|
on Intellectual Property Rights |
| By: | Kypros Zantis (Cyprus University of Technology, 3036, Limassol, Cyprus Author-2-Name: Author-2-Workplace-Name: Author-3-Name: Author-3-Workplace-Name: Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | " Objective - Despite rapid growth in conversational AI adoption, the emotional mechanisms shaping AI-mediated purchase behavior remain underexplored. Grounded in Need to Belong Theory and Brand Equity, this study tests a moderated mediation model in which consumer loneliness influences purchase intentions through brand trust, with brand equity conditioning this indirect pathway. Methodology/Technique - A survey of 378 UK adults using conversational AI platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Copilot) was conducted via Prolific Academic. A scenario-based design manipulated brand equity (high vs. low), with data analyzed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The study tested direct, mediating, moderating, and conditional indirect effects. Findings - Consumer loneliness did not directly affect brand trust, yet brand trust strongly predicted purchase intention. Brand equity significantly moderated the loneliness–trust relationship, amplifying the indirect effect of loneliness on purchase intention through brand trust. High-equity brands converted loneliness-driven relational motivations into stronger trust and purchase intentions more effectively than low-equity brands, confirming the moderated mediation. Novelty - This study reconceptualizes consumer loneliness as a conditional relational motivator contingent on brand equity, repositions brand equity as a relational amplifier in conversational AI settings, and establishes brand trust as the affective conduit through which unmet belonging needs translate into purchase behavior — bridging consumer psychology, branding, and human–AI interaction research. Type of Paper - Empirical" |
| Keywords: | consumer loneliness; brand trust; brand equity; purchase intention; conversational AI; artificial intelligence; moderated mediation. |
| JEL: | M31 D91 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jmmr369 |
| By: | Garg, Prashant (Bocconi University); Lambert, Peter John (University of Warwick & London School of Economics); Martin, Ralf (Imperial College London, Centre for Economic Performance and CEPR); Medvedev, Denis (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper pilots a method for measuring firms' product and process innovation at scale. Our approach uses LLMs to complete a detailed innovation survey for a sample of 600, 000 companies operating across 40 countries. The preliminary results contain 6 million individual instances of innovative activity along with rich textual descriptions. These responses carry signal, for example a one-standard-deviation increase in a firm's product innovation index is associated with a 5% higher measured TFP residual. The data reveal that innovation is widespread: two-fifths of companies engage in product innovation and one-quarter in process innovation, far exceeding the share of patenting firms. Firms are more likely to have labor-augmenting than labor-saving introductions, while about 14% have green product in novation and 12% have green process innovation. Greenness and net labor augmentation are positively associated across countries. Beyond our specific application, this paper illustrates the potential for using LLMs to generate survey-level insights at population scale. |
| Keywords: | Innovation direction; Green innovation; Automation; LLMs; AI measurement; Patents JEL Classification: O30; O31; O33; O34; Q55; J24 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:825 |