The Behavioral Economics of Digital Customer-Firm Interactions

The use of digital technologies have given rise to new forms of customer-firm interactions (e.g., the use of digital assistants in customer service). The shift towards digitization of customer-firm interactions enables a wide and easily scalable new set of offerings to consumers. From a consumer perspective, the increased use of digital technologies constantly shape individual decisions and attitudes towards firms.

This dissertation examines the extent to which customers benefit from these technological advances by taking on a behavioral economics perspective. The main focus of the dissertation lies on two aspects which are highly relevant for firms: (i) customer satisfaction, and (ii) the quality of customers' economic decisions.

The dissertation employs a wide set of methods (theoretical modelling, analysis of experimental data, analysis of observational data) and consists of three articles. Article 1 is conceptual in nature and lays the theoretical foundation by providing theoretical insights on customer-related decision processes from a behavioral economics perspective. Article 2 looks at how the availability and presentation of information influences customer satisfaction. The focus of Article 3 lies on technology's impact on economic decision making with a particular interest on automated investment advice from a robo-advisor, and the role of social design elements.