Social support, social perceptions, and user satisfaction with intelligent voice assistants: unravelling the differential mechanisms based on the social response theory

Purpose This study uses social response theory to examine how two types of social support (emotional and instrumental) provided by intelligent voice assistants (IVAs) influence user satisfaction, mediated by two types of social perception (perceived warmth and perceived competence). Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted via the Wenjuanxing platform. The model was tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM) with LISREL 8.80 based on data collected from 432 IVA users. Findings The SEM results indicate that emotional support increases user satisfaction by enhancing perceived warmth, while instrumental support increases user satisfaction by improving both perceived warmth and perceived competence. Emotional support has a more pronounced effect on perceived warmth compared to instrumental support, whereas instrumental support has a greater impact on perceived competence than emotional support. Originality/value This study examines the distinct effects of two types of social support on user satisfaction with IVAs through two forms of social perception. The relationship between emotional support and user satisfaction is mainly mediated by perceived warmth, while the connection between instrumental support and user satisfaction is mainly mediated by perceived competence.