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The utilization of virtual agents, particularly chatbots, within healthcare and medical contexts is witnessing exponential growth owing to their capacity to provide comprehensive support to patients throughout their healthcare journey, by reshaping the healthcare business processes. Such transformation in healthcare service delivery processes is enabled by those digital entities able to offer a preliminary screening and consultation platform, facilitating patients’ interactions with real medical professionals. However, when redesigning processes through the integration of new technologies, particular attention to the reactions of end users cannot be neglected. Thus, the purpose of this paper is investigating how both chatbots' features and patients' individual differences may shape a redesigned/renewed service in the healthcare sector.

Through two experimental studies (Study 1 and Study 2), we examined the impact of chatbot tone of voice (formal vs unformal) on patients’ behavioral responses, particularly their intention to use.

Our investigation shed light on chatbots’ characteristics in terms of perceived warmth, denoting the friendliness and empathy conveyed by the chatbot, and competence, reflecting its effectiveness in addressing user queries or tasks, when used to reshape the service delivery process; Moreover, we also shed light on the moderating role of emotional receptivity seeking, indicating that the emotionality and non-verbal communication between doctor and patient, cannot be overlooked even in innovative digital environments.

Managers and marketers could leverage insights from this study to tailor chatbot interactions, optimizing tone of voice to enhance patient engagement and satisfaction. By focusing on perceived warmth and competence, they can design more effective digital health solutions. Additionally, recognizing the role of emotional receptivity can guide strategies for integrating chatbots in a way that maintains a human touch in patient communications.

Findings importantly underscore the relevance of chatbot in improving patient care, making digital interactions more empathetic and responsive. This relevance extends to business process management by demonstrating how integrating emotionally intelligent chatbots may contribute to better service delivery on the basis of personalized and effective healthcare experiences.

The originality of this paper is about the relevance of considering chatbots’ and final users’ characteristics to strategically plan healthcare services process redesign. Indeed, it examines chatbots' perceived warmth and competence in reshaping service delivery processes. Additionally, it highlights the moderating role of emotional receptivity seeking, emphasizing the importance of emotional communication in digital healthcare environments.

This study aims to examine the influence of digital financial literacy (DFL) on the financial well-being (FWB) of students in Andhra Pradesh, specifically exploring the factors of impulsivity and self-control. Both DFL and FWB are treated as multi-dimensional constructs in the study. The research delves into the impact of DFL dimensions, viz. digital financial knowledge, digital financial experience and digital financial skills, on both impulsivity and self-control. Subsequently, the study assesses the effects of impulsivity and self-control on financial well-being.

To gather data, a questionnaire-based survey method was employed, reaching 475 university students through purposive sampling. The study utilizes confirmatory factor analysis for scale validation and structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing.

The results reveal a significantly negative influence of digital financial knowledge (DFK), digital financial experience (DFE) and digital financial skills (DFS) on impulsivity, while demonstrating a significantly positive impact on self-control. Additionally, the study finds that impulsivity negatively affects financial well-being, whereas self-control has a positive impact. Focusing on higher education institutions in Andhra Pradesh, the research highlights students’ limited concern for long-term financial planning.

This study underscores the relevance of understanding the crucial role of digital financial literacy in enhancing their financial well-being. The implications of these research findings are substantial and can be utilized to shape educational programs for students in higher education institutions. Such programs can guide institutions in imparting knowledge and skills related to personal finance management, particularly in the context of the increasing digitalization of financial transactions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the information seeking behaviors of ChatGPT users. Specifically, we investigated how ChatGPT self-efficacy, ChatGPT characteristics and ChatGPT utility affect the frequency and duration of information seeking via ChatGPT. We also tested the mediating roles of ChatGPT characteristics and utility in the relationship between ChatGPT self-efficacy and information-seeking behaviors.

This study adopts a quantitative approach and collects data from 403 ChatGPT users using an online questionnaire. The data are analyzed using linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM).

The linear regression analyses revealed that ChatGPT self-efficacy is positively and significantly related to the information seeking behaviors in ChatGPT. Second, mediation analyses also showed that ChatGPT characteristics and utility significantly mediate the relationship between ChatGPT self-efficacy and information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT independently and sequentially.

This study is the first to investigate the factors and mechanisms that influence information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT, a new phenomenon in the media landscape. The findings in this study suggest that ChatGPT self-efficacy acts as an important motivator for information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT and that ChatGPT characteristics and utility provide information regarding potential mechanisms in the relationship between ChatGPT self-efficacy and information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT. The study contributes to the literature on information seeking, self-efficacy and generative AI.

