Investigates how privacy concerns affect trust in hospitality service robots, suggesting implications for design.
Understanding how consumers develop trust in hospitality service robots under privacy conditions remains underexplored, particularly given the paradoxical role of privacy concerns. Drawing on privacy calculus theory and a socio-technical interaction perspective, this study investigates the psychological mechanisms through which trust is generated in human–robot interaction contexts. From survey data ( N = 576) collected in hospitality scenarios, we find that privacy concerns mediate the relationship between digital and parasocial interactions and consumers’ trust, revealing a cognitive basis for the privacy paradox. A detailed analysis of the mediation pathways shows that trust emerges through an awareness-driven cognitive integration process, whereby individuals interpret and evaluate privacy risks before forming trust. Furthermore, perceived usefulness negatively moderates the effect of privacy concerns on trust, whereas risk appetite exerts no significant moderating effect. By elucidating these mechanisms, the study advances a cognitive explanation of the privacy paradox in human–robot interaction and offers actionable insights for designing AI-enabled service interactions that foster consumer trust under privacy conditions.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Song et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: