Artificial Intelligence (AI) is adopted fast and wide across consumer industries and digital marketing. This new technology has the potential to enhance online customer experience and outcomes of customer experience. However, research relating to the impact of AI is still developing and empirical evidence sparse. Taking a consumercentred approach and by adopting Social Response Theory as theoretical lens, this research addresses an overall research question pertaining to the implications of online customer experience with AI on consumer behaviour. A quantitative research strategy with positivist approach is adopted to gather a large sample (n= 489) of online consumers who have previously interacted with AI-enabled technology. The collected data is analysed statistically utilising Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Empirical findings show strong positive effects of anthropomorphism of AI, para-social interaction with AI, and performance expectancy of AI on all three customer experience dimensions of informativeness, entertainment and social presence. Additionally, there is strong statistical support for the positive effect of informativeness and social presence on continued purchase intentions (β= .379 and β= .315), while the effects of entertainment are less strong. The mediating effects of customer experience have been assessed, highlighting social presence as most important mediator. This research contributes to knowledge by extending previous customer experience theory and quantifying the influence of online customer experience with AI on purchase intentions and eWOM. The theoretical insights also translate into direct implications for marketing practice relating to the design, integration, and implementation of more consumer- and outcome-oriented AI applications. / Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences studentship

This bachelor's degree thesis aims to increase the understanding of how chatbots affect the digital customer experience within Swedish banks. Furthermore, this study examines how bank chatbot's technical quality affects the digital customer experience. In this thesis, the authors have chosen to use a deductive approach and a quantitative research strategy. Moreover, the authors used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program to process the collected quantitative data from the questionnaires. The thesis empirical findings were analyzed and discussed in correlation to previous research to strengthen the research results. The thesis empirical findings demonstrate that 42.9% of the respondents agreed with the statement; My bank's chatbot technology quality improved my customer satisfaction. Moreover, the correlation analysis showed that customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction linked to technical quality had a strong positive correlation between the concepts. Swedish banks could use the information to develop further their chatbots' technical quality, which would reduce customer service costs and influence how customers visit the bank. The thesis research results can also be applied and used by other industries that want to improve or implement chatbots in their digital business.

The digital revolution is changing the banking industry, and how banks create value and deliver services to their customers. Customer experience becomes the main pillar of digitally transformed banks through self-service technologies (SSTs) and the use of artificial intelligence (AI); the research focus of this study is to explore the impact of those modern technologies when dealing with sensitive information and emotional encounters in the banking sector. A case study method has been used with an in-depth investigation consisting of both internal and external interviews for Valhalla Bank in Sweden. External interview results presented the debtor’s perspective by laying out the main challenges faced during the repayment process. The study concluded by answering the main research questions and suggesting practical implications for financial institutions. Banks should proactively seek both explicit and latent needs of different customer segments; any customer interaction data has the potential to become the source of optimizing call scheduling, script customization, or customer experience evaluation. Customers expect flexibility to choose between human interaction and self-service technologies. Sensitive topics can be dealt with digital tools when they can provide advanced functionality with maturity to establish trust and security. Lastly, even though the technology is perceived as cold with a lack of empathy, customers are ready to experiment as they are not comfortable nor satisfied with the current interactions. Regardless of the state of the digital journey of a financial institution, customers should be well-informed about technologies while banks prioritize ethical controls to provide transparent relationships in which any type of customer can feel valued. / Den digitala revolutionen förändrar banksektorn och hur banker skapar värde och levererar tjänster till sina kunder. Kundupplevelse blir huvudpelaren för digitalt transformerade banker genom självbetjäning tekniker (SST) och användningen av artificiell intelligens (AI). Forskningsfokus för denna studie är att undersöka effekterna av den moderna tekniken när man hanterar känslig information och känslomässiga möten inom banksektorn. En fallstudiemetod har använts med en djupgående undersökning bestående av både interna och externa intervjuer för Valhalla Bank i Sverige. Externa intervjuresultat presenterade gäldenärens perspektiv genom att redogöra för de största utmaningarna under återbetalning processen. E-bank kanaler och lösningar har dominerat kundernas preferenser med en hoppfull syn på att bygga upp förtroende för relativt ny teknik. Studien avslutades med att besvara de viktigaste forskningsfrågorna och föreslå praktiska konsekvenser för finansinstituten. Banker bör proaktivt söka både tydliga och latenta behov för olika kundsegment, samtidigt som deras mest värdefulla tillgång är kundernas digitala fotavtryck. Alla kundinteraktion data har potential att bli källan till att optimera samtals planering, anpassning av skript eller utvärdering av kundupplevelse. Kunder förväntar sig flexibilitet och frihet att välja mellan mänsklig interaktion och självbetjänings teknik. Känsliga ämnen kan hanteras med digitala verktyg när de kan ge avancerad funktionalitet med mognad för att skapa förtroende och säkerhet. Slutligen, även om tekniken upplevs som ”kall” med brist på empati och känslor, särskilt när det gäller komplexa och känsliga uppgifter som skuldfrågor, är kunderna redo att experimentera eftersom de inte är bekväma eller nöjda med de nuvarande mänskliga interaktionerna. Oavsett tillståndet för en finansiell instituts digitala resa bör kunderna vara välinformerade om ny teknik medan bankerna prioriterar etisk kontroll med detaljerade handlingsplaner för att ge en nära och transparent relation där alla typer av kunder kan känna sig värderade och förstådda.

