User avoidance behavior in pharmaceutical e-commerce intelligent customer service: a stressor-strain-outcome...

This study explores the implementation of Intelligent Customer Service (ICS) in pharmaceutical e-commerce, aiming to enhance user acceptance and service efficiency while addressing the psychological factors influencing user behavior. It expands the boundaries of technology acceptance research by focusing on ICS use and avoidance in high-risk environments.

A total of 418 valid questionnaires were collected from participants, ensuring data quality through rigorous screening. The study employed SPSS for data normality tests and SmartPLS for structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between emotional stress, system overload, and user avoidance behavior.

The findings indicate that system overload, information overload, and service overload significantly contribute to user emotional stress, which in turn drives avoidance behavior. The analysis revealed strong explanatory power (R ² values ranging from 0.450 to 0.586) and confirmed the mediating role of emotional stress in the relationship between overload factors and user avoidance.

This research highlights the critical role of emotional stress in user interactions with ICS, suggesting that pharmaceutical e-commerce companies must refine their ICS design to meet diverse user needs and reduce cognitive burdens. By leveraging big data and establishing robust feedback mechanisms, companies can enhance user experience and loyalty. The study also identifies limitations in demographic representation and suggests future research should incorporate qualitative methods for a deeper understanding of user behavior.