AI-Chatbot Service Quality, User Trust, User Experience, and Electronic Word-of-Mouth as Drivers of Brand Loyalty: Evidence from Pakistan's Domestic Tourism Industry
Keywords:
AI-Chatbot Service Quality, Brand Loyalty, User Trust, User Experience, eWOM, S-O-R Model, Consumer Perceived Value, Pakistan Tourism, PERVALAbstract
Purpose: The study aims to examine the role of the service quality of AI chatbot (ACSQ) in the determination of the brand loyalty among the domestic tourists of Pakistan in the mediated role of user trust, user experience (UX) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), while the moderator is consumer perceived value (CPV).
Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey was conducted using a cross-sectional survey design and was administered to 207 domestic tourists who had interacted with AI-chatbots in tourism websites, on WhatsApp. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test hypotheses using SmartPLS 4.0 software.
Findings: ACSQ was shown to be significant for predicting user trust, UX, and eWOM. Moderation analysis revealed that CPV moderated the effects of trust, UX and eWOM on loyalty. The direct effect of CPV on loyalty was not significant, suggesting that CPV only has an indirect effect on loyalty.
Originality/Value: It is one of the first studies that empirically validated a fully integrated S-O-R and PERVAL framework in the AI-chatbot and tourism field set in a Muslim majority emerging market, and with theoretical and managerial implications that are context and nuanced.
