Research Interests
My research examines consumer and societal well-being at the intersection of technology, healthcare, and services. I pursue three interconnected streams:
- Technology and AI in Service Encounters — AI-mediated service interactions, service robots, algorithmic recommendation, AI disclosure, and digital health platforms
- Healthcare Delivery, Adherence, and Well-being — patient adherence, health engagement, elderly psychology, self-care, and health-related stigma
- Service Design and Societal Well-being — brand–consumer relationships, prosocial and donation behavior, sustainable consumption, and design cues in consumer experience
Methods: Behavioral experiments, causal inference on platform-scale data (DiD, causal forests, longitudinal panels), meta-analysis, and text mining.
Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles. † denotes co-first author.
Technology and AI in Service Encounters
- Liao, J., & Huang, J. (2024). Think like a robot: How interactions with humanoid service robots affect consumers’ decision strategies. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. DOI
- Huang, J., & Liao, J.† (2026). The more, the worse? Exploring the negative influence of robot replicates on human–robot rapport in the tourism and hospitality sector. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. DOI
- Lv, L., Liang, Y., Chen, S., Liu, G. G., & Liao, J. (2025). Good deeds deserve good outcomes: Leveraging generative artificial intelligence to reduce tourists’ avoidance of ethical brands embracing stigmatized groups. Annals of Tourism Research. DOI
- Lv, L., Zhang, Y., Liao, J., Chen, J., & Dai, G. (2026). How personalized recommendations influence customers’ sustainable hotels booking: The role of environmental identity label perception. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 137, 104701. DOI
Healthcare Delivery, Adherence, and Well-being
- Liao, J., Zhou, S., & Kang, Q. (2026). Externalizing the mental struggle: How anthropomorphism enhances health engagement via emotional detachment and self-efficacy. Psychology & Marketing. DOI
- Shen, M., Liao, J., & Wang, H. (2024). Analysis of consumer medication adherence: Based on two-stage theoretical model. Advances in Psychological Science, 32(5), 859. DOI
- Liao, J., Huang, J., & Su, L. (2022). When and how virus anthropomorphism intensifies consumer stigma toward patients. Advances in Consumer Research, 50, 78. ProQuest
Service Design and Societal Well-being
- Tao, J., Liu, G. G., Yu, J., & Liao, J. (2026). From “sacred spaces” to “selfie spots”: How social media sharing motivations transform tourist–destination relationships. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. DOI
- Huang, J., Liao, J.†, & Xia, C. (2026). How guilt influences consumer response to anthropomorphized brands taking the servant (vs. partner) role. Journal of Product & Brand Management. DOI
- Cheng, L., Zhang, J., Liao, J., Peng, F., & Wang, X. (2025). Dehumanization and aggression: A meta-analysis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 102079. DOI
- Rahim, A., Wang, H., Liao, J., & Khan, S. (2023). Does dignity matter? A study of donors’ behavior. Current Psychology, 42(16), 13220–13227. DOI
Papers Under Revision and Review
† denotes co-first author.
- Liao, J., Liu, C., Ni, J., & Wang, H. The paradox of access: How increased generic drug availability affects patient adherence. Journal of Marketing Research.
- Shen, M., Liao, J.†, & Song, Y. The power of tolerance for contradiction: Improving consumer health adherence through perceived information diagnosticity. European Journal of Marketing.
- Liao, J., Liang, Y., Lin, Y., & Lv, L. Overcoming uniqueness neglect: How AI disclosure structure shapes service evaluation. Journal of Service Research.
- Xie, H., & Liao, J. How hierarchical team appointments reshape patient flow and healthcare resource utilization. Production and Operations Management.
- Zhou, S., Kang, Q., & Liao, J. Taking selfies increases preference for self-improvement products: The role of self-focused attention. Psychology & Marketing.
Working Papers
Lead projects only.
- Liao, J., Zhang, L., & Chen, H. Family role salience increases consumers’ self-care behavior. Target: Journal of Consumer Psychology.
- Liao, J., Klein, J. F., Falk, T., Sundqvist, S., & Paasonen, P. Advice adherence in professional services: A meta-analysis. Target: Journal of Service Research.
- Liao, J., & Xie, H. When do pay-after-use interventions alleviate poverty traps? Evidence from China’s treat-first-pay-later policy. Target: Management Science.
- Huang, S., Liao, J.†, & Zhang, Y. Physician multihoming and healthcare resource allocation: An analytical model with causal evidence. Target: Information Systems Research.
Grants
| Period | Funder | Amount | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–25 | Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation | €60,000 | Marketing and Health Adherence |
| 2022–25 | Marcus Wallenberg Foundation | €37,000 | Consumer Well-being in Healthcare |
| 2021–25 | HSE Support Foundation | €40,000+ | Doctoral Research on Healthcare Marketing |
| 2024 | Paulo Foundation | €8,000 | Research Visit to Virginia Tech |
| 2022 & 2024 | Matti Lehti Fund | €6,000 | AI in Consumer Behavior |
| 2022 & 2023 | Foundation for Economic Education | €3,600 | Dialectical Thinking Research |
Total external funding (as PI): €154,600+
Selected Presentations
- Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark (2025)
- ISMS Marketing Science Conference, Washington DC (2025); Sydney (2024)
- AMA Marketing and Public Policy Conference, Washington DC (2025)
- European Marketing Academy (EMAC), Bath (2026); Bucharest (2024)
- Association for Consumer Research (ACR), Paris (2024); Denver (2022)
- Asia Pacific Marketing Academy, Hong Kong (2024); Guangzhou (2023)
- China India Insights Conference, Stanford University (2023)