Psychologically Grounded Chatbots in Online Furniture Retail

Authors

Claudia Pedron
OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Information and Process Management (IPM)
Esther Federspiel
Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, School of Management
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.4.2026.16

Synopsis

High-involvement online purchase decisions are characterized by extensive information processing, perceived risk, and uncertainty. These challenges are particularly visible in furniture retail, where financial investment, long usage cycles, limited physical experience, and symbolic relevance make the purchase decision particularly complex. Although conversational AI is increasingly used in digital commerce, many chatbots remain transaction-oriented and insufficiently address psychological decision dynamics. Using a design-oriented conceptual research approach informed by design science principles, this article develops a phase-sensitive conceptual reference model for psychologically grounded conversational AI in high-involvement online purchasing. Furniture retail serves as an illustrative application context. Chatbots are conceptualized as dialogical decision companions whose roles evolve across the purchasing process, from preference exploration and risk reduction to trade-off moderation and decision stabilization. The model integrates psychological factors such as perceived risk, trust, aesthetic preferences, and sustainability values, as well as chatbot-related design factors such as personalization, usefulness, and interaction quality.

Author Biographies

Claudia Pedron, OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Information and Process Management (IPM)

Claudia Pedron is Professor of Business Information Systems at the Institute for Information and Process Management (IPM), OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, St. Gallen, Switzerland. She has extensive experience in business process management, process automation, IT and management systems, and digitalization. She has acquired and led numerous research and service projects in process management, digital transformation, real estate technology, and decision-support systems. She holds a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich and an Executive Master in Business Engineering from the University of St. Gallen. Her publications address process-oriented decision support, digital services, e-health, and technology-supported management systems.

St. Gallen, Switzerland. E-mail: claudia.pedron@ost.ch

Esther Federspiel, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, School of Management

Esther Federspiel, lic.phil., is a lecturer and project manager at the Institute for Information and Process Management (IPM), OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, St. Gallen, Switzerland. Her professional background includes teaching, project management, marketing management, communication, and public relations. She studied journalism/public communication and psychology at the University of Zurich and holds a MAS in Communication Management from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Her work focuses on innovation culture, customer and employee relationships, customer integration in innovation and value creation processes, online communities, gamification, and decision processes under uncertainty.

St. Gallen, Switzerland. E-mail: esther.federspiel@ost.ch

Volume

39th Bled eConference: Co-Creating Human-Centred and Responsible Digital Futures; Conference Proceedings

Pages

259-278

Published

June 5, 2026

Series

Bled eConference

Categories

Copyright (c) 2026 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Pedron, C., & Federspiel, E. (2026). Psychologically Grounded Chatbots in Online Furniture Retail. In D. Vidmar, A. Pucihar, M. Kljajić Borštnar, R. W. H. Bons, M. Glowatz, & H.-D. Zimmermann (Eds.), & (Ed.), 39th Bled eConference: Co-Creating Human-Centred and Responsible Digital Futures; Conference Proceedings (Vols. 39., pp. 259-278). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.4.2026.16