Service robot implementation: a theoretical framework and research agenda

TLDR

Service robots and AI promise productivity gains and cost reductions, driving sales growth and research, yet marketing research on this phenomenon remains scarce. The article seeks to complement research on robots' human‑likeness by investigating the factors service managers must choose when implementing service robots in their service setting. The authors propose a three‑part framework—robot design, customer features, and service encounter characteristics—clarifying definitions, overlapping concepts, prior knowledge, and research gaps to guide optimal adaptation of service robots. The framework and accompanying research questions form a research agenda that guides scholars and helps practitioners implement service robots successfully.

Abstract

Service robots and artificial intelligence promise to increase productivity and reduce costs, prompting substantial growth in sales of service robots and research dedicated to understanding their implications. Nevertheless, marketing research on this phenomenon is scarce. To establish some fundamental insights related to this research domain, the current article seeks to complement research on robots' human-likeness with investigations of the factors that service managers must choose for the service robots implemented in their service setting. A three-part framework, comprised of robot design, customer features, and service encounter characteristics, specifies key factors within each category that need to be analyzed together to determine their optimal adaptation to different service components. Definitions and overlapping concepts are clarified, together with previous knowledge on each variable and research gaps that need to be solved. This framework and the final research questions provide a research agenda to guide scholars and help practitioners implement service robots successfully.