An improvement or a gimmick? The importance of user perceived values, previous experience, and industry context in human–robot service interaction

Abstract

To tackle the debate over whether using service robots is an improvement or merely a gimmick, this research examined actual users' attitudes and long-term usage behavior in human–robot service interactions from the perspective of perceived values. Study 1 revealed that the effect of perceived hedonic value on users' attitudes is contingent upon perceived utilitarian value. When utilitarian value is low, hedonic value negatively affects users' attitudes, leading service robots to be perceived as a gimmick. When utilitarian value is high, hedonic value positively contributes to users' attitudes, causing users to see service robots as a service improvement. Study 2 found that perceived utilitarian and hedonic values evoke users' future behavioral intention. The strengths of these impacts depend upon users' previous experiences. When users have less (vs. more) previous experience, the effect of perceived hedonic (vs. utilitarian) value is more influential on users' future behavior. The effects of perceived values also depend on the industry context: when the setting is utilitarian (vs. hedonic), perceived utilitarian (vs. hedonic) value plays a more prominent role in determining users’ future behavioral intention. These findings provide theoretically and practically meaningful implications regarding human–robot service interaction across settings in tourism, hospitality and destination marketing and management. • Utilitarian value is essential in forming users' attitudes towards service robots. • The effect of hedonic value on users' attitudes depends on utilitarian value. • Utilitarian and hedonic values inspire users' future behavioral intentions. • The relative importance of each value varies upon users' prior experience. • The relative importance of each value varies by industry context.