Technology-mediated communication is established as a key channel for firms to interact with consumers, who can choose between a rapidly expanding variety of devices types and interaction modes such as live-chats, video calls, voice-controlled virtual assistants, or online avatars. However, frustrated consumers report publicly about their negative experience and attribute their discontent to a lack of authenticity of the technology-mediated encounter. In technology-mediated contexts consumers often cannot relate to tangible products and observable behavior of a service employee to judge the authenticity of the encounter. Thus, it is unknown how consumers form their authenticity evaluation. We address this gap by exploring the concept of authenticity in technology-mediated consumer-firm interactions. Based on 41 qualitative in-depth interviews we provide a framework of consequences and antecedents of authenticity perception. Most importantly, we identify three different categories of cues from which consumers infer to judge the authenticity of an encounter: the interaction counterpart, the communication quality and the brand experience

• Nancy Wuenderlich(University of Paderborn, Germany)
• Stefanie Paluch(RWTH Aachen University, Germany)