Promoting pro-environmental behaviour spillover through chatbots

Abstract

Given proper facilitation, pro-environmental behaviour in tourist destinations may spill over to the daily lives of tourists. Recent advancements in conversational artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to the emergence of more effective technology that will encourage people to become more environmentally friendly. However, limited research has been devoted to understanding the complexity of using such technologies for pro-social nudging. This study applies rigorous scale development procedures to test how advanced conversational AI, like chatbots, can be effective in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour spillover. The conceptual model introduces seven factors that predict people’s intention to use the chatbot and three factors that predict their intention to embrace the target behaviour. Performance expectancy and timing were the most significant in predicting the intention of individuals to adopt the technology. Efficiency and government support were the chief drivers of the intention to adopt pro-environmental behaviour. The findings suggest that although introducing a technology-mediated nudging mechanism can trigger people’s intention to behave pro-environmentally, other factors must be fulfilled in order to ensure sustained behaviour change in society.