Recent research has shown that consumers tend to behave more unethically when encountering artificial intelligence (AI) agents than with human agents. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the differential impact of AI agents on unethical consumer behavior. From the perspective of the power relationship between AI and consumers, we classify the role of an AI agent as that of a “servant” or “partner.” Across one field study and four scenario-based experiments (offline and online), we reveal that consumers are more likely to engage in unethical behavior when encountering servant AI agents than partner AI agents due to increased anticipatory moral disengagement. We also identify the boundary conditions for the moral disengagement effect of AI agents, finding that this effect is attenuated (a) among consumers with high moral identity, (b) with human-like AI agents, and (c) in the context of high behavioral visibility. This research provides new insight into the AI morality literature and has practical implications for service agencies using AI agents.
AcharChethanaDunnLea H.AgrawalNidhi (2022), “Tainted by Stigma: The Interplay of Stigma and Moral Identity in Health Persuasion,” Journal of Marketing Research, 59 (2), 392-410.
2.
AggarwalPankajMcGillAnn L. (2012), “When Brands Seem Human, Do Humans Act Like Brands? Automatic Behavioral Priming Effects of Brand Anthropomorphism,” Journal of Consumer Research, 39 (2), 307-23.
3.
AkhtarMuhammad WaheedGaravanThomasSyedFauziaHuoChunhuiJavedMuzharO’BrienFergal (2023), “Despotic Leadership and Front-Line Employee Deviant Work Behaviors in Service Organizations: The Roles of Moral Disengagement and Moral Identity,” Journal of Service Research, OnlineFirst.
4.
AnicichEric M.LeeAlice J.LiuShi (2022), “Thanks, But No Thanks: Unpacking the Relationship Between Relative Power and Gratitude,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48 (7), 1005-23.
5.
AquinoKarlReedAmericus (2002), “The Self-Importance of Moral Identity,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83 (6), 1423-40.
6.
BaldnerConradDi SantoDanielaTalamoAlessandraPierroAntonio (2020), “Sympathy as Knowledge of the Other in Need: An Investigation into the Roles of Need for Closure and the Moral Foundations on Sympathy Toward Immigrants,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 50 (4), 240-52.
7.
BanduraAlbert (1986). Social Foundations of Thought & Action: A Social Cognitive Theory, Prentice-Hall Series in Social Learning Theory. NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
8.
BanduraAlbert (2002), “Selective Moral Disengagement in the Exercise of Moral Agency,” Journal of Moral Education, 31 (2), 101-19.
9.
BanduraAlbertBarbaranelliClaudioCapraraGian VittorioPastorelliConcetta (1996), “Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement in the Exercise of Moral Agency,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71 (2), 364-74.
10.
BereczkeiTamasBirkasBelaKerekesZsuzsanna (2007), “Public Charity Offer as a Proximate Factor of Evolved Reputation-Building Strategy: An Experimental Analysis of a Real-Life Situation,” Evolution and Human Behavior, 28 (4), 277-84.
11.
BigmanYochanan E.WaytzAdamAlterovitzRonGrayKurt (2019), “Holding Robots Responsible: The Elements of Machine Morality,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23 (5), 365-68.
12.
BrislinRichard W. (1986), “The Wording and Translation of Research Instruments,” in Field Methods in Cross-Cultural Research, Cross-Cultural Research and Methodology Series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc, Vol. 8, 137-64.
13.
ChongTerrenceYuTingKeelingDebbie Isobelde RuyterKo (2021), “AI-Chatbots on the Services Frontline Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of Agency,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 63 (4), 102735.
14.
ChudyJennifer (2021), “Racial Sympathy and its Political Consequences,” Journal of Politics, 83 (1), 122-36.
15.
DeCellesKatherine A.DeRueD. ScottMargolisJoshua D.CeranicTara L. (2012), “Does Power Corrupt or Enable? When and Why Power Facilitates Self-Interested Behavior,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 97 (3), 681-89.
16.
DuboisDavidRuckerDerek D.GalinskyAdam D. (2015), “Social Class, Power, and Selfishness: When and Why Upper and Lower Class Individuals Behave Unethically,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108 (3), 436-49.
17.
DykstraVictoria W.WilloughbyTeenaEvansAngela D. (2020), “Lying to Friends: Examining Lie-Telling, Friendship Quality, and Depressive Symptoms Over Time During Late Childhood and Adolescence,” Journal of Adolescence, 84 (1), 123-35.
18.
Fast NathanaelJ.Schroeder Juliana (2020), Power and Decision Making: New Directions for Research in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Current Opinion in Psychology, 33, 172-76.
19.
FiskRayGroveStephenHarrisLloyd C.KeeffeDominique A.DauntKate L.BennettRebekah Russell‐WirtzJochen (2010), “Customers Behaving Badly: A State of the Art Review, Research Agenda and Implications for Practitioners,” Journal of Services Marketing, 24 (6), 417-29.
20.
GaiPhyliss JiaPuntoniStefano (2021), “Language and Consumer Dishonesty: A Self-Diagnosticity Theory,” Journal of Consumer Research, 48 (2), 333-51.
21.
GalinskyAdam D.MageeJoe C.GruenfeldDeborah H.WhitsonJennifer A.LiljenquistKatie A. (2008), “Power Reduces the Press of the Situation: Implications for Creativity, Conformity, and Dissonance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95 (6), 1450-66.
22.
GarveyAaron M.KimTaeWooDuhachekAdam (2023), “Bad News? Send an AI. Good News? Send a Human,” Journal of Marketing, 87 (1), 10-25.
23.
GirouxMarilynKimJungkeunLeeJacob C.ParkJongwon (2022), “Artificial Intelligence and Declined Guilt: Retailing Morality Comparison Between Human and AI,” Journal of Business Ethics, 178 (4), 1027-41.
24.
GratchJonathanFastNathanael J. (2022), The Power to Harm: AI Assistants Pave the Way to Unethical Behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47, 101382.
25.
GrayHeather M.GrayKurtWegnerDaniel M. (2007), “Dimensions of Mind Perception,” Science, 315 (5812), 619.
26.
GrayKurtWegnerDaniel M. (2012), “Feeling Robots and Human Zombies: Mind Perception and the Uncanny Valley,” Cognition, 125 (1), 125-30.
27.
GreeneMeredithLowKathryn (2014), “Public Integrity, Private Hypocrisy, and the Moral Licensing Effect,” Social Behavior and Personality, 42 (3), 391-400.
28.
HaQuang-AnChenJengchung VictorUyHa UyCapistranoErik Paolo (2021), “Exploring the Privacy Concerns in Using Intelligent Virtual Assistants Under Perspectives of Information Sensitivity and Anthropomorphism,” International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 37 (6), 512-27.
29.
HanBingDengXunFanHua (2023), “Partners or Opponents? How Mindset Shapes Consumers’ Attitude Toward Anthropomorphic Artificial Intelligence Service Robots,” Journal of Service Research, 26 (3), 441.
30.
HarrisLloyd C.HeHongwei (2019), “Retail Employee Pilferage: A Study of Moral Disengagement,” Journal of Business Research, 99 (1), 57-68.
31.
HasfordJonathanKidwellBlairHardestyDavid M.FarmerAdam (2022), “Your Cheatin’ Heart: How Emotional Intelligence and Selfishness Impact the Incidence of Consumer Fraud,” Journal of Consumer Research, 49 (1), 112-31.
32.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. New York: Guilford publications.
33.
HoCony M.LinSzu-HanWyerRobert S. (2021), “The Downside of Purchasing a Servant Brand: The Effect of Servant Brand Consumption on Consumer Charitable Behavior,” Psychology & Marketing, 38 (11), 2019-33.
34.
HuangMing-HuiRustRoland T. (2018), “Artificial Intelligence in Service,” Journal of Service Research, 21 (2), 155-72.
35.
HuangMing-HuiRustRoland T. (2021), “Engaged to a Robot? The Role of AI in Service,” Journal of Service Research, 24 (1), 30-41.
36.
HuangXinruJianLiYinmeiNi (2023), “Social Norm Modulates the Enhancement Effect of Behavioral Visibility on Altruistic Preference,” Acta Psychologica Sinica, 55 (3), 481.
