-of-effects. Journal of Advertising Research 40(1/2), 35–42 (2000)
Bucklin, R.E., Sismeiro, C.: A model of web site browsing behavior estimated on clickstream data (working paper 2002, et). Journal of Marketing Research 40(3), 249–267 (2003)
Qimei, C., William, W.: Attitude toward the site, Journal of Advertising Research, 27–37 (October 1999)
Jyun, C.Y., Gordon, M., Franck, B.: The effects of Anthropomorphic Agents on advertising effectiveness and the mediating role of presence. Journal of Interactive Advertising 2(1), 14 Fall (2001)
Tim, C., Timothy, D., Alopi, L., David, M.: E-Business: Revolution, Evolution or Hype? California Management Review 44(1), 57–86 (2001)
Derbaix, C., Pham, M.: Pour un développement des mesures de l’affectif en marketing: synthèse des pré-requis. Recherches et Applications en Marketing 4, 71–87 (1989)
Christian, D., Michel, P.: Affective reactions to consumption situations: A pilot investigation. Journal of Economic Psychology 12(2), 325–365 (1991)
Derbaix, C.: The impact of affective reactions on attitudes toward the advertisement and the brand. Journal of Marketing Research 32(4), 470–479 (1995)
Diesbach-Lambert, P.B.: Ambiance factors and approach behaviors in the e-commerce: A theoretical framework for capturing the effects of music and colour. In: Edwards, S. (ed.) Proceedings 1st Experiential E-commerce Conference, Michigan St.Univ. p. 14 (2001)
Diesbach-Lambert, P.B.: Ambience factors, emotions and web-user behavior: A model integrating an affective and symbolical approach. In: Gallopel, K., Maille, V., Rieunier, S. (eds.) 1st Colloquium on Sensorial Marketing, CERAM, Nice, p. 19 (2002)
Diesbach, P.B., Jeandrain, A.C.: Online immersion and emotional reactions online: proposal of an integrative model, p. 20. Asian ACR, Seoul (2004)
Diesbach, P.B.: Virtual agents and brand website stickiness, PhD Dissertation, IAE Aix-en-Provence/ESSEC, p. 684 (October 2006)
Diesbach, P.B., Galan, J.P.: L’agent virtuel incarné dans la distribution en ligne: cadre théorique et revue de littérature, Lemoine, J.F. (ed.) Univ. of Nantes, p. 24, (September 2006)
Judith, D.: Mediated faces, in Cognitive Technology: Instruments of Mind, In: Beynon, M., Nehaniv, C.L., Dautenhahn, K. (eds.) Proceedings of the 4th International Conference, CI 2001, Warwick, UK, p. 18 (August 2001a)
Judith, D.: Being real: Questions of Tele-Identity. In: The Robot in the Garden, Ken Goldberg, pp. 296–311. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2001b)
Figueiredo de, J., Finding sustainable profitability in electronic commerce. In: Brynjolfsson E., Urban G., Strategies for E-business success, pp.7–33, 300, MIT Press (2001)
Andrea, G.: Evolution of retail categories - an explanation from consumer’s point of view. European Advances in Consumer Research 2, 237–245 (1995)
Groeppel-Klein, A.: The influence of the dominance perceived at the point of sale on the price-assessment. European Advances in Consumer Research 3, 304–311 (1997)
Groeppel-Klein, A., Thelen, E., Zandretter, C.: The Impact of Shopping Motives on Store Assessment, vol. 4, pp. 63–76. European ACR, Provo, UT (1999)
Andrea, G.-K.: Findings of environmental psychology for differentiation strategies in international retailing. In: Yves, D. (ed.) International Marketing: New frontiers and new tendencies, pp. 489–504, (& EIASM Seminar, Brussels 2000) (1998)
Donna, H., Thomas, N., Patrali, C.: Commercial scenarios for the Web: Opportunities and challenges, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Special Issue on Electronic Commerce, p. 20 (1995) jcmc.huji.ac.il.volI/issue3/hoffman.html
Donna, H., Thomas, N.: Marketing in Hypermedia computer-mediated environments: Conceptual foundations. Journal of Marketing 60, 50–68 (1996a)
Donna, H., Thomas, N.: A new marketing paradigm for electronic commerce, Working Paper & Special Issue on Electronic Commerce, The Information Society (1996b), http://www2000.ogsm.Vanderbilt.edu/novak/new.marketing.paradigm.html
