Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1303-2588

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

DBA

College

Chambers College of Business and Economics

Department

Marketing

Committee Chair

Annie Cui

Committee Member

Julian Givi

Committee Member

Xinchun Wang

Committee Member

Alexis Yim

Abstract

Consumer complaint behavior research has traditionally focused on interactions between customers and human employees, leaving open questions about how these behaviors may change when the service agent is artificial intelligence. This research looks at whether customers are more likely to engage in opportunistic complaint behavior when interacting with AI service agents and explores what might explain that behavior. The results show that customers are more likely to behave opportunistically when interacting with AI service agents than with human employees. Perceived morality helps explain this relationship, as more human-like service agents increase the extent to which exaggerating a complaint is seen as morally wrong, which in turn reduces opportunistic behavior. In contrast, perceived risk of being caught does not significantly explain customers’ likelihood to exaggerate complaints. These findings add to research on consumer deception and human–AI interaction by highlighting the role of moral judgment in shaping behavior toward AI service providers, and they offer practical insights for how AI can be designed and implemented in service settings.

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