The Impact of Employee-Robot Collaboration on Service Sabotage: The Moderating Role of Collective Psychological Ownership
(A2025-125803)

AUTHORS

Guohong yu, Nottingham University Business School China; Yangyang Jiang, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China; M S Balaji, Rennes School of Business; Wang Yi, University of Nottingham Ningbo China

ABSTRACT

Drawing on theories of mind perception, self-identity, and psychological ownership, the research investigates how and when employee-robot collaboration leads to service sabotage. Data were collected from 332 frontline employees who worked alongside robots in the hospitality service sector. The results show that the extent of employee-robot collaboration enhances perceived agency of robots, which in turn leads to employees perceiving threat to their self-identity. This threat to self-identity causes employees to engage in service sabotage as a defensive coping strategy. Additionally, employees’ collective psychological ownership mitigates the impact of self-identity threat on service sabotage. The findings of the study offer valuable insights for researchers and managers, enabling them to design effective employee-robot service teams and reduce the adverse service outcomes of such hybrid teams.