Automation is efficient, but it can’t replicate the human touch. Consumers prefer the unique qualities that human labor gives to certain products and services, according to a recent paper co-authored by Wharton marketing professor Stefano Puntoni. The findings suggest companies automating for supply-side reasons may want to keep their employees because of the value they bring to the demand side. “Companies should shift the conversation from what can be automated to what should be automated,” Puntoni and his colleagues wrote in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal about the study.
