{"id":12597,"date":"2024-09-17T17:56:07","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T09:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/?p=12597"},"modified":"2024-09-17T17:56:09","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T09:56:09","slug":"research-explores-link-between-customer-perceptions-of-restaurant-service-and-use-of-robots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/research-explores-link-between-customer-perceptions-of-restaurant-service-and-use-of-robots\/","title":{"rendered":"Research explores link between customer perceptions of restaurant service and use of robots"},"content":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u6587\u6458\u8981 \/ Summary in Chinese<\/span>\n\n\n\n
A study involving UTM Assistant Professor Dr. June Yang Huijun has investigated how service robots are perceived by customers in restaurants, highlighting how clients\u2019 views depend on what task the robots are performing. The research also indicated robots are more readily accepted by restaurant users in theme parks<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

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Restaurant managers considering the use of robots for services to customers must \u201cunderstand which functions and types of service outlets are best suited for service robots.\u201d The recommendation comes from a new study involving Dr. June Yang Huijun, Assistant Professor at UTM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRobot\u2013environment fit should be considered when developers design \u2013 and managers select \u2013 robots for their restaurants,\u201d the researchers stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was conducted by an international team. It also included: Dr. Wang Yao-Chin from the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management at the University of Florida, in the United States; Dr. Song Hanqun from the Essex Business School at the University of Essex, in the United Kingdom; and Dr. Emily Ma Jintao from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, in the U.K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their findings were published in the August issue of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, in a paper titled \u201cUtilitarian vs Hedonic Roles of Service Robots and Customer Stereotypes: A Person\u2013Environment Fit Theory Perspective\u201d. \u00a0(Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for access to the full paper.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study examined the differences in how restaurant customers responded to service tasks performed by human employees versus robots. It also explored customer stereotyping of service robots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research included two scenario-based experiments, focusing on different hypothetical restaurant settings. The first involved a casual restaurant in China, while the second was \u2018set\u2019 in a theme park restaurant. Participants were randomly assigned to either of the experimental scenarios and asked to assess it, and provide background information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, 223 valid responses were gathered for the first study, with 213 valid responses in the second. Online marketing research company Wenjuanxing helped with data collection, which took place in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results revealed that human staff in \u201chedonic services\u201d \u2013 those involving social and emotional elements \u2013 enhanced customers\u2019 perceptions of service and brand authenticity more than robotic counterparts. However, in utilitarian services, where tasks were functional and instrumental, there was \u201cno significant difference\u201d between client perceptions of human servers and robots in the theme park setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur findings indicate that customers in China may not be fully receptive to service robots in certain aspects of dining experiences,\u201d the researchers said, emphasising that the service context played a crucial role in how robots were perceived. “Chinese consumers seem to have higher levels of acceptance of service robots in theme parks than in traditional restaurants,” they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of stereotypes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study highlighted the financial risks associated with introducing service robots to restaurant operations, suggesting that venue managers should carefully consider their suitability for specific functions and for the type of service outlet. Additionally, the researchers warned that \u2013 based on their findings \u2013 customer stereotypes regarding robots could significantly impact those customers\u2019 perceptions of restaurant service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers holding few stereotypical views about service robots \u201ctend to perceive higher levels of brand and service authenticity,\u201d the study noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mitigate negative stereotypes, the authors suggested identifying positions in restaurants and other service contexts that may be influenced by customer and employee bias. This could help managers decide which roles are better suited for robots and which for humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly when customers understand that service robots can perform well in restaurants and other service contexts, particularly for standardised functions such as cleaning and food delivery, can negative stereotypes be minimised and service experiences with robots be enhanced,\u201d the researchers stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the research found customers recognised the effectiveness of service robots as being on par with human staff in theme park restaurants, the authors suggested that robots could be used to help reduce labour costs while maintaining customer satisfaction in these environments. They added that collaboration between service automation developers and theme park managers could enhance the integration of robots into these complexes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, it was found that customers in theme parks viewed robots as capable of delivering quality hedonic services which they perceived as fitting with the service and brand authenticity of both the restaurant and the theme park itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherefore, service automation technology developers should design robots that can fit with the service image of theme park restaurants and the theme park brand image,\u201d the team of researchers concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor: UTM Public Relations Team<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A study involving UTM Assistant Professor Dr. June Yang Huijun has investigated how service robots are perceived by customers in restaurants, highlighting how clients\u2019 views depend on what task the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":12599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,136],"tags":[3262,3264,2076,3055,400,2861,1085,626,3259,3261,2859,3263],"class_list":["post-12597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge","category-main_headline","tag-customer-perceptions","tag-customer-stereotypes","tag-june-yang","tag-knowledge","tag-macao","tag-macao-university-of-tourism","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurant-service","tag-ronot","tag-theme-park","tag-utm","tag-yang-huijun"],"views":559,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12603,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12597\/revisions\/12603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}