I denna uppsats så undersöks digitala beställningsplattformar som har blivit en integrerad del irestaurangbranschen genom att dessa parter tillsammans integrerar sina resurser för att någemensamma mål. Denna integration har påverkat tjänstemarknadsföringen och äventjänstekvaliteten. Syftet med arbetet är att få en tydligare bild om hur kundupplevelsen har påverkatsav att digitala mellanhänder har fått större kontroll över tjänstemarknadsföringen. Undersökningenutgjordes av sekundärdata i form av tidigare undersökningar samt semi-strukturerade intervjuer medkunder som tidigare beställt genom digitala beställningsplattformar för mat. Intervjuerna gavinformation om subjektiva känslor, förväntningar och upplevelser som vi sedan jämfört med tidigareundersöknignar och vårt teoretiska ramverk. Undersökningen kom fram till att digitalabeställningsplattformar påverkar kundupplevelsen positivt genom sin tjänstemarknadsföring men attdet fortfarande finns stora brister i de digitala beställningsplattformarnas tjänstekvalitet vilket skaparstor variation i kundernas individuella upplevelser.

Accessible web design is crucial for creating equal access to the internet for everyone. While numerous guidelines and standards exist to promote accessibility, it is often of low priority among professionals and unfortunately many websites remain inaccessible to people with disabilities. Accessible web design is often seen as a checkbox task, believed to decrease usability for people without disabilities, to result in less attractive designs, and be economically challenging to justify. Previous research has disproved some of these beliefs by demonstrating that accessible design enhances usability for all users. However, there remains a gap in research regarding the economic incentives associated with accessible design.  Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate the impact of accessible web design on purchase intentions and customer experience. This was done by evaluating and redesigning an existing website for accessibility and subsequently conducting comparative testing between the two versions of the website.  The comparative testing consisted of A/B and user testing. Purchase intention was measured using statements derived from prior studies, alongside statements measuring concepts related to purchase intention. Furthermore, the customer experience was assessed using the After Scenario Questionnaire (ASQ), the System Usability Scale (SUS), and conducting user interviews.  The results show that accessible redesign positively influences purchase intentions and indicate that one possible primary contributor to this is an increase in information quality on the website. The customer experience showed no significant differences between the two versions, although user interviews revealed a small rise in user preference for the more accessible version.  In conclusion, this study shows that a redesign with a focus on accessibility increases user intentions to purchase while at the same time not decreasing the customer experience on the website. Hopefully, these results can contribute to creating a more accessible web for all users.

