Factors Influencing Live Customer Support Chat Services: An Empirical Investigation in Kuwait

This study investigates factors influencing live customer support chat services in Kuwait. Live Customer Support Chat represents a newly implemented type of customer service in E-commerce websites. Live Support Chat allows online agents through company’s websites to answer customer questions, complaints, and concerns on the spot through a live chat session, which bypasses the traditional e-mail and web forms. The theoretical framework used in this study is based on the well-established Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Reasoned Action. The study tries to validate these theoretical frameworks in the context of Live Customer Support Chat to see if they can be equally applied to the E-commerce enlivenment as in the other technology fields. Using a sample of 324 respondents, the hierarchical regression revealed that factors such as usefulness, ease of use and attitude have a significant influence on customers’ intention to use Live Customer Support Char services. Our model explains around 31% for the variance in customers’ intention to use Live Customer Support Chat.