Donna, H., Thomas, N., Alladi, V.: Has the internet become indispensable? Communications of the ACM 47(7), 37–42 (2004)
Joseph, J.: Stickiness: A Ludicrous Metric, Avril (2002) (site http://www.mediapost.com/Admire/AdClickThru.cfm?AutoNumID=4247 )
David, J.: Internet Retailing, ADMAP, In: Proceedings of the 6th ESOMAR International Automotive Marketing Conference, Lausanne, pp. 42–44 (July 2000)
Kellaris, J., Cox, A.: The effects of background music in advertising: a reassessment. Journal of Consumer Research 16(2), 113–118 (1987)
Kellaris, J., Cox, A., Cox, D.: The effects of background music on ad processing: a contingency explanation. Journal of Marketing 57(4), 114–125 (1993)
James, K., Susan, P.M.: Shaping time perceptions with background music: The effect of congruity and arousal on estimates of ad durations. Psychology and Marketing 13(5), 501–515 (1996)
Jonathan, K., Yongme, M., Rosalind, P.: This computer responds to user frustration: Theory, design and results. Interacting with Computers 14, 119–140 (2002)
MacInnis, D.J., Park, C.W.: The Differential Role of Characteristics of Music on High and Low Involvement Consumers’ Processing of Ads. Journal of Consumer Research 18, 161–173 (1991)
Mehrabian, A., Russell, J.: Environmental Psychology, p. 221. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1974)
Albert, M.: Characteristic individual reactions to preferred and unpreferred environments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 717–731 (1978)
Morkes, J., Flister, E.: Intuitive software, R&D Magazine, 66–69 (June 1999)
John, M., Kernal Hadyn, K., Clifford, N.: Effects of humor in task-oriented human-computer interaction and computer-mediated communication. HCI 14, 395–435 (1999)
Notebaert, J.F.: La création d’une relation entre le distributeur et le consommateur: une application au commerce électronique, PhD thesis, p. 347 (November 2005)
Jean-François, N.: La création d’un lien social via internet, in 5ème Journée nantaise de E-Marketing, Lemoine, J.-F. (ed.) Université de Nantes (September 2006)
Martin, O., Jeff, M.: Capturing the consumer: ensuring website stickiness, ADMAP World Advertising Research Center, pp. 21–24 (August 2000)
Whan, P.C., Mark, Y.S.: Consumer response to Television commercials. Journal of Consumer Research 23, 11–34 (1986)
Rosalind, P.: Affective computing, p. 292. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1998)
Rosalind, P., Jennifer, H.: Affective Wearables, MIT Medialab Technical Report n. 467; and in Personal Technologies, 1, pp. 231–240 (1997)
Rosalind, P., Jonathan, K.: Computers that recognize and respond to user emotion, MIT Medialab Tech Report n.538; and in Interacting with Computers (2001)
Patricia, S.: Influence de la musique sur les comportements des acheteurs en grandes surfaces de vente, PhD thesis, Université de Rennes I, p. 638 (1994)
Julie, S., Gordon II, B., Anand, K.: Webpage background and viewers attitude, Journal of Advertising Research, 29–34 (April 2000)
Yoram, W., Vijay, M., Robert, G.: Convergence Marketing, Strategies for reaching the new hybrid consumer, p. 336. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
de Diesbach, P.L., Midgley, D.F. (2007). Embodied Virtual Agents: An Affective and Attitudinal Approach of the Effects on Man-Machine Stickiness in a Product/Service Discovery. In: Harris, D. (eds) Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics. EPCE 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 4562. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73331-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73331-7_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-73330-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-73331-7
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)