Exploring key factors influencing customer behavioral intention in robot restaurants

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the robot restaurant servicescape and robot service competence (RSC) on customers’ behavioral intentions and to analyze the mediating role of hedonic value (HV) and utilitarian value (UV) in these relationships and the moderating role of individual characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThis research involves seven constructs to be measured, namely, servicescape, RSC, negative attitude toward robots (NAR), openness to change (OC), HV, UV and behavioral intention. This research selects Foodom robot restaurants, located in Shunde and Guangzhou of China, as the research site, and the research objects are customers having dinner in the restaurant. A total of 485 valid data was collected. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data, verify the proposed research model, and test the research hypotheses.FindingsThe study finds that servicescape and RSC improve customer behavioral intention. Additionally, HV and UV mediate the influence of servicescape and RSC on customer behavioral intention. Moreover, OC negatively moderates the influence of servicescape on UV and that a NAR negatively moderates the influence of RSC on HV.Originality/valueThrough carefully design of servicescape and the improvement in service capabilities of robots, the original service delivery dominated by frontline service personnel can be transformed into service delivery dominated by service robots, which is conductive to providing a pleasant and unforgettable experience for customers.