To whom does service robot anthropomorphism appeal? The roles of customer social context, power, and perceived social connectedness

While service robots have been widely used in service industries, there remains no consensus on whether service robot anthropomorphism facilitates or inhibits customer responses. This research examines how service robot anthropomorphism, customer social context, and power interactively impact customer responses from a social psychological perspective of human-robot interaction. Based on three scenario-based experiments targeting different services among Chinese and American participants, the research reveals that for involuntary solo customers, high (vs. low) robot anthropomorphism increases attitude toward service robots. For voluntary solo customers or group customers, service robot anthropomorphism makes no difference in influencing attitude. Besides, high-power customers display stronger purchase intentions for products recommended by robots with low (vs. high) anthropomorphism, while low-power customers exhibit stronger purchase intentions for products recommended by robots with high (vs. low) anthropomorphism. Such effects were explained by customers’ perceived social connectedness with service robots with varying degrees of anthropomorphism. The research sheds new light on service robot anthropomorphism and social dynamics in human-robot interaction, and offers actionable guidance for robot application in service industries.