Automated Agents in Tourism: Service Recovery Satisfaction, Trust, and the Need for Human Interaction

This study examines customer responses to automated service recovery in online travel booking platforms using Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory and the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework. Survey data from 420 Indonesian users were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that automated service recovery quality influences switching intention indirectly through recovery satisfaction and trust. Contrary to expectations, higher recovery quality is negatively associated with satisfaction, revealing a boundary condition of Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory in technology mediated recovery. The Need for human interaction functions as a quasi-moderator, shaping satisfaction, trust, and switching intentions.