Co-Creating AI Service Recovery: The Role of Technological Place Attachment and Customer Experience

Abstract

This study examines AI service recovery by integrating technological place attachment and customer experience within the expectation-confirmation theory (ECT) framework to understand how AI technology and customer experience influence service recovery outcomes. Data were collected from 518 valid responses following a pretest and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that service recovery expectations shape expectation confirmation, influencing whether customers perceive outcomes as satisfactory. Technological place dependence and social bonding positively affect recovery expectations, whereas identity and affect have no significant effects. Experiential benefits, experiential evaluation, and experiential co-creation enhance expectation confirmation, while experiential risk shows no significant effect. Furthermore, expectation confirmation strongly predicts recovery satisfaction. The study contributes to the literature by extending ECT to the context of AI services and provides practical guidance for retailers to optimize service recovery strategies.