The effect of customers' AI-chatbot interactions on purchasing decisions: Dual mediating roles of customer digital intimacy and psychological ownership applied to Saudi SME customers

This study aims to understand the way that AI chatbot interaction affects customers' purchasing decisions. This is achieved through testing the dual mediating effects of customer digital intimacy and psychological ownership on this relationship. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design to test the causal relationship. The data was collected from a sample of 360 customers of small and medium-sized companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study's model showed fully dual mediation effects of digital intimacy and psychological ownership on the relationship between AI chatbot interaction and purchasing decisions. AI chatbots show a significant positive effect on digital intimacy and a significant negative impact on psychological ownership. This study fills a gap in the literature by studying the dual mediating roles of digital intimacy and psychological ownership. It contributes to existing knowledge by looking at purchasing decisions as a psychological behavior that links customers to the product and the interaction media used.