Robot-service restaurants: diners' memorable dining experiences and transformative consequences

Purpose This study examines customers' memorable dining experiences (MDEs) in robot-service restaurants and investigates how these experiences influence satisfaction, engagement, and transformative outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 667 Korean customers who had dined at robot-service restaurants and were analyzed using structural modeling analysis. Findings Results support a seven-dimensional MDE structure (meaningfulness, novelty, social interaction, hedonism, escapism, knowledge and refreshment) in robot-service restaurants. These dimensions positively affect overall satisfaction, which subsequently enhance customers' involvement with and attachment to the restaurant. Through these mediating processes, MDEs are indirectly associated with transformative outcomes, such as subjective well-being, self-esteem and global citizenship behavior, reflecting customers' psychological and prosocial responses to robot-delivered dining experiences. Practical implications The findings offer practical insights for restaurant managers aiming to design robot-service encounters that enhance memorability, customer engagement and positive well-being and social outcomes. Originality/value This study contributes to the MDEs literature by validating a multidimensional experiential framework in robot-service restaurants and by extending its nomological network to incorporate transformative customer outcomes informed by service research and memory-dominant logic.