The transformative potential of AI-enabled personalization across cultures
Abstract
Purpose
The widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled personalization has sparked a need for a deeper understanding of its transformative potential. To address this, this study aims to investigate the mental models held by consumers from diverse cultures regarding the impact and role of AI-enabled personalization in their lives (i.e. individual well-being) and in society (i.e. societal well-being).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the theories-in-use approach, collecting qualitative data via the critical incident technique. This data encompasses 487 narratives from 176 consumers in two culturally distinct countries, Belgium and Pakistan. Additionally, it includes insights from a focus group of six experts in the field.
Findings
This research reveals that consumers view AI-enabled personalization as a dual-edged sword: it may both extend and restrict the self and also contribute to an affluent society as well as an ailing society. The particular aspects of the extended/restricted self and the affluent/ailing society that emerge differ across respondents from different cultural contexts.
Originality/value
This cross-cultural research contributes to the personalization and well-being literature by providing detailed insight into the transformative potential of AI-enabled personalization while also having important managerial and policy implications.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Bart Larivière and Khalid Mehmood acknowledge support from the internal funds, KU Leuven (STG-18–067). The authors would like to sincerely thank Axelle Buffel and Steffi Wulbrecht for their help in gathering data. During the preparation of this work the authors used ChatGPT-GPT4.0 to check the spelling and writing of some of the included sentences. After using this tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.
The authors would like to thank the members of the Center for Service Intelligence, the reviewers of Interactive Marketing Research Conference 2021, the participants of the Belgian Service Research Day 2022, the reviewers of the 2022 and 2023 Frontiers in Service Conference for their constructive feedback on earlier drafts of this paper. Additionally, the authors would like to thank the review team for their constructive comments on earlier drafts of this article.
Citation
Mehmood, K., Verleye, K., De Keyser, A. and Lariviere, B. (2024), "The transformative potential of AI-enabled personalization across cultures", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2023-0286
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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