Sophia Prix
Last Name
Prix
First name
Sophia
Email
sophia.prix@unisg.ch
6 results
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Item type:Publication, The 3 Types of Customers Who Buy Smart Products—and How to Market to Them(2025-11-04); ; ; A decade after Samsung’s Family Hub Refrigerator symbolized the smart home revolution, “smartness” alone no longer sells. Although the smart home products industry is projected to hit $537 billion by 2030, roughly three-quarters of projects still fail to deliver value. Part of the problem is that many brands rely on vague claims of intelligence—“advanced algorithms,” “deep learning”—without showing how products meet customer needs. The authors’ research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, shows that this approach can hurt sales. Surveying 1,000+ customers across 31 categories, they identified three buyer personas: comfort-seekers (46%), purpose-seekers (18%), and efficiency-seekers (36%). Defined by how customers extract value, these groups differ sharply. Comfort-seekers prize ease and fun; purpose-seekers want mission alignment and data; efficiency-seekers focus on ROI and time savings. Success depends on tailoring design and messaging to each persona’s needs.Type:journal articleJournal:Harvard Business ReviewIssue:09 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Frenemy: When Collaborating Versus Competing with New Technologies is Beneficial(2023); ; Type:conference contribution - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Mind Behind the Wheel: Perceived Predictability of Autonomous Vehicles Impacts Human Drivers’ Behavior(2024); ; ; Michael Schulte-mecklenbeckTomorrow’s roads will be characterized by mixed traffic situations including autonomous (AVs) and manually-driven vehicles (MVs). We draw on Theory of Mind to conceptualize the role of perceived technology predictability. A preliminary experimental study demonstrates that consumers feel more insecure and worse in predicting driving behaviors of AVs (vs. MVs).Type:conference poster - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, From Collaboration to Competition - How New Technologies and Consumers Can Coexist and Thrive(2023); ; With the rise of autonomous products, our relationship with technology is changing fundamentally. This research investigates how consumers form social bonds with autonomous products and the implications of these relationships. We propose that emphasizing competitive elements in the consumer-product relationship can increase motivation during a joint task along with product usage. A large field study with an industry partner and in-depth interviews provide preliminary evidence for this theorizing.Type:conference poster - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Smart Products Report 2025(2025-04-10); ; ; The Smart Products Report, now in its third edition, is a representative study on the use and perception of smart products and AI in Switzerland. Smart products are devices that collect and process data to react to their environment. They are increasingly able to operate without human intervention, offering more efficiency and convenience while also raising concerns about privacy and loss of control. For the first time, the study includes insights on AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, expanding its scope beyond the five core product categories household, entertainment, health and sports, home automation, and mobility.Type:monograph - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Boosting Beliefs How Chatbot Use Shapes Task-Specific Self-Efficacy(2026)Generative AI is becoming an integral part of consumers’ daily lives. Consumers increasingly rely on chatbots, such as ChatGPT from OpenAI, for a wide range of tasks, from information search or personal organization to creative tasks such as writing. Their frequent use raises questions about how this new technology affects users’ perceptions of themselves. In the current work I examine how chatbot use impacts users’ self-efficacy, that is, the belief in one’s own abilities. Further, this research explores the role of outcome attribution, that is, whether users credit themselves or the chatbot for the outcome. The research methodology is twofold: (1) an online experiment (N = 200) using a chatbot API to investigate the direct effect of chatbot use on self-efficacy and performance, and (2) a representative online survey (N = 976) to provide correlational evidence for the impact of frequency of chatbot use on self-efficacy. Chatbot use was associated with an increase in writing and decision-making self-efficacy, while the role of outcome attribution differed between studies: In the experiment, chatbot use reduced self-attribution, which in turn negatively affected self-efficacy. In the survey, more frequent chatbot use was associated with greater self-attribution, which in turn positively predicted self-efficacy, reinforcing the direct effect. These findings suggest that chatbot-assisted task completion can function as a mastery experience that strengthens the belief in one’s own writing abilities. At the same time, the extent to which users attribute co-produced outcomes to themselves represents a mechanism through which chatbot use can impact self-efficacy.Type:working paper