Browsing by Author "Alok Kumar Rai"

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Analytical modeling of perceived authenticity in AI assistants: application of PLS-predict algorithm and importance-performance map analysis
(Emerald Publishing, 2025) Palima Pandey; Alok Kumar Rai
Purpose: The present study aimed to explore the consequences of perceived authenticity in artificial intelligence (AI) assistants and develop a serial-mediation architecture specifying causation of loyalty in human–AI relationships. It intended to assess the predictive power of the developed model based on a training-holdout sample procedure. It further attempted to map and examine the predictors of loyalty, strengthening such relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based on bootstrapping technique was employed to examine the higher-order effects pertaining to human–AI relational intricacies. The sample size of the study comprised of 412 AI assistant users belonging to millennial generation. PLS-Predict algorithm was used to assess the predictive power of the model, while importance-performance analysis was executed to assess the effectiveness of the predictor variables on a two-dimensional map. Findings: A positive relationship was found between “Perceived Authenticity” and “Loyalty,” which was serially mediated by “Perceived-Quality” and “Animacy” in human–AI relational context. The construct “Loyalty” remained a significant predictor of “Emotional-Attachment” and “Word-of-Mouth.” The model possessed high predictive power. Mapping analysis delivered contradictory result, indicating “authenticity” as the most significant predictor of “loyalty,” but the least effective on performance dimension. Practical implications: The findings of the study may assist marketers to understand the relevance of AI authenticity and examine the critical behavioral consequences underlying customer retention and extension strategies. Originality/value: The study is pioneer to introduce a hybrid AI authenticity model and establish its predictive power in explaining the transactional and communal view of human reciprocation in human–AI relationship. It exclusively provided relative assessment of the predictors of loyalty on a two-dimensional map. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Consumer adoption in technological context: Conceptualization, scale development& validation
(School of Management Sciences, 2021) Palima Pandey; Alok Kumar Rai
Consumer adoption’ is a rich concept, which is far beyond merely purchase of a product. Literature presents different psychological as well as behavioural components of adoption however, there have been found a lack of integration between them and consensus is yet to emerge regarding the concrete blend of its constituents. The study dealt with the conceptualisation of the term ‘consumer adoption’ in technological context. The construct was operationalized and consequently, an empirically tested comprehensive scale of ‘technology adoption’ was developed. The initial phase of the scale development process comprised of item generation, refinement, pre-testing and exploratory factor analysis while the advanced stage incorporated confirmatory factor analysis. The scale was validated on the basis of systematic authentication of measurement and structural model. The study resulted into construction of a nine-item scale of ‘technology adoption’ comprising three factors namely ‘acceptance’, full-scale usage’ and embracement’. Further, the resultant factors served the basis for development of an ‘operational definition’ of adoption. © 2021, School of Management Sciences. All rights reserved.
Consumer Adoption of AI-powered Virtual Assistants (AIVA): An Integrated Model Based on the SEM–ANN Approach
(Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd, 2023) Palima Pandey; Alok Kumar Rai
Artificial intelligence (AI) has lured consumers to orchestrate their routine activities relying on such technologies. Though AI-powered virtual assistants (AIVAs) have gained traction among service providers, these are still lagging on the demand front. This study intends to develop an ‘AIVA adoption model’ delineated under a holistic framework based on structural equation modelling and deep neural network incorporating multilayer perceptron algorithm. The sensitivity analysis designated ‘effort expectancy’ as the most dominant antecedent of AIVA adoption, followed by ‘perceived innovativeness’. While ‘perceived risk’ held high relevance, the tech users were equally concerned about the performance of AIVA in conjunction with its anthropomorphic response; however, they gave the least consideration to subjective norms. The parallel mediation analysis revealed that the adopters preferred transactional relationships with AIVA more than the communal one, while the simultaneous application of both the perspectives better generates loyal customers. The moderation analysis unveiled that the uncanny valley paradigm could not always be supportive, especially in the context of AIVA. The developed model may serve the basis to generate as well as sustain adoption and loyalty of the specified technology. © 2023 Fortune Institute of International Business.
