Academic Research

My research combines behavioural science and computational social science to understand how people actually experience services and make decisions in digital environments.

Research Themes

Theme 1 — Value Co-Destruction in Digital Experiences

What happens when digital platform experiences go wrong — and how do customers escalate from frustration to reputational damage?

This research stream uses large-scale analysis of online reviews and digital consumer narratives to understand how service failures propagate across digital platforms. Combining computational text analysis with behavioural modelling, the work maps how platform design, communication failures, and service breakdowns transform ordinary dissatisfaction into episodes of consumer outrage.

Theme 2 — Digital Adoption & Behavioural Resistance

Why do people resist new digital services — even when the technology works?

This stream examines the behavioural and psychological barriers that shape adoption decisions in digital service ecosystems. Integrating behavioural theory with large-scale transaction and consumer-generated data, the research identifies the specific barriers that prevent customers from adopting new digital channels and services.

Theme 3 — Consumption Values in Phygital Retail

How do consumers evaluate experiences that combine physical and digital environments?

This stream examines the multidimensional value perceptions that drive patronage in smart retail and hybrid service contexts. Using mixed methods—including large-scale review analysis and structural modelling—the work captures how emotional, social, epistemic, and functional values shape consumer responses to emerging retail technologies.

Theme 4 — Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction Modelling

What actually drives customer satisfaction — and for whom?

This research examines how satisfaction drivers differ across customer segments and service contexts. Using behavioural modelling and large-scale consumer feedback analysis, the work demonstrates that aggregate satisfaction metrics often hide critical differences in how various customers experience the same service system.

How I Study Consumer Behaviour

My research sits at the intersection of behavioural science and computational social science. I study consumer behaviour using large-scale digital traces—such as online reviews, platform feedback, and social media discussions—to understand how people actually experience services and make decisions in digital environments.

Methodologically, my work combines computational text analysis, natural language processing, and LLM-assisted analysis with behavioural modelling and mixed-method research designs. This allows behavioural insights to emerge not only from surveys and experiments, but also from the millions of spontaneous narratives consumers produce across digital platforms.

Across projects, I integrate large-scale unstructured data analysis with theory-driven modelling approaches—including structural equation modelling, multi-group behavioural analysis, and field-based experimentation—to explain how digital service systems succeed or fail from the consumer’s perspective.

List of Publications

Published

Zolfaghari, A., Choi, H. C., & Elliot, S. (2026). Escalation of consumer outrage: Unraveling the amplifying conditions driving online vengeance in online travel agencies. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 134, 104582. [ABDC: A*]
Zolfaghari, A., Somogyi, S., Thomas-Francois, K., & Hashemi Fesharaki, M. (2025). Beyond technology: Multidimensional consumption values in phygital retailing; A mixed method approach. Electronic Markets, 35(39). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-025-00776-w. [ABDC: A]
Zolfaghari, A., Kennedy, H., Choi, H. C., & Lee, M. (2025). Mapping value co-destruction in online travel agencies: A practice theory and customer journey perspective. Tourism Management, 110, 105197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2025.105197. [ABDC: A*]
Elliot, S., Choi, H. C., & Zolfaghari, A. (2025). Envisioning a sustainable, resilient tourism future. Tourism Analysis, 30(1), 107–121. https://doi.org/10.3727/108354224X17275202230569. [ABDC: A]
Choi, H., Lee, W., Choi, H. C., & Zolfaghari, A. (2024). From click to fork: An empirical analysis of system and food quality influences in online meal kit consumption. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 121, 103808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103808. [ABDC: A*]
Zolfaghari, A., Thomas-Francois, K., & Somogyi, S. (2023). Consumer adoption of digital grocery shopping: What is the impact of consumers' prior-to-use knowledge? British Food Journal, 125(4), 1355–1373. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2022-0187. [ABDC: B]
Thomas-Francois, K., Somogyi, S., & Zolfaghari, A. (2023). The cultural acceptance of digital food shopping: Conceptualization, scale development, and validation. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 51(3), 306–326. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-11-2021-0552. [ABDC: A]
Zolfaghari, A., & Choi, H. C. (2023). Elevating the park experience: Exploring asymmetric relationships in visitor satisfaction at Canadian national parks. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 43, 100666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100666. [Peer Reviewed]
Liang, L. J., Choi, H. C., Dupej, S., & Zolfaghari, A. (2023). Motivations, risks, and constraints: An analysis of affective and cognitive images for cannabis tourism in Canada. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 4(2), 100110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annale.2023.100110. [Peer Reviewed]

Under Review

Zolfaghari, A., Dupej, S., Choi, H. C., & Yu, M. (2024). Is cannabis tourism deviant? Developments in tourism research. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management. [ABDC: A] (Under Review)

Working Papers

Zolfaghari, A., Somogyi, S., & Malone, T. (2024). Understanding consumer intention to adopt click & collect retailing. Data analysis in progress. Target journal: Journal of Retailing.
Zolfaghari, A., Pezzuti, T, Konuk, F. A.(2025). The impact of influencer mentions in brands social media posts on consumer engagement. Data analysis in progress. Target journal: Journal of Interactive Marketing.
Zolfaghari, A., Somogyi, S., & Malone, T. (2025). Understanding farmers' resistance to adopting e-commerce platforms. Model development in progress. Target journal: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.

Collaboration Invitation

I am actively seeking research collaborators in computational social science, digital consumer behaviour, service science, and experimental consumer psychology.

If you are working in adjacent areas—or interested in combining behavioural theory with large-scale digital consumer data—I would welcome a conversation.

Work With Me →

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse