Darius-Aurel Frank
Assistant Professor, CEO, PhD
Recent publications
Exploring Consumer Acceptance of AI Under Self-Threats & High-Stakes
Mon 21, 2024, Aarhus University, AarhusIn an era of transformation fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), human resistance to adopt this powerful technology has emerged as one of its most critical barriers. In a series of four studies with almost 4,000 consumers, this paper explores factors that contribute to consumer reluctance toward AI through theories related to algorithm aversion, decision-making under risk, and compensatory decision-making.
Highlights:
Consumers show persistent bias against advice from AI agents
High decision stakes lead consumers to prefer human advice over AI advice
This effect is more (less) pronounced in medical (legal, retail) decisions
Perceived self-threat influences AI advice acceptance, particularly in high-stakes decisions
AI combined with human agents shows mixed but more positive results
Ready to future proof your AI service agents?
How the Presence of Employee Avatars Affects Consumers' Shopping Behavior in Virtual Reality
July 16, 2024, Aarhus University, AarhusBrands are increasingly leveraging the metaverse to promote their products and services, yet the social influence of avatars in this realm remains largely unexplored. Our latest research reveals that both human and robotic employee avatars can significantly affect purchasing decisions in virtual shopping environments, particularly for embarrassing products.
Highlights:
Both human and robotic employee avatars reduce consumer purchase behavior, including time and money spent, in embarrassing metaverse contexts
Consumers recall the brand of embarrassing products less but are more likely to remember the sale in the presence of avatar employees
The negative impact of avatars is significant in embarrassing settings but not in non-embarrassing ones
Marketers should avoid using avatars to promote embarrassing products in the metaverse
Ready to optimize your virtual avatar sales promotions?
Unveiling Metaverse Memory Processes
June 21, 2024, Aarhus University, AarhusApple's Vision Pro impresses not only with its build quality but also fidelity. This made us wonder how high (vs. low) visual fidelity may affect consumer responses to virtual brand and product experiences. Below, we present results of our most recent study comparing high (vs. low) fidelity on consumers' memory performance in a VR shopping setting.
Highlights:
Visual fidelity of VR headsets and task affect memory performance and spending
Higher visual fidelity increases explicit memory performance
Lower visual fidelity increases implicit memory performance for browsing tasks
In-store spending decreases with higher explicit memory performance
Ready to optimize your customers' virtual user experience?
Recent events
Organizer and Moderator at DII 2025 Annual Awards Conference
February 28, 2025, Aarhus University, AarhusThe Danish Innovation Index and Aarhus University’s Department of Management hosted its annual award conference on February 28, 2025, in a live-streamed event from 14:00 to 16:00. The event explored how sustainable innovation can boost creativity, resilience, and competitive advantage in customer-centric companies in Denmark. It featured awards for innovation leaders across 20 industries—including Airlines, Banking, Tech, and more—and presentations by Christina Bidmon (Assistant Professor, Utrecht University) and Henrik Lund (CEO, Naturli).
Invited Guest at Thought Leadership Conference: Innovation for a Digital and Aging Society
May 13-14, 2024, UC3M, MadridThis research initiative, spearheaded by Professor Tor W. Andreassen (NHH), brought together distinguished service researchers, including Professors Jochen Wirtz (National University of Singapore), John Bateson (Bayes Business School), Cristina Mele (University of Naples Federico II), Werner Kunz (University of Massachusetts), and Lars Witell (Linköping University), among others. The initiative aims to address grand challenges at the intersection of technology and demographics: the shift toward a digital and aging society, and the remarkable opportunity to leverage innovation to enhance the well-being of millions globally.
Recent projects
VR Shall See
August 2024 – December 2024In this project, researchers from the departments of Management and Computer Science, Aarhus University, and Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions e.V. explore 3D navigation paradigms and their effects on consumer behavior at the point of sale in virtual worlds.
VR Unpacked
August 2024 – January 2025In this project, an expert team of researchers from the Department of Management, Aarhus University, joins forces with Normal A/S to validate the effectiveness of virtual reality onboarding and training on employee' task performance and job satisfaction.