I am not human after all. The negative impact of human-like robots on customers' attitude
(A2019-9791)

AUTHORS

Giampaolo Viglia, University of Portsmouth; Laura Grazzini, University of Florence; Sebastian Molinillo, University of Malaga; Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University

KEYWORDS

robots; eeriness; attitudes

ABSTRACT

The use of robots interacting with customers - social robots - is increasing at a fast speed. Very few studies have examined the consumer experience with social robots and the deriving overall consumers’ attitude towards the company. This experimental study shows that high human-likeliness negatively affects guests’ attitude toward hotels, with perceived eeriness being the mechanism behind this relationship. By unclosing also the boundary conditions for the effect to take place (physical vs. mediated presence), the study provides actionable insights for service managers on the type of social robots that increase attitudes towards the service.