37.
ImAngie YeonsookKimDae-Young (2023), “Understanding Disrespectful Tourist Behavior Through Tourists’ Stereotyped Perceptions,” Journal of Travel Research, OnlineFirst.
38.
KimHyeongmin ChristianKramerThomas (2015), “Do Materialists Prefer the ‘Brand-as-Servant’? The Interactive Effect of Anthropomorphized Brand Roles and Materialism on Consumer Responses,” Journal of Consumer Research, 42 (2), 284-99.
39.
KimSaraMcGillAnn L. (2011), “Gaming with Mr. Slot or Gaming the Slot Machine? Power, Anthropomorphism, and Risk Perception,” Journal of Consumer Research, 38 (1), 94-107.
40.
KimTaeWooLeeHyejinKimMichelle YoosunKimSunAhDuhachekAdam (2023), “AI Increases Unethical Consumer Behavior due to Reduced Anticipatory Guilt,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 51 (4), 785-801.
41.
KoebisNilsBonnefonJean-FrancoisRahwanIyad (2021), “Bad Machines Corrupt Good Morals,” Nature Human Behaviour, 5 (6), 679-85.
42.
KrcmarMarinaMcgloinRoryScott LiShu (2018), “What is My Call of Duty?’: Exploring the Importance of Player Experience in a First-Person Shooter Video Game,” Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, 10 (2), 167-87.
43.
LianHuiwenHuaiMingyunFarhJiing-LihHuangJia-ChiLeeCynthiaChaoMelody M. (2022), “Leader Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior and Employee Unethical Conduct: Social Learning of Moral Disengagement as a Behavioral Principle,” Journal of Management, 48 (2), 350-79.
44.
LinardiSeraMcConnellMargaret A. (2011), “No Excuses for Good Behavior: Volunteering and the Social Environment,” Journal of Public Economics, 95 (5–6), 445-54.
45.
MageeJoe C.SmithPamela K. (2013), “The Social Distance Theory of Power,” Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17 (2), 158-86.
46.
MazarNinaAmirOnArielyDan (2008a), “The Dishonesty of Honest People: A Theory of Self-Concept Maintenance,” Journal of Marketing Research, 45 (6), 633-44.
47.
MazarNinaAmirOnArielyDan (2008b), “More Ways to Cheat: Expanding the Scope of Dishonesty,” Journal of Marketing Research, 45 (6), 650-53.
48.
MazarNinaArielyDan (2006), “Dishonesty in Everyday Life and its Policy Implications,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 25 (1), 117-26.
49.
McAuliffeKatherineBlakePeter R.WarnekenFelix (2020), “Costly Fairness in Children is Influenced by Who is Watching,” Developmental Psychology, 56 (4), 773-82.
50.
McLeayFraserOsburgVictoria SophieYoganathanVigneshPattersonAnthony (2021), “Replaced by a Robot: Service Implications in the Age of the Machine,” Journal of Service Research, 24 (1), 104-21.
51.
MendeMartinScottMaura L.van DoornJennyGrewalDhruvShanksIlana (2019), “Service Robots Rising: How Humanoid Robots Influence Service Experiences and Elicit Compensatory Consumer Responses,” Journal of Marketing Research, 56 (4), 535-56.
52.
MillsPaulGroeningChristopher (2021), “The Role of Social Acceptability and Guilt in Unethical Consumer Behavior: Following the Crowd or Their Own Moral Compass?,” Journal of Business Research, 136 (1), 377-88.
53.
MitchellVince W.GeorgeBalabanisSchlegelmilchBodo B.Bettina CornwellT. (2009), “Measuring Unethical Consumer Behavior Across Four Countries,” Journal of Business Ethics, 88 (2), 395-412.
54.
MooreCeliaDetertJames R.Klebe TrevinoLindaBakerVicki L.MayerDavid M. (2012), “Why Employees Do Bad Things: Moral Disengagement and Unethical Organizational Behavior,” Personnel Psychology, 65 (1), 1-48.
55.
NewmanAlexanderLeHuongNorth-SamardzicAndreaCohenMichael (2020), “Moral Disengagement at Work: A Review and Research Agenda,” Journal of Business Ethics, 167 (3), 535-70.
