A shared journey: Experiential perspective and empirical evidence of virtual social robot ChatGPT's priori acceptance

Due to recent technological advancements, social robots are becoming increasingly prevalent in the consumer space. ChatGPT, a virtual social robot, has captured significant attention from the mass media and academic practitioners alike since its release in November 2022. This attention arises from its remarkable capabilities, as well as potential challenges it poses to society and various business sectors. In light of these developments, we developed a theoretical model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and a consumer value typology centred around consumer experiences to examine the influence of experiential factors on the intention to use ChatGPT and subsequently collaborating with it for co-creating content among business managers. To test this model, we conducted a survey of 195 business managers in the UK and employed partial PLS-structural equation modelling for analysis. Our findings indicate that the efficiency, excellence, meaningfulness of recommendations, and conversational ability of ChatGPT will influence the behavioural intention to use it during the priori acceptance stage. Based on these findings, we suggest that organisations should thoughtfully consider and strategize the deployment of ChatGPT applications to ensure their acceptance, eventual adoption, and subsequent collaboration between ChatGPT and managers for content creation or problem-solving.