Why Do Retail Customers Adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) Based Autonomous Decision-Making Systems?

Abstract

Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have led to the development of autonomous decision-making processes, allowing customers to delegate decisions and tasks. Such technologies have the potential to alter the retailing landscape. Grounded in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and Hofstede's cultural theory, this article investigates customers’ adoption of AI-based autonomous decision-making processes by analyzing 454 customer responses using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The results reveal that effort expectancy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence are positively associated with customers’ adoption of autonomous decision-making processes. Collectivism strengthened the positive association of social influence with customer attitude, whereas uncertainty avoidance dampened the associations of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence with attitude. The findings provide useful implications for system developers and managers while providing future researchers with directions to further explore autonomous decision-making processes.