Delegation of Purchasing Tasks: The Role of AI Explainability and Anthropomorphism in Navigating Trust in the Digital Marketplace

Last registered on September 25, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Delegation of Purchasing Tasks: The Role of AI Explainability and Anthropomorphism in Navigating Trust in the Digital Marketplace
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013784
Initial registration date
July 04, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 08, 2024, 1:44 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
September 25, 2024, 1:32 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
HKUST(GZ)

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-01-19
End date
2024-11-30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Based on behavioral economics theory and economic experimental methods, this study aims to explore whether consumers' perceived value, purchase decision, and trust in the entire online shopping process will be affected by AI explainability and anthropomorphism. By performing online and offline experiment, the study collect and analyze data on perceived capability, subjective trust and objective decision under different AI interaction conditions. This comprehensive approach is designed to ensure the broad applicability and far-reaching implications of the findings, which are expected to provide valuable insights into the application of AI to e-commerce platforms and lay a solid foundation for future research and practice in this field.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
DENG, Zhixuan, Chenyang LI and Xu ZHANG. 2024. "Delegation of Purchasing Tasks: The Role of AI Explainability and Anthropomorphism in Navigating Trust in the Digital Marketplace." AEA RCT Registry. September 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13784-1.3
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-05-20
Intervention End Date
2024-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Objective trust in AI, subjective trust in AI, AI ability perception, XAI degree, AI agent anthropomorphism degree
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study will adopt a 2*2 between-group experimental design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: control, XAI, Anthropomorphism, and XAI and Anthropomorphism. In the experimental group involving anthropomorphism, participants will be randomly assigned to either the male or female anthropomorphic group. After being assigned to different random groups, subjects will interact and play trust game with AI agent.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be conducted by an online survey platform and the laboratory computer program.
Randomization Unit
Participant (individual).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1,000-1,500 adult subjects.
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,000-1,500 adult subjects.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300 subjects control, 300 subjects with XAI agent, 300 subjects with anthropomorphic AI agent, 300 subjects both treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number