INNOVATION IN GASTRONOMIC TOURISM: IMPACT OF ROBOTIC SERVICE ON SUSTAINABLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Abstract

This study explores the factors influencing customer experience and behavioral intentions in robotic hospitality settings in South Korea. Using structural equation modeling on data from 488 participants, we examined the relationships among perceived robot performance, human-robot interaction quality, service environment innovativeness, perceived sustainability, experiential value, technology trust, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Our findings reveal that service environment innovativeness and perceived robot performance significantly influence experiential value, while human-robot interaction quality and perceived sustainability do not. This unexpected outcome challenges conventional wisdom and opens new avenues for research. Experiential value strongly impacts technology trust and customer satisfaction, but does not directly affect behavioral intentions. Technology trust emerged as a crucial mediator, influencing both customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions, highlighting its pivotal role in shaping customer outcomes. We also examined the moderating effect of technology readiness and observed that it significantly moderates the relationship between service environment innovativeness and experiential value. This indicates that customers with higher technology readiness derive greater experiential value from innovative service environments. This study presents three key implications: 1) technological elements and service environment innovativeness are critical in shaping customer experiences in robotic hospitality, 2) technology trust is a vital mediator linking customer satisfaction to behavioral intentions, and 3) service strategies should be tailored to customers' technology readiness. By providing a comprehensive model of the customer experience and behavioral intentions in robotic hospitality settings, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature and offers valuable insights for hospitality managers implementing robotic services.