“Let’s Talk about Socially Interactive Products”: How the Conversational Value of SIPs Explain Consumers’ Desire for the Technology
(R2023-117200)

AUTHORS

Wilson Bastos, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa

ABSTRACT

Consumers’ ability to talk with socially interactive products (SIPs) is at the heart of those products’ appeal. We examine the idea that besides talking with, consumers also value the opportunity to talk about SIPs. We show that products with (vs. without) voice functionality have greater conversational value, which explains consumers’ inclination to acquire them. Further, we identify a general concept (uniqueness) and, more precisely, which of its facets (unique product and unique identity) explain the conversational value differential. This work extends the SIP literature beyond the domain of consumers talking with the product to include consumers talking about it.