Consent to Participate in Research

Introduction and Purpose

Thank you for your interest in taking part in this study conducted by Dr. Agata Mirowska from the NEOMA Business School, Dr. Jbid Arsenyan from the Rennes School of Business, Dr. Kristyn Scott from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University and Dr. Daniel González Cortés. The purpose of this research is to better understand interactions with virtual agents. We are requesting your assistance as a voluntary participant in this study to help us further develop the knowledge base in this area. The task that we are asking you to complete is for research purposes only.

WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO

If you agree to participate in this study, you will use the login that you were provided to access the virtual agent. You will be asked to chat with the virtual agent for about 5 minutes and we will ask you a few questions when you are done. This study will take a maximum of 15 minutes and you will receive 0.25% bonus in appreciation of your participation.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS

There is no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study. This research is a pilot study to understand how people chat with the virtual agent so that we are able to train it for future studies.

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL RISKS TO YOU

Although there are no risks anticipated as a result of your participation in this study, we recognize that you might feel bored during the virtual chat. You are free to stop participating at any time by closing the browser. If you close your browser before getting to the end of the survey and do not confirm your consent to participate at the end of the survey by completing the last question we will not use your data. In addition, the last question asks for permission to use your data and if you say no we will delete it.

YOUR IDENTITY WILL BE ANONYMIZED

The survey will not be collecting information that will easily identify you, like your name or other unique identifiers.

HOW YOUR INFORMATION WILL BE PROTECTED AND STORED

You are accessing the virtual agent via a random number code. We have no way of associating the code with any individual person or responses. The code simply tells the website that you are a human user with permission to access it. To further protect your information, data stored by the researcher will be password protected and/or encrypted. Data will be shared through Google Drive and only between the primary investigator and co-researchers. Only the researcher/s named in this study will have access to the data as collected. Any future publications will include collective information (i.e., aggregate data). Your individual responses (i.e., raw data) will not be shared with anyone outside of the research team. When the research is completed, the researcher/s will keep the anonymized data indefinitely in keeping with current scientific norms. Anonymized electronic data may also be shared with peer reviewers to ensure scientific transparency and to enable replication of research results. The results of this study will be used to help us with future studies using this virtual agent.

YOUR RIGHTS AS A RESEARCH PARTICIPANT

Participation in research is completely voluntary and you can withdraw your consent at any point up to completing the end of survey question. However, because the data is anonymized, once you complete the study the researchers will not be able to determine which answers belong to you so your information cannot be withdrawn after that point. Your decision to withdraw or not participate will not affect your current or future relationships with the researchers or Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), NEOMA Business School or Rennes School of Business in any way. Please note that by completing the study you are providing your consent for participation. By consenting to participate you are not waiving any of your legal rights as a research participant.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions about this research, you can email the members of the research team. Please note that if you choose to email us we will know that you have participated although your data is still anonymous.

Researcher Information and Contact

• Dr. Agata Mirowska (Primary Investigator) — agata.mirowska@neoma-bs.fr
• Dr. Jbid Arsenyan (Co-Investigator) — jbid.arsenyan@rennes-sb.com
• Dr. Kristyn Scott (Co-Investigator) — kristyn.scott@torontomu.ca

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Toronto Metropolitan University Research Ethics Board (REB 2025-329), NEOMA and Rennes. If you have any questions about your rights or treatment as a research participant in this study, please contact the Toronto Metropolitan University Research Ethics Board at rebchair@torontomu.ca (416) 979-5042.

I agree to participate in research being conducted by Dr. Agata Mirowska, Dr. Jbid Arsenyan, Dr. Kristyn Scott and Dr. Daniel González Cortés. I understand that I will be interacting with a virtual agent for approximately 5 minutes and receive 0.25% bonus credit. I understand that I can withdraw my consent to participate at any time and by giving consent I am not giving up any of my legal rights.