56.
NobleStephanie M.MendeMartin (2023), “The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in the Retail and Service Sector: Sketching the Field of Consumer-Robot-Experiences,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 51 (4), 747-56.
57.
NovakThomas P.HoffmanDonna L. (2019), “Relationship Journeys in the Internet of Things: A New Framework for Understanding Interactions Between Consumers and Smart Objects,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47 (2), 216-37.
OgunfoworaBabatundeNguyenViet QuanSteelPiersHwangChristine C. (2022), “A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Antecedents, Theoretical Correlates, and Consequences of Moral Disengagement at Work,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 107 (5), 746-75.
60.
PitardiValentinaWirtzJochenPaluchStefanieKunzWerner H. (2022), “Service Robots, Agency and Embarrassing Service Encounters,” Journal of Service Management, 33 (2), 389-414.
61.
RaiDipankarWeiChien-LinWilson)YangChun-MingSaint ClairJulian K. (2023), “Work with Me or Work for Me: The Effect of Brand Roles Depends on Implicit Theories of Self-Change,” Journal of Consumer Psychology. Advance online publication.
62.
RingChristopherKavussanuMaria (2018), “The Role of Self-Regulatory Efficacy, Moral Disengagement and Guilt on Doping Likelihood: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective,” Journal of Sports Sciences, 36 (5), 578-84.
63.
SchweitzerFionaBelkRussellJordanWernerOrtnerMelanie (2019), “Servant, Friend or Master? The Relationships Users Build With Voice-Controlled Smart Devices,” Journal of Marketing Management, 35 (7–8), 693-715.
64.
ShankarVenkatesh (2018), “How Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Reshaping Retailing,” Journal of Retailing, 94 (4), vi-xi.
65.
SteinJan-PhilippCimanderPaulaAppelMarkus (2022), “Power-Posing Robots: The Influence of a Humanoid Robot’s Posture and Size on its Perceived Dominance, Competence, Eeriness, and Threat,” International Journal of Social Robotics, 14 (6), 1413-22.
66.
WangLuxiaoGu DianJiang JiangSunYing (2019), The Not-So-Dark Side of Materialism: Can Public Versus Private Contexts Make Materialists Less Eco-Unfriendly?Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 790.
67.
WaytzAdamCacioppoJohnEpleyNicholas (2010), “Who Sees Human?: The Stability and Importance of Individual Differences in Anthropomorphism,” Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5 (3), 219-32.
68.
WirtzJochenKumDoreen (2004), “Consumer Cheating on Service Guarantees,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32 (2), 159-75.
69.
WirtzJochenPattersonPaul G.KunzWerner H.GruberThorstenLuVinh NhatPaluchStefanieMartinsAntje (2018), “Brave New World: Service Robots in the Frontline,” Journal of Service Management, 29 (5), 907-31.
70.
XieLishanLeiShaohui (2022), “The Nonlinear Effect of Service Robot Anthropomorphism on Customers’ Usage Intention: A Privacy Calculus Perspective,” International Journal of Hospitality Management, 107 (4), 103312.
71.
YakutEnis (2021), “An Overview of Moral Disengagement in Consumer Studies,” Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 9 (2), 541-51.
72.
YounSeounmiJinS. Venus (2021), “In A.I. We Trust?’ The Effects of Parasocial Interaction and Technopian Versus Luddite Ideological Views on Chatbot-Based Customer Relationship Management in the Emerging ‘Feeling Economy,” Computers in Human Behavior, 119 (3), 106721.
73.
ZhangChaoWeiXuhua (2023), “Differentiating the Effects of Power and Status on Unethical Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Business and Psychology,39 (4), 1-26.
74.
ZhangLixuanAmosClintonPentinaIryna (2024), “Interplay of Rationality and Morality in Using ChatGPT for Academic Misconduct,” Behaviour & Information Technology, Advance online publication.
75.
ZhouYijinMaoShimanChenXiaoyan (2020), “Status Compensation: The Effect of Brand Anthropomorphism ‘Brand as a Servant’ on Purchase Intention,” Foreign Economics & Management, 42 (2), 43-58.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
