"Artificial Intelligence in FinTech: understanding robo-advisors adoption among customers"

by Belanche, Daniel; Casaló, Luis V; Flavián, Carlos (2019)

Abstract

Considering the increasing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on financial technology (FinTech), the purpose of this paper is to propose a research framework to better understand robo-advisor adoption by a wide range of potential customers. It also predicts that personal and sociodemographic variables (familiarity with robots, age, gender and country) moderate the main relationships.Design/methodology/approach Data from a web survey of 765 North American, British and Portuguese potential users of robo-advisor services confirm the validity of the measurement scales and provide the input for structural equation modeling and multisample analyses of the hypotheses.Findings Consumers’ attitudes toward robo-advisors, together with mass media and interpersonal subjective norms, are found to be the key determinants of adoption. The influences of perceived usefulness and attitude are slightly higher for users with a higher level of familiarity with robots; in turn, subjective norms are significantly more relevant for users with a lower familiarity and for customers from Anglo-Saxon countries.Practical implications Banks and other firms in the finance industry should design robo-advisors to be used by a wide spectrum of consumers. Marketing tactics applied should consider the customer’s level of familiarity with robots.Originality/value This research identifies the key drivers of robo-advisor adoption and the moderating effect of personal and sociodemographic variables. It contributes to understanding consumers’ perceptions regarding the introduction of AI in FinTech.

Key Passage

Among the advance of innovative FinTech, robo-advisors are of particular interest because of their differential features. Contrary to other initiatives, robo-advisors rely on AI systems; that is, automated platforms based on analytical intelligence that are replacing human advisory services. This service innovation needs to be understood under the expansion of robotic and AI systems, which are likely to gradually replace many human jobs in the coming years (particularly mechanical, analytical, intuitive and empathic tasks Huang and Rust, 2018). More precisely, from a consumer perspective, users need to adapt to new robotic service providers that play the social role traditionally attributed to a human employee. Recent literature has highlighted that this advance represents a disruptive innovation that companies need to carefully understand and integrate in order to achieve a successful transformation in the medium term (Singh et al., 2017; Van Doorn et al., 2017).  (p.1422)

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robot Workers, Worker Replacement, Finance

Themes

AI and Finance

Links to Reference

• https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2018-0368
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2018-0368
• https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IMDS-08-2018-0368/full/html?casa_token=gtu-9XvEE80AAAAA:5Wzg2YVQm8076QvN0Sd5T4X197D6RthXqAQaP_cssO1ABk6RWcuLmFwuztA9x2W5bGmrAUHDjBhK3eUc7pIFf3QlL8SIyV6zFRzU7r4lSAT0L_6upOf2

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