SDL, qualitative research on service chatbots’ co-destruction impact on consumer ecosystem.

Abstract: This study is rooted in the Service Dominant Logic (SDL) theory and explores the phenomenon of value co-destruction, the context being chatbot-mediated customer service, with a focusing on chatbots affiliation with value-co-destruction and on the impacts outsideof the dyadic relationship between the service provider and receiver, described as the broader consumer ecosystem. It is evident that the relationship between businesses and consumers is being revolutionized through the implementation of chatbots, claiming benefits such as improved operational efficiency, and non-time specific service. However, Plé (2017) argues that SDL research is overly focused on value co-creation and not enough on value codestruction, as well as being too narrowly focused on specific factors, therefore more studies are needed in exploring the effects on the broader ecosystem involved. Therefore, this study aims to explore the value co-destruction and its effects on the broader consumer ecosystem. The research was conducted using a qualitative method, through an interpretivist research philosophy to collect data in the form of the subjective and personal experiences of customers. It also utilized an abductive approach to allow for the generation of new insights through combining established knowledge, empirical evidence, and theory to formulate a proposition and interpretation beyond what is initially apparent. Through semi-structured interviews, 9 participants with prior experiences of customer service orientated interactions with chatbots across various industries were conducted. To analyze the data, a thematic analysis was employed where the findings indicate that in chatbot interactions which result in value co-destruction the effects affect a broader number of stakeholders in the consumer ecosystem such as family and friends.