CRM Effectiveness (CRME) in Indian Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs): An Investigation of Scale Generalizability
(School of Management Sciences, 2025) Tejas Yaduvanshi; Alok Kumar Rai
Purpose: This study comprehends the effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs), with a focus on the measurement of CRM Effectiveness (CRME) specifically tailored for the Indian QSR sector by testing the validity and generalizability of an existing scale for CRME (Padmavathy et. al., 2012), originally developed for Indian banking service industry. Research Gap: The QSR sector witness challenges of high customer turnover with quick-paced service environments, making CRM strategies pertinent. With exponential increase in the competition, effective CRM practices have become decisive for retaining customers and enhance overall business performance. Although, there has been lot of research in the field of CRM Effectiveness in the Indian Banking service industry, there is a lack of standardized scale for quantifying CRM effectiveness for the Indian QSRs, which may lead to ineffective CRM implementation and assessment practices. Novelty: Present study investigates the validity and generalizability of a multi-dimensional CRME scale that evaluates the effectiveness of CRM system in the QSR context by employing exploratory and descriptive quantitative methods (such as KMO, Cronbach Alpha, EFA and higher order CFA using SPSS and AMOS), which is first of its kind in the context of QSR industry. Findings/Implications: Leveraging existing literature and theoretical frameworks, present study empirically investigates critical dimensions of CRME, including Organizational commitment (OC), Customer experience (CE), Process-driven approach (PD), Reliability (RE), and Technology orientation (TOR); and concludes that the scale originally developed by Padamavathy et al. (2012) is generalizable to the Indian QSR sector with OC being the most impactful predictor of CRME. Finally, the study offers actionable insights for QSR managers to improve their CRM efforts. © (2025), (School of Management Sciences). All rights reserved.
Dielectric behavior of CaCu3Ti4O12 electro-ceramic doped with La, Mn and Ni synthesized by modified citrate-gel route
(Tsinghua University, 2013) Laxman Singh; U.S. Rai; Alok Kumar Rai; K.D. Mandal
The effect of La3+, Mn2+ and Ni2+ doped calcium copper titanate, CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO), at higher concentrations (CR1 and CR2 with 5 mol% and 10 mol%, respectively), has been examined by semi-wet route at relatively lower temperature. This semi-wet route employs citrate-nitrate gel chemical method using TiO2 solid powders. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the formation of single phase in the doped samples sintered at 900 °C for 8 h. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) show that the average grain size for CR2 is larger than that of CR1 composition. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) is used to study the percentage compositions of different ions present in both ceramics. Dielectric constant (ɛr) and dielectric loss (tanδ) values of CR1 are comparatively higher than those of CR2 ceramic at all measured frequencies and temperatures. The nature of temperature-dependent relaxation behavior of the ceramics is also studied by impedance, modulus spectroscopic analysis and confirms Maxwell-Wagner relaxation. © 2013, The Author(s).
Effect of processing routes on microstructure, electrical and dielectric behavior of Mg-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 electro-ceramic
(2013) Laxman Singh; U.S. Rai; K.D. Mandal; Alok Kumar Rai
In the present communication, data on magnesium-doped calcium copper titanate CaCu2.90Mg0.10Ti4O12 (CCMTO) electro-ceramic, synthesized by the semi-wet route (SWR), ball-milled route (BMR) and solid-state route (SSR), is characterized by TG-DTA, XRD, SEM, EDX and TEM techniques. XRD confirmed the formation of single phase in CCMTO ceramic. The CuO phase present at grain boundaries in SWR ceramic was shown by the SEM micrograph, which was verified by EDX. The TEM image of SWR ceramic shows nanocrystalline particles in the range 80±20 nm. The value of the dielectric constant of SWR (ε r ∼20091) ceramic is higher than those of BMR and SSR (ε r ∼1247) ceramics at 1 kHz at 450 K. A dielectric relaxation has been observed in the frequency range 100 Hz-100 kHz. The high-temperature dielectric dispersion shows one large low-frequency response and two Debye-type relaxations. The impedance and modulus studies show the highest grain-boundary resistance for BMR ceramic. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Exploring the three-path mediation model: A study of customer perceived value, customer satisfaction service quality and behavioral intention relationship
(IGI Global, 2015) Manish Kumar Yadav; Alok Kumar Rai; Medha Srivastava
The present study attempts to explore structure of relationships among service quality, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions through a comprehensive survey of extant literature. The study investigates the direct and indirect relationship between service quality and behavioral intention and probes into the mediating role of customers' perceived value and customers' satisfaction in the indirect relationship between service quality and behavioral intention. The findings suggest that service quality and behavioral intention relationship is mediated at multiple levels as their relationship passes through the junctions of customer perceived value and customer satisfaction. © 2016, IGI Global.
