Service Robot Adoption in Hospitality: A Social Influence Perspective

Service robots have been adopted in many industries, including hospitality. Yet the conditions under which customers see these robotic assistants as social entities remain unclear. This research investigates how different levels of social influence, including a service robot’s communication skills (i.e., congruent co-verbal gestures), the degree of commensality (i.e., social practice of dining together), and customers’ interactive experiences (i.e., interaction with the robot), shape human–robot interaction and subsequent service robot adoption. Three interconnected studies, including two online experiments and one field study at a restaurant, were conducted based on social impact theory. The results suggest that customers require a certain level of social influence to perceive a service robot’s social presence. This type of presence is the primary factor informing service robot adoption at low to moderate levels of social influence. However, as the level of social influence increases, customers begin to rely more on their interactive experiences (e.g., while dining or interacting with the service robot directly) when making adoption decisions. This research offers several meaningful implications. Theoretically, it is one of the first to experimentally assess the effects of social presence, customers’ dining experiences, and interactivity on service robot adoption under varying levels of social influence. Practically, it provides useful insights for managers by contextualizing customers’ real-world behavior in a restaurant setting.