Gender Stereotyping’s Influence on the Perceived Competence of Siri and Co.
2020 | HICSS | Citations: 0
Authors: Ernst, Claus-Peter H; Herm-Stapelberg, Nils; Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
Abstract: Some users express frustration with regard to virtual assistants due to their la ...
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Abstract: Some users express frustration with regard to virtual assistants due to their lack of perceived competence. To address this negative perception, we believe that technology companies should be aware of gender stereotypes. More specifically, it has been shown that males are attributed with rational competence more often than females. Drawing from the CASA paradigm, which states that people regularly assign human traits to computers, we expect that this stereotype might also be present for virtual assistants, i.e., male-voice virtual assistants are perceived as being more competent than female-voice virtual assistants. We test this hypothesis by conducting a controlled experiment which simulates a realistic interaction with differently voiced virtual assistants. The results indicate that gender stereotypes indeed play a role in the perception of the interaction. Male-voiced assistants are perceived more competent than their female-voiced counterpart which has practical implications in the design and development of devices that utilize these assistants.
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Semantic filters:
Apple HomePod
Topics:
smart speaker Google+ smartphone cloud computing Bluetooth
Methods:
experiment survey experimental group Student's t-test statistical hypothesis test
The Smartphone as the Incumbent “Thing” among the Internet of Things
2019 | HICSS | Citations: 0
Authors: MacCrory, Frank; Katsamakas, Evangelos
Abstract: The smartphone has been the ubiquitous computing platform in the past decade. Ho ...
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Abstract: The smartphone has been the ubiquitous computing platform in the past decade. However, emerging consumer Internet of Things (IoT) technology trends, such as smartwatches and smart speakers, promise the establishment of new ubiquitous platforms. We model two competing horizontally-differentiated platforms that each offer a smartphone and another smart device. This market diverges markedly from standard mixed bundling results when devices from the same vendor have super-additive utility. We show that the degree of a smart device’s differentiation (relative to the smartphone) is the prime factor determining if it is profitable to deepen integration between a smart device with the incumbent smartphone platform. We provide managerial insights for technology strategy.
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Semantic filters:
Apple HomePod
Topics:
mobile system smartphone smart watch smart speaker smart home
Methods:
economic model mathematical model sensitivity analysis