Workshop’s Topic: Compared with traditional brick-and-mortar shopping, one prominent advantage of e-commerce is that it allows consumers to make purchases at any time of the day. Thus, it is important to understand how time of day influences consumer behavior during online shopping. In particular, the current research explores the impact of time of day on consumers’ relative preference for algorithm-based versus human recommendations. The findings of this research suggest that consumers’ relative preference for algorithm-based over human recommendations increases in the evening (vs. morning). This effect stems from a lay belief that human cognitive abilities are worse in the evening (vs. morning), which leads consumers to infer lower functioning of human recommendation agents in the evening. This research makes theoretical and managerial implications by showing time of day as a situational factor that influences relative preference for algorithm-based versus human recommendations on a daily basis.

Time and Location: 10:00 AM (GMT+8), Room A523 (School of Management)

Language: Bilingual (Chinese and English)