Prevention is better than cure? Investigating the effect of preventive recovery strategies by service robots on customer misbehavior

Purpose Based on relational value theory, this research explores how different preventive recovery strategies employed by service robots affect customer misbehavior intentions. Design/methodology/approach This research conducted three studies. Study 1 examined the effects of preventive recovery strategies (gratitude-based vs. apology-based) on customer misbehavior intentions, with social distance as the mediator. Study 2 and Study 3 further investigated the moderating role of cuteness and service failure severity in these effects. Findings The results confirm that gratitude-based preventive recovery strategies lead to lower customer misbehavior intentions than apology-based ones, and this is caused by the narrowed social distance. However, these effects would be attenuated in low-cuteness or high-severity conditions. Practical implications This study offers valuable insights for the practice of preventive service recovery and customer misbehavior management in AI-driven service scenarios. Originality/value Our findings enrich the theoretical framework of AI-driven service recovery and customer misbehavior by examining the potential positive effect of preventive recovery strategies by service robots.