Appreciation vs. apology: Research on the influence mechanism of chatbot service recovery based on politeness theory

Failures in human-chatbot interactions are becoming inevitable such as failure of chatbots to maintain contextual awareness. Thus, an effective service recovery strategy is essential for e-commerce enterprises to restore customers and resolve their complaints. Therefore, based on politeness theory, this study explores the fundamental mechanism and boundary conditions for a chatbot politeness strategy (appreciation vs. apology) on consumers' post-recovery satisfaction using four scenario-based experiments. The results indicate that establishing a good human-chatbot relationship (appreciation) is a more effective recovery strategy than admitting the chatbot's limited competence (apology) in redressing service failures; face concern mediates the effect of the politeness strategy on post-recovery satisfaction; and time pressure plays a moderating role in the effect of the politeness strategy on face concern and post-recovery satisfaction. This study extends the research of politeness theory and face concern in the field of chatbot marketing, and provide practical guidance for e-commerce enterprises to deal effectively with chatbot failure.