Discovering meaningful engagement through interaction between customers and service robots

Although service robots are causing a paradigm shift in the service industry by creating new interactions with customers, there is limited knowledge regarding which elements of service robots create desirable interactions with customers. To address this gap, this study invited situated action theory to investigate elements of service robots shaping customers’ meaningful engagement. 252 responses from the survey were analyzed. These revealed that some socio-functional elements are primary for meaningful engagement by affecting both experiential and instrumental outcomes, whereas others are salient for either one of the outcomes. Our analysis also examined personal innovativeness and viability of human–robot team pertaining to meaningful engagement. This study contributes to the literature by identifying socio-functional elements of service robots and exploring how they create meaningful engagement. It also provides practical implications to service companies, demonstrating critical elements of service robots for enhancing their service quality and for developing robot-driven service environments.