Title: Digital transformation strategies: conversational commerce

Authors: Renato Lopes Da Costa; Nelson Santos António; Gonçalo Cordeiro De Sousa

Addresses: Department of Marketing, Operations and General Management, ISCTE Business School, ISCTE-IUL – University Institute of Lisbon, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal ' Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Gaußstraße 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Marketing, Operations and General Management, ISCTE Business School, ISCTE-IUL – University Institute of Lisbon, 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal ' Department of Marketing, Operations and General Management, ISCTE Business School, ISCTE-IUL – University Institute of Lisbon, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract: With the evolution of technology and the consequent proliferation of the use of the internet for online shopping, and allied to the strong globalisation of global commerce, which has online commerce as the highest exponent, it is increasingly difficult for companies to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, making it fundamental to place consumer satisfaction at the heart of its business. This research intends to analyse how the use of natural language interfaces, together with an intelligent recommendation system, that is to say, the concept developed by Messina (2015), conversational commerce, could be a differentiating factor in the relationship of companies and their consumers, allowing not only to gain a competitive advantage, but to influence company reputation improving the brand image. This research and its results demonstrate that the use of these conversational interfaces, supported by natural language, increases trust and consumer satisfaction, making the purchasing process more fluid, flexible, convenient and fast, thus gaining a market advantage over its competitors.

Keywords: e-commerce; chatbots; conversational commerce; natural language dialogue.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLC.2020.108351

International Journal of Learning and Change, 2020 Vol.12 No.3, pp.333 - 361

Received: 19 Jul 2018
Accepted: 24 Dec 2018
Published online: 10 Jul 2020 *

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