Titel: Den digitaliserade revisionsprocessens konsekvenser för kundupplevelsen - En kvalitativ studie av revisorn och kundens perspektiv Författare: Måns Bertilsson och Oscar Sjöberg Handledare: Hans Landström Bakgrund: Digitaliseringen har haft en betydande påverkan på revisionsbranschen genom att effektivisera processer och möjliggör analyser baserade på stora datamängder. En av de mest märkbara förändringarna är att kontakten mellan revisorer och kunder har blivit mer distansbaserad. Detta examensarbete syftar till att beskriva och analysera hur digitaliseringen har påverkat olika delar av revisionsprocessen, inklusive planering, granskning och rapportering, samt hur detta påverkat kundernas upplevelse av revisionen. Studien jämför revisorns och kundens perspektiv för att identifiera eventuella skillnader i upplevelsen av samma process. Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att beskriva och analysera hur revisorer upplever att digitaliseringen har påverkat revisionsprocessens olika delar, planering, granskning och rapportering. Vidare ämnar studien att beskriva och analysera vilka effekter digitaliseringen har på kundens upplevelse av revisionens olika delar. Slutligen ska de två perspektiven jämföras för att se om det föreligger skillnader i upplevelsen av samma process. Frågeställning: Hur upplever revisorer och kunder revisionen till följd av en ökad digitalisering av revisionsprocessen? Metod: Studien är kvalitativ med en abduktiv forskningsansats. Informationsinhämtningen har skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem revisorer och fem kunder till revision. Slutsatser: Studiens slutsatser visar på att digitaliseringen har effektiviserat revisionsprocessen och ökat kvaliteten av revisionen. Den högre kvaliteten märks inte av kunden. Kundernas grad av digitalisering har en viss påverkan på hur en revision utförs. En annan slutsats är att kontakten mellan revisor och kund blivit mer distansbaserad, vilket båda parter kan uppskatta när det gäller effektivitetsvinster. Däremot har det lett till att kunderna saknar den personliga kontakten. / Title: The consequences of the digitalized audit process on customer experience - A qualitative study of auditors and customers perspective Authors: Måns Bertilsson and Oscar Sjöberg Supervisor: Hans Landström Background: Digitalization has had a significant impact on the auditing industry by streamlining processes and enabling analyses based on large amounts of data. One of the most noticeable changes is that the contact between auditors and clients has become more distance-based. This thesis aims to describe and analyze how digitalization has affected various parts of the auditing process, including planning, examination, and reporting, as well as how this has influenced the clients experience of the audit. The study compares the auditors and the clients perspectives to identify any differences in the experience of the same process. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe and analyze how auditors perceive the impact of digitalization on the audit process, including planning, examination and reporting. Furthermore, the study aims to describe and analyze the effect of digitalization on the clients experience on the various parts of the audit. Lastly, the two perspectives will be compared to identify if there are any differences in the perception of the same process. Research question: How do auditors and clients perceive the audit as a result of increased digitization of the audit process? Method: The study is qualitative with an abductive research approach. Data collection has been conducted through semi-structured interviews with five auditors and five clients of audit. Conclusions: The study's conclusions show that digitalization has made the audit process more efficient and increased the quality of the audit. The higher quality is not noticed by the customer. The customer's level of digitalization has a certain influence on how an audit is carried out. Another conclusion is that the contact between auditor and client has become more distance-based, which both parties can appreciate in terms of efficiency. However, this has led to customers missing the personal contact.

