Abstract

While chatbots have become an important part of customer service operations, there is a knowledge gap concerning organizational aspects of chatbot implementation and management. In response to this gap, we present a study of organizational factors affecting successful chatbot implementation. The study involved six organizations that had implemented chatbots for customer service within the last three years. Interviews were conducted with chatbot project owners, managers, developers, and customer service personnel – a total of 14 interviews. Through thematic analysis, five organizational factors were detailed as important for successful chatbot implementation: (1) work and team organization, (2) change management, (3) competencies and competency acquisition, (4) organizational resources, and (5) performance measures. We also present findings on the organizations' motivations and key success criteria for chatbot implementation. Based on the findings we summarize implications for theory and practice and point out directions for future research.

摘要

虽然聊天机器人已成为客户服务运营的重要组成部分，但在聊天机器人实施和管理的组织方面存在知识差距。为了应对这一差距，我们提出了一项关于影响聊天机器人成功实施的组织因素的研究。该研究涉及六家在过去三年内为客户服务实施聊天机器人的组织。对聊天机器人项目所有者、经理、开发人员和客户服务人员进行了访谈——总共进行了 14 次访谈。通过主题分析，详细说明了五个对成功实施聊天机器人很重要的组织因素：(1) 工作和团队组织，(2) 变革管理，(3) 能力和能力获取，(4) 组织资源，以及 (5) 绩效衡量. 我们还介绍了有关组织的动机和聊天机器人实施的关键成功标准的调查结果。基于研究结果，我们总结了对理论和实践的启示，并指出了未来研究的方向。