Intelligent Systems: Towards understanding the perceived responsibility for managerial decisions in marketing

Intelligent systems (IS) have become more popular in the last years resulting into an ethical debate whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entirely beneficial or should be seen as a threat. This paper focuses on the antecedent drivers of perceived responsibility suchlike sense of ownership and a marketing manager`s involvement when engaging with IS for their decisions. It lays out the impact and degree of responsibility along with the attribution of blame by comparing the outcome made by a human or a machine. The research is divided in two studies: The first study explores the potential of AI and derives four propositions from technology experts and managers. The second examines whether the recommendation for an action (machine or human) has implications on the perceived responsibility and attribution of blame for a negative decision outcome. The results propose theoretical and practical implications which lead to assumptions to improve the acceptance of AI.