The mechanism of value cocreation in robotic services: customer inspiration from robotic service novelty

Abstract

Service robots provide operational benefits to restaurants, but the mechanism through which novel robotic services optimize customer experience given appropriate robots’ dependence on human employees remains unclear. To fill this gap, this study adopts the transmission model of customer inspiration and identifies customer value cocreation processes in robotic services. Combined evidence from two online experiments and a field experiment demonstrates that robotic service novelty has a positive effect on customer cocreation intention via customer inspiration. Robotic task interdependence, which reflects the extent to which a robot relies on human employees to complete its tasks, attenuates the relationship between robotic service novelty and customer cocreation intention through decreased customer inspiration. These findings offer insights into marketing strategies for robotic services that provide enhanced customer experiences.