Does robotic service quality determine robotic restaurant diners’ engagement behaviors? Role of customer engagement and attachment to the restaurant

Abstract

PurposeRobotic restaurants are very novel, and service robots in these restaurants are identified as offering unique advantages in terms of efficiency, tireless service and potentially lower operational costs. However, studying customer engagement with the robots can reveal aspects of robotic service that resonate with diners. Understanding how diners interact with robots can help create a more engaging and enjoyable atmosphere, bringing more business to restaurants. Building on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory and place attachment theory, the purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the robotic service quality (RSQ) on the customer attachment to the robotic restaurant with the mediating role of the different dimensions of the customer engagement, like the Absorptive Attention, Enthusiastic Participation and Social Connection. Subsequently, the impact of the customer attachment to the robotic restaurant on different dimensions of customer engagement behaviors like augmenting, co-developing, influencing and mobilizing behaviors was also studied.Design/methodology/approachThe cross-sectional data from 786 robotic restaurant diners in India who answered the self-administered structured questionnaires is utilized for this descriptive study. The study employed a purposive sampling strategy. The SMART-PLS 4.0 program was used to run structural equation modeling and analyze the data.FindingsThe results indicate that customer engagement dimensions like Absorptive Attention, Enthusiastic Participation and Social Connection differentially mediate the relationship between RSQ and customer attachment with the robotic restaurant. Customer attachment to the restaurant and the robotic services subsequently positively impact customer engagement behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied upon cross-sectional data from the Indian population above 18 years to test the proposed model. Further studies could test the model across different populations to generalize the study results.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need to investigate robotic restaurant diners’ engagement behaviors. By testing place attachment theory and the SOR framework, this study is the first to show that RSQ will impact the customer attachment with the robotic restaurant and that different dimensions of customer engagement mediate the relationship. It also validates the previous research findings that customer engagement is not a single global construct, and different sub-dimensions are to be explored. This study is also the first to show customer attachment to the robotic restaurant will impact customer engagement behaviors differently.