Intellectual experiences focus on users’ information processing and critical thinking toward stimuli. The deployment of humanoid service robots as novel stimuli in tourism and hospitality has influenced users’ perceptions and may affect their intellectual engagement. This paper aims to connect four contemporary theoretical concepts: the service robot acceptance model, technological fear, the uncanny valley theory and the stereotype content model, to investigate users’ perceptions and intellectual experiences toward humanoid service robots.

Scale development procedures were conducted: literature review, checking face and content validity, factorizing items and dimensions, achieving construct and criterion validity and testing predictive validity.

Through literature review and free-response tasks, 43 measurement items were generated. Next, 1,006 samples from two cross-cultural groups refined the scale. Finally, a reliable and valid scale with four dimensions measuring users’ perceptions of humanoid service robots was determined.

Humanoid service robots should be designed to enhance functionality and innovativeness while minimizing stiffness, inflexibility, unsafety and danger to improve users’ intellectual engagement.

This study provides a novel examination of users’ intellectual experiences toward humanoid service robots by connecting four contemporary theories of users’ perceptions. This study enriches human–robot experience through an integrated perspective and presents a rigorous examination of the scale’s psychometric properties. A reliable and valid scale for measuring users’ perceptions toward humanoid service robots fills the gaps and serves as an effective predictor of intellectual experience in human–robot literature.

Consumer behavior is evolving rapidly due to the increasing role of technology in daily life. Online food ordering has emerged as a key channel in this changing landscape. This paper investigates the relationships between online promotions, consumer skepticism, information sharing on social media and the intention to purchase food and beverages through online delivery services.

Measures were developed based on a review of existing literature. Data from 402 participants were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

The study reveals that online promotions significantly impact consumers' sharing of restaurant posts. Additionally, consumer skepticism about online food sales affects both their sharing behavior and their intention to purchase online. Engagement in sharing restaurant posts online is a strong predictor of online food purchasing intentions.

The findings offer valuable insights for restaurant operators, policymakers and technology developers in the competitive online food delivery sector. They emphasize the importance of implementing innovative promotions and crafting appealing food presentations. These strategies can accelerate customer decision-making, attract new customers and contribute to market expansion and customer base sustainability.

This research provides significant insights for restaurant owners and contributes to the limited literature on online promotions, consumer skepticism and information sharing in the restaurant industry. It also lays the groundwork for future studies aimed at deepening understanding in this field.

The consumption of organic wine has witnessed exponential growth, mainly because of changing lifestyles, rising disposable income, modernity aspects and claimed health benefits. Understanding the motivations and attributes affecting organic wine consumption (OWC) provides a limited perspective on consumption and behavioral patterns.

This study used a set of screening criteria to arrive at the final choice of fine-dining restaurants and bars that serve wine in their outlets. Based on the selected locations, we gathered responses from 558 consumers aged 18 years and above with prior experience of buying organic and non-organic wine. The hypothesized model was validated using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). From the perspective of organic wine consumption, the research findings exhibit significant links between the drivers.

The findings underscore the moderating impact of ethnocentrism toward shaping consumers’ attitudes and brand love. Additionally, gender and consumption frequency indicated significant variations among consumers of organic wine. Female consumers strongly believe that consumption of organic wine provides health benefits, societal acceptance and moments of joy. Additionally, men usually associate wine consumption with enhanced their affective, convivial and sensory pleasure.

This study examines the drivers and marketing outcomes of organic wine consumption using Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT) and the Theory of Hedonic Asymmetry (THA).

This study aims to build on social comparison theory to develop a theoretical model of leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship to workplace ostracism through perceived organizational status by coworkers and envy. This study further proposes that warmth and competence may potentially moderate these two indirect effects.

This study tested the hypotheses in a battery manufacturing company located in South China by a survey of 216 employees organized in 55 work teams, using different sources. Additionally, the authors conduct two online vignette experiments to test this study’s mediation, proving the causality.

The authors found that high-level LMX leads to both envy and perceived organizational status by coworkers, which results in a mixed blessing on workplace ostracism toward the employee with high-level LMX. The focal employee’s warmth and competence moderate these indirect relationships.

The authors use LMX to explore antecedents of workplace ostracism and explain how and when these focal employees suffer workplace ostracism from their coworkers. The authors extend the research on LMX by examining the interpersonal risk of being a focal employee. The authors discover two critical boundary conditions – warmth and competence.