[pt] Vários setores têm buscado inovações a partir da transformação digital (TD). No entanto, há uma grande diversidade de definições da TD, o que dificulta seu entendimento e aplicação prática. Paralelamente à TD, as tecnologias digitais têm apresentado uma nova perspectiva para estratégias e processos de negócios, produtos e serviços. A TD inclui o relacionamento com fornecedores e clientes e envolve diferentes setores e indústrias, gerando oportunidades para novas estratégias de negócios. O escopo da pesquisa inclui o setor de telecomunicações, um dos segmentos de base para a TD, responsável pelas transmissões de dados, serviços móveis e banda larga. Apesar de sua importância, faltam pesquisas que abordem esse setor e as transformações digitais de seus processos de negócios. A dissertação compreende duas etapas para entender conceitualmente a TD e observar os facilitadores, barreiras e resultados desse fenômeno nos processos de negócios. A primeira é uma revisão sistemática da literatura que resultou na estruturação de um framework analítico da TD. Ela fundamenta a segunda etapa sob forma de um estudo de caso em uma empresa nacional de telecomunicações, contrastando os achados da literatura com um caso real. A pesquisa contribui com um framework unificado para análise e implementação da TD, evidenciando que os processos de mudança ocorrem na organização, em sua cadeia de suprimentos, atingindo toda a indústria neste setor e à sociedade em geral em particular, devido à interação empresa e serviço ao cliente, trazendo um melhor entendimento dos processos de TD relacionados à experiência do cliente no setor de telecomunicações, servindo de guia para pesquisas futuras e gerenciamento de iniciativas. / [en] Several sectors have sought innovations from digital transformation (DT). However, a great diversity of DT definitions makes its understanding and practical application difficult. Parallel to DT, digital technologies have presented a new perspective for business strategies and processes, products and services. TD includes relationships with suppliers and customers. It involves different sectors and industries, generating opportunities for new business strategies. The scope of the research includes the telecommunications sector, one of the key segments for digital transformation. It is the sector responsible for data transmissions, mobile services and broadband. Despite its importance there is a lack of research on the sector and the digital transformations of its business processes. The dissertation comprises two steps to conceptually understand DT and observe the facilitators, barriers and results of this phenomenon in business processes. The first is a systematic review of the literature that resulted in structuring an analytic digital transformation framework. It supports the second stage as a case study in a national telecommunications company, contrasting the literature findings with a real case. The research contributes with a framework for analysis and implementation of TD, evidencing that the processes of change occur in the organization, in its supply chain, reaching the entire industry in this sector and society in general, in particular due to the interaction company and customer service, bringing a better understanding of the TD processes related to the customer experience in the telecommunications sector, serving as a guide for future research and management of initiatives.

Titel - En gallerias kommersiella miljö: Besökarens individuella upplevelse Ämne - Företagsekonomi, kandidatuppsats på C-nivå Författare - Hilda Gustafsson, My Kristiansson & Camilla Romberg Handledare - Dan Halvarsson Frågeställningar - Hur är den individuella besöksupplevelsen i en gallerias kommersiella miljöer, utifrån människans fem sinnen och dess multisensoriska sinnesupplevelse? Vad påverkar den individuella besöksupplevelsen i en gallerias kommersiella miljöer, utifrån människans fem sinnen och dess multisensoriska sinnesupplevelse? Syfte - Syftet med denna studie är att studera och skapa förståelse för hur besökaren uppmärksammar en gallerias kommersiella miljö, samt hur denna miljö påverkar besökarens individuella upplevelse utifrån sinnesmarkandsföring. Detta då få studier inom ämnet i sinnesmarkandsföring har genomförts. Metod - Studien innefattar ett induktivt synsätt och en kvalitativ metod. Studien har fokuserat på två torg som finns i gallerian Emporia i Malmö. Där har det utförts semistrukturerade intervjuer vid insamling av empirisk data. Analys - Utgångspunkten i studien är sinnesmarknadsföring, som handlar om hur olika sinnen enskilt samt i kombination har stimulerat besökare och påverkat deras upplevelse i en galleria. Empirin har sedan sammankopplats med teorier inom sinnesmarknadsföring. Slutsats - Båda torgen väckte stor uppmärksamhet hos intervjupersonerna. Generellt upplevdes det Gröna torget som positivt för intervjupersonerna medan det Blå torget upplevdes som både positivt och negativt. / Title - The servicescape in a shopping mall: The visitors’ individual experience Subject - Business Economics, bachelor thesis Authors - Hilda Gustafsson, My Kristiansson & Camilla Romberg Tutor - Dan Halvarsson Presentation of the questions - How is the visitors’ individual experience in a shopping mall, on the basis of the human five senses and multisensory? What affects the visitors’ individual experience in a shopping malls servicescape, on the basis of the human five senses and multisensory? Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study and create an understanding of how the visitor recognizes the shopping mall produced servicescapes, and how this servicescapes affects the visitor's individual experience based on sensory marketing. This is because few studies are conducted on the subject sensory marketing. Method - The study includes an inductive approach and a qualitative method. The study have been focused on two servicescapes that are in the shopping mall Emporia in Malmö, where there were used semi-structured interviews to gather empirical data. Analyse - The starting point was based on sensory marketing. It was about how different senses individually and combined had stimulated visitors and affected their experience in a shopping mall. The empirical data has then been linked with theories of sensory marketing. Conclusions - Both of the servicescapes attracted attention from the interviewed people. The interviewed people at the Green servicescape had a positive experience and at the Blue servicescape, did they have both positive and negative experience.

