Research Summary
My research lies at the intersection of marketing and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on human–AI interactions. I investigate how empathic voice assistants influences decision-making processes in retail and healthcare settings.
My current work explores the role of AI companions equipped with memory and their impact on the well-being and behavioral patterns of older adults, contributing to the growing dialogue on ethical and AI empathy design.
My research interests include:
- Technology Impact: Understanding how transformative consumer technologies shape managerial and consumer decision-making.
- Marketing Trends: Examining emerging developments such as conversational AI, generative AI, and automation, and their implications for marketing practice.
- Research Methods: Applying and advancing experimental methodologies in AI studies.
Keywords: AI Empathy, AI Assistants, AI Commerce, AI Companion, Technology FOMO.
Key Publications
- Mari A., Mandelli A. & Algesheimer R. (2025) AI-Assisted Shopping on Voice Assistants: The Efficiency-Autonomy Consumer Decision Trade-Off. Journal of Interactive Marketing (in press). https://www.alexmari.phd/publications/AI-Assisted-Shopping-on-Voice-Assistants-The-Efficiency-Autonomy-Consumer-Decision-Trade-Off_2025_Dr-Alex-Mari.pdf
- Mari, A., Uysal, E., Alabed, A., Efthymiou, F., & Brooks, J. A. (2025). Generative AI-Enabled Empathy and Persuasion in Voice Assistants: Impact on Sustainable Consumer Choice. Pre-print. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5420076
- Mari A., Mandelli A. & Algesheimer R. (2024) Empathic voice assistants: Enhancing consumer responses in voice commerce. Journal of Business Research, 175, 114566. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324000705
- Mari A., Mandelli A. & Algesheimer R. (2025) Harnessing AI Voice Assistants for Digital Corporate Communication. Corporate Communication Review, 1 (1), 40-45. https://www.corpcommreview.com/corpcommreview/article/view/10/9
LINKS
Awards
- Academia: (2022) Stanley C. Hollander for Best Retailing Paper by the Academy of Marketing Science
- Industry: (2016) Top 50 Marketing Technology Influencers, Onalytica
- Corporate: (2012) Leadership Award “Power of You” by P&G (Vice President)
Funding
2024 Grant for the project “AI Empathy Research Initiative” from the UZH Foundation (University of Zurich) – 10’000 CHF
Editorial roles
Ad-hoc Peer Reviewer: Journal of Business Research, Management Decision, Information Systems Journal, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, ACM CHI, Telematics and Informatics Reports, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Behaviour & Information Technology, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Australian Journal of Psychology, Business and Society Review, and Journal of Industrial and Business Marketing.