This study suggests that it is important to balance the level of the differential LMX; appropriately endorsing other members is a good way to avoid eliciting envy and opposition. Meanwhile, person-oriented citizenship behaviors such as demonstrations of concern or help may shortly build up an employee’s warm impression on their coworkers.

By discovering the bright and dark sides of LMX, this paper has the potential to advance theories on LMX and workplace ostracism. Therefore, the authors believe the current research will have an important impact on relevant research in the future.

This study aimed to analyze how online management response strategies affect observers’ purchase intentions, considering the moderation of complainant communication and failure severity.

A survey was conducted with 671 Brazilian consumers, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results show that quick and personalized responses increase the satisfaction of observers, who recognize the company’s competence and commitment. Clarity in communication with the complainant proved to be relevant, especially in the relationship between personalization and satisfaction, enhancing the effects of personalized webcare. For responsiveness, the moderating impact was less significant. The severity of the fault only had a significant effect on the relationship between personalization and satisfaction, suggesting that the impact of personalization is reduced in situations of greater severity.

This study reinforces the importance of adjusting webcare strategies according to context, prioritizing personalization in simple interactions and increasing efficiency in more critical situations. Companies must adapt their communication to the expectations of observers in order to maximize satisfaction and purchase intentions.

This study contributes to the literature by approaching online communication as a triad involving company-customers-observers, demonstrating how elements of online interactions moderate the effects of two important managerial response strategies on potential consumers’ purchase intentions.

This study aims to identify critical determinants of sovereign credit risk by examining the influence of oil prices, gold prices, geopolitical risk, market volatility, exchange rates, inflation and non-performing loans on Türkiye’s credit default swap (CDS) spreads. This analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of how economic uncertainty and political risk impact Türkiye’s financial stability, as reflected in its CDS market. This study investigates the importance of ex ante proxies in explaining changes in CDS spread by financial and economic indicators in Türkiye.

This research explores the connections between critical financial and economic indicators and the credit risk of Türkiye between 2009 and 2022 by using advanced econometric techniques such as ARDL bound tests, fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), Johansen co-integration tests and VECM Granger causality analyses.

ARDL bound test results reveal significant negative impacts of BIST and non-performing loans on CDS, and positive associations with inflation, VIX and geopolitical risk on CDSs. The short-term results show that BIST, INFL, NPL, USD, VIX and GPRT have negative coefficients. Johansen co-integration, FMOLS and DOLS results reinforce the ARDL findings. Moreover, BIST is a significant Granger cause of CDS.

This study is significant, as it jointly considers economic and political risk factors, thereby integrating multiple econometric models to provide more robust, meaningful and comparable results. By examining these factors together, the analysis offers a more comprehensive understanding of risk dynamics, yielding insights relevant to Türkiye. Although the findings are specific to Türkiye, they have broader implications, enriching the understanding of emerging economies. Türkiye’s status as a key representative of emerging markets strengthens the study’s value, as the results can serve as a reference point for other countries with similar economic structures. The importance of this study is also underscored by its potential to inform risk management strategies, guide policy decisions and offer insights to investors and financial analysts. By elucidating the intricate relationships among a broad spectrum of macroeconomic variables, this research contributes to a more comprehensive risk assessment framework. It equips stakeholders with a more informed perspective on the factors influencing credit risk in Türkiye’s economic landscape.

Innovative technologies have gained popularity in recent years as a means of improving workers' general well-being at work. Among these exciting new technologies is virtual reality (VR). With a focus on enhancing individual performance, this chapter explores the application of VR as a human resource (HR) intervention to improve spirituality in the workplace. To offer a theoretical foundation for comprehending the possible effects of VR interventions on workplace spirituality, this chapter thoroughly evaluates the literature on mindfulness, quantum consciousness and workplace spirituality. By integrating VR technology with the ideas of these theoretical frameworks, HR professionals may create interventions that foster employee effectiveness, resilience and personal growth. It has also been suggested that HR managers employ VR mindfulness and meditation sessions, virtual retreats, values alignment workshops, empathy-building simulations and spiritual reflection spaces as practical VR interventions to enhance workplace spirituality. To illustrate the usefulness of VR in enhancing workplace spirituality, a few companies that have successfully implemented VR therapies are also cited. Lastly, the challenges and moral dilemmas associated with utilising VR to promote workplace spirituality have been examined. These include privacy difficulties, possible biases in VR content and the requirement for ongoing evaluation and feedback techniques. This chapter highlights how VR has the potential to be a game-changing tool for improving workplace spirituality and boosting individual effectiveness.