Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the robot restaurant servicescape and robot service competence (RSC) on customers’ behavioral intentions and to analyze the mediating role of hedonic value (HV) and utilitarian value (UV) in these relationships and the moderating role of individual characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
This research involves seven constructs to be measured, namely, servicescape, RSC, negative attitude toward robots (NAR), openness to change (OC), HV, UV and behavioral intention. This research selects Foodom robot restaurants, located in Shunde and Guangzhou of China, as the research site, and the research objects are customers having dinner in the restaurant. A total of 485 valid data was collected. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data, verify the proposed research model, and test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The study finds that servicescape and RSC improve customer behavioral intention. Additionally, HV and UV mediate the influence of servicescape and RSC on customer behavioral intention. Moreover, OC negatively moderates the influence of servicescape on UV and that a NAR negatively moderates the influence of RSC on HV.
Originality/value
Through carefully design of servicescape and the improvement in service capabilities of robots, the original service delivery dominated by frontline service personnel can be transformed into service delivery dominated by service robots, which is conductive to providing a pleasant and unforgettable experience for customers.
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the process of value co-creation within wellness tourism by constructing a structural equation model of customer interactions with the environment, service employees and other customers relating to customer-perceived value and customer engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires, including wellness tourists’ customer-environment interaction, customer-service employee interaction, customer-customer interaction, customer-perceived value, customer engagement and demographic background, were developed and distributed at well-known wellness tourism destinations around Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China. This study collected 528 valid questionnaires from hot spring resorts, national forest parks, mountain parks and spa wellness facilities located in Guangdong Province, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the obtained data.
Findings
The results reveal that all three types of interactions, which include the customer-environment interaction (CEI), the customer-service employee interaction (CSI) and the customer-customer interaction (CCI), have positive effects on customer-perceived value (CPV) and that CPV positively affects customer engagement (CE). Based on these findings, recommendations for the management of wellness tourism service enterprises are given.
Originality/value
The causes and effects of CPV in wellness tourism, from the perspective of value co-creation, is a rather unexplored area of study. It contributes not only to knowledge about factors that foster CPV but also to the understanding of connections between CPV and CE.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the physical attractiveness stereotype in service encounters. Specifically, this paper examines how physical attractiveness affects a customer’s response and whether a customer’s social interaction anxiety and the consumption situation moderate this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments were used to test hypotheses. Participants were subject to scenarios of varying levels of physical attractiveness (more vs less), social interaction anxiety (high vs low) and consumption situation (private vs public). Customer participation intention and citizenship behavior were measured along scales.
Findings
The results indicate that the physical attractiveness of service providers positively affects customer citizenship behavior, and customer participation intention mediates this relationship. However, the effect only exists for a customer with low social interaction anxiety or presents itself under public consumption conditions.
Research limitations/implications
This work paints a more nuanced picture of missing links in the understanding of the influence of service providers’ physical attractiveness. It enriches the physical attractiveness stereotype literature by identifying the mediating role of customer participation intention while bounding the relationship within conditions related to a customer’s social interaction anxiety and the service consumption situation.
Practical implications
Management may alter the performance of service employees by considering the employee’s physical attractiveness and gauging customer social interaction anxiety while keeping in mind the consumption situation.
Originality/value
This study advances physical attractiveness stereotype research by examining its effect on customer participation intention and citizenship behavior in the service industry. Additionally, this study adds customer social interaction anxiety and consumption situation to the existing literature that addresses employee factors affecting customer behavior.
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