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TRUVACE RECORD VERSION
record: TRV-2026-2682
version: 1
kind: certified
reason: Certified into the record
timestamp: 2026-11-12T17:00:33.799327Z
status: published
lens: g_space
sector: science
headline: Effect of Chatbot Status on Members' Acceptance of Loyalty Programs: The Mediating Effect of Sense of Dominance
dek: ABSTRACT Loyalty programs sell status as much as savings. Yet this status promise is now often delivered by a chatbot rather than a human service employee. This research examines whether the social standing assigned to that chatbot as a subordinate assistant or a peer shapes consumers' loyalty program acceptance. Building on social dominance theory and research on status‐conferring loyalty programs, this research proposes that subordinate‐status chatbots increase program acceptance by heightening consumers' sens…
gain_title: In five experiments, consumers served by a subordinate-status chatbot accepted loyalty programs more often than those served by a peer-status chatbot, an effect mediated by feeling higher in the service hierarchy.
problem_title: (none)
trace_subject: (none)
gain_reading: In five experiments, consumers served by a subordinate-status chatbot accepted loyalty programs more often than those served by a peer-status chatbot, an effect mediated by feeling higher in the service hierarchy.
gain_evidence: Across five experiments, subordinate‐status chatbots increased consumers' loyalty program acceptance compared with peer‐status chatbots. | This effect was mediated by sense of dominance
problem_reading: (none)
problem_evidence: (none)
quick_read: A series of five experiments published in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour found that when a service chatbot was presented as a subordinate assistant, consumers were more likely to accept a loyalty program than when it was presented as a peer.

The researchers attribute the effect to sense of dominance, a momentary state in which consumers feel they hold a higher position in the immediate service hierarchy. A three-level test with subordinate, peer and superior chatbots, controlling for perceived warmth, social presence and perceived threat, supported this pathway.

The effect was not universal. It was stronger among agency-oriented consumers focused on personal achievement and disappeared among communion-oriented consumers. It also appeared only in low-arousal service settings; in high-arousal situations chatbot status had no influence.
limitation: The effect appeared only among agency-oriented consumers and in low-arousal service environments, and it vanished among communion-oriented consumers and in high-arousal situations.
tag: Evidence-backed gain
key_points: Subordinate-status chatbots increased loyalty program acceptance compared with peer-status chatbots across five experiments. | The effect was mediated by sense of dominance, a transient state of feeling higher in the service hierarchy. | A three-level manipulation included subordinate, peer and superior chatbot conditions. | Perceived warmth, social presence and perceived threat were controlled for. | The effect was stronger among agency-oriented consumers and disappeared among communion-oriented consumers. | It emerged only in low-arousal service environments and was neutralized in high-arousal situations.
rundown: The research builds on social dominance theory and work on status-conferring loyalty programs, noting that loyalty programs sell status as much as savings and that chatbots increasingly deliver that status promise in place of human employees.

Its core test compared how the chatbot's assigned social standing, a deferential assistant versus a peer, affected whether consumers accepted a loyalty program. The three-level design added a superior chatbot condition and statistically controlled for alternative explanations such as warmth, social presence and threat.

Boundary conditions came from consumer orientation and context. Agency-oriented consumers, who value personal achievement, responded to status-affirming cues, while communion-oriented consumers did not. Drawing on resource-matching ideas, the authors say consumers needed enough cognitive resources to notice subtle status signals, so the effect appeared only in low-arousal settings.
sources:
- peer_reviewed | Journal of Consumer Behaviour | https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.70184 | 2026-06-07
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