The analysis of the concept of customer experience, the types and peculiarities of customer experience, the concepts of experience and experiential marketing, the meaning and differences between these two concepts, the main aspects and peculiarities of these concepts are presented in the theoretical part of the thesis. This part of the paper also focuses on the explanation of the concept of hospitality and the composition of the sector of hospitality services. The peculiarities of hospitality customers, their experiences and application of experience marketing in the sector of hospitality are also explained in the theoretical section. The theoretical modelling of the effect of hospitality customers on customer satisfaction and intentions was made after the analysis of all the concepts mentioned. In order to reason the methodology of future research, the second part of the paper presents the empirical studies performed by other scientists. The methodological reasoning of research, instruments, logical structure of research and description of research process are described in the second part of the thesis. The third part of the paper presents research results and their interpretations regarding the effect of customer experience on satisfaction and intentions of hospitality customers based on experience marketing. Research results permits to confirm the hypotheses of the research and show the strength and relationships between variables researched. Having considered research... [to full text] / Teorinėje disertacijos darbo dalyje išnagrinėta vartotojų patirties sąvoka, išanalizuoti vartotojų patirties tipai, pateikiant jų sampratas ir ypatumus, pateikta patirties ir patyriminio marketingo sąvokos, išsiaiškinta šių sąvokų prasmė ir skirtumai, bei pateikiami pagrindiniai šios koncepcijos aspektai ir ypatumai. Išanalizuota svetingumo samprata bei apibrėžta svetingumo paslaugų sektoriaus sudėtis. Pateikti svetingumo paslaugų vartotojų ir jų patirčių bei patirties marketingo taikymo ypatumai šiame sektoriuje. Atlikus šių koncepcijų analizę, atliktas svetingumo paslaugų vartotojų patirties poveikio vartotojų pasitenkinimui ir ketinimams teorinis modeliavimas. Antrojoje darbo dalyje, norint pagrįsti būsimo tyrimo metodologiją, aptarti kitų mokslininkų atlikti empiriniai tyrimai. Pateikiamas metodologinis tyrimo pagrindimas, instrumentarijai, loginė tyrimo struktūra ir tyrimo proceso aprašymas. Trečiojoje darbo dalyje yra pateikiami vartotojų patirties poveikio svetingumo paslaugų vartotojų pasitenkinimui ir ketinimams patirties marketingo pagrindu tyrimo rezultatai ir jų interpretacijos. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė darbe keliamų hipotezių patvirtinimą bei stiprumą ir ryšius tarp tiriamų kintamųjų. Gavus tyrimo rezultatus, atskiriems svetingumo paslaugų sektoriams yra pateikiamos rekomendacijos, kaip vertinti ir valdyti skirtingas vartotojų patirtis.

Background: Organizations are continuously challenged to create differentiated customer value and experience to increase profitability and gain competitive advantage. At the same time, the fast-paced advancement of technologies provides the opportunity to the organizations to create a differentiated customer value by offering innovative products and services. Internet of things (IoTs) is one such emerging technology that brings within itself opportunities and challenges to be addressed. However, so far research has not sufficiently followed how the utilization of IoTs can enhance customer value and experience. Purpose: The purpose of conducting this study is to explore how the utilization of IoTs enhance customer value and experience in an equipment manufacturers context and what are the associated opportunities and challenges. The study also aims to contribute to gap identified in the literature about how organizations can utilize IoTs to enhance customer value and experience. Method: The qualitative study utilized a single instrumental case study to explore the research questions. The data is collected by conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews. Conclusion: The study reveals that the utilization of IoTs can significantly improve customer value and experience in many ways. This may involve enabling user to monitor, control and optimally use the equipment, sharing useful information, allowing value co-creation and synergistic values and finally by providing autonomous equipment’s or solutions. However, the study also reveals that the utilization of IoTs also pose certain challenges along with the opportunities which must be carefully evaluated.