Sintering effects on dielectric properties of Zn-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic synthesized by modified sol-gel route
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2013) Laxman Singh; U.S. Rai; Alok Kumar Rai; K.D. Mandal
CaCu2. 90Zn0. 10Ti4O12 ceramic was synthesized by a novel semi-wet route and calcined at 800°C in air for 8 h. The obtained powder was divided into three parts and sintered in air at 950°C for 6 h, 8 h, and 12 h, separately. XRD results confirmed the single phase formation of all the sintered samples with similar cubic structure of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO). Scanning electron micrographs of the CaCu2. 9Zn0. 1Ti4O12 ceramic sintered for 6 h shows bimodal grain size distribution. Increasing the sintering time significantly promotes the grain growth and microstructural densification. The sintering duration was found to have tremendous influence on microstructure and dielectric properties of CaCu2. 90Zn0. 10Ti4O12 ceramic. The CaCu2. 9Zn0. 1Ti4O12 ceramic sintered for 12 h exhibited high dielectric constant εr ~ 5971 at 1 kHz and room temperature. It is found that εr is independent at high frequency and weakly dependent on temperature. © 2013 The Korean Institute of Metals and Materials and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Synthesis and characterization of ultra fine barium calcium titanate, barium strontium titanate and Ba1-2xCaxSrxTiO3 (x = 0.05, 0.10)
(2009) Alok Kumar Rai; K.N. Rao; L. Vinoth Kumar; K.D. Mandal
Many desirable features can be brought in when certain ferroelectric materials are doped with calculated amount of foreign atoms. Ba1-2xCaxSrxTiO3 (BCST), Ba0.8Ca0.2TiO3 (BCT) and Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 (BST) have been synthesized via Pechini precursor route. It has been found that single phase was formed at 820-860 °C, which was confirmed by the XRD analysis. FTIR studies confirmed the presence of functional groups such as O-H, carboxylate ester and the carbonate in dry samples. Crystallite sizes of these ceramics were calculated by X-ray line broadening analysis, which were also confirmed by SEM studies. EDX studies confirmed the high purity of the synthesized materials. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Why stay loyal? Exploring the role of consumption values, satisfaction, and alternative attractiveness in buy now pay later services
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) Vijay Amrit Raj; Alok Kumar Rai
Customer satisfaction is essential for fostering loyalty which is essential for business success and profitability. This research investigates the impact of consumption value elements on satisfaction and loyalty of buy now, pay later (BNPL) users. Additionally, the research explores the moderating effect of alternative attractiveness on the satisfaction-loyalty relationship. Data were collected from 513 BNPL users in India and analyzed using “Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling” (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that functional, emotional, epistemic and conditional values significantly drive satisfaction. Furthermore, while these consumption values enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, attractiveness of alternative services weaken the satisfaction-loyalty link. This highlights the importance of BNPL companies to focus on maximizing functional (e.g., improved usability), emotional (e.g., trust and security), epistemic (financial education) and conditional (e.g., financial flexibility options) values to increase both satisfaction and loyalty, especially as users gain more alternatives. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2025.