What drives the adoption of artificial intelligence among consumers in the hospitality sector: a systematic literature review and future agenda

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PurposeThis study aims to identify, review and synthesize existing literature on key theories, drivers and barriers affecting consumer adoption or resistance to artificial intelligence (AI) in the hospitality sector.Design/methodology/approachThis study aims to conduct a complete literature review of the accrued knowledge generated so far on AI in the hospitality sector. To attain the overall objectives of this study, we used the systematic literature review (SLR) method. This method systematically handles the diversity of knowledge in a specific topic to answer precise research questions. It also generates new visions through a synthesis of the literature, to identify the knowledge gaps, set the new directions for the future researcher and provide sufficient guidance to inform the policy and practice.FindingsThe findings of this study are presented in three sections, as follows: descriptive analysis, content analysis and synthesized framework. The findings highlighted the state-of-the-art mapping of the existing research in terms of publication frequency over time and across publication outlets, key theories, methods and geographies. In addition, literature on consumer adoption (or resistance) of AI in hospitality is content analyzed to highlight key drivers and barriers. Moreover, this review critically evaluates extant literature and sets future agendas by postulating specific research questions for further knowledge development in this field of study.Research limitations/implicationsThe SLR focused on consumer adoption or resistance to use AI in hospitality literature. The future researcher may include additional streams to get better results.Practical implicationsThe study findings will help multiple stakeholders to understand the underlying causes of customer resistance or barriers to the intention to use/adopt AI services in the hotel sector. Furthermore, study results will allow them to better analyze the relationship between customer barriers, intents or consumer decision behaviors.Originality/valueFirst, this study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the literature on the consumer adoption or resistance of AI in hospitality. This study categorizes the existing diversified literature in two main themes – drivers and barriers – to present a simplistic picture of the existing literature. Second, the review highlights the gaps and limitations in existing research and provides guidance for future scholars. Third, the key contribution of this review is the development of a unified framework on the consumer adoption or resistance of AI in the hospitality sector. That is, this study puts forward the behavioral reasoning theory framework and suggests that future research using this lens will immensely contribute to existing literature. Finally, this study facilitates the practitioners to understand the key motivating and hindering factors affecting the adoption and resistance behavior.