Reducing deviant consumer behaviour with service robot guardians

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to understand whether service robots can safeguard servicescapes from deviant consumer behaviour. Using routine activity theory, this research examines whether increasing the perceived humanness of service robots reduces customer intentions to commit deviant consumer behaviour and whether this negative relationship is mediated by perceived empathy and perceived risk of being caught. Design/methodology/approach Five hundred and fifty-three US residents responded to a hypothetical scenario that manipulated the humanness of a service agent (from self-service technology, to robot, to human employee) across seven conditions and measured the likelihood of deviant consumer behaviour, empathy towards the service robot, perceived risk of being caught and punished and negative attitudes towards robots. Findings The results indicate that replacing human service agents with different types of service robots does inadvertently reduce customer perceptions of capable guardianship (i.e. the human element that deters potential offenders from committing crimes) in the servicescape and creates conditions that allow customers to perpetrate more deviant consumer behaviour. Practical implications When investing in technology such as service robots, service providers need to consider the unintended cost of customer misbehaviour (specifically deviant consumer behaviour) in their return-on-investment assessments to optimise their asset investment decisions. Originality/value Moving beyond research on customer adoption and use, this research examines the unintended consequences that might arise when deploying service robots in a technology-infused service environment. Humanised service robots offer more guardianship than self-service technology but do not replace human employees in preventing deviant consumer behaviour, as they remain more capable of deterring customer misbehaviour.

A meta-analysis of the effect of chatbot anthropomorphism on the customer journey

“…When users interact with artificial intelligence agents, they participate in immoral behaviors because they feel less guilty and immoral behaviors can be minimized when they are given human traits. Additionally, when service robots are highly anthropomorphic, customers' intentions to engage in abnormal consumer behaviors are significantly decreased (Dootson et al, 2023). Therefore, future research could further explore the "dark side" effect of chatbot anthropomorphism on consumer attitudes and behaviors.…”

Service robot anthropomorphism on consumer usage intention: curvilinear and linear effect

“…Our findings help to better explain how anthropomorphism facilitates or inhibits consumer usage intention and respond to the call by Broadbent (2017) and Wirtz et al (2018) to positively extend research on mediation models of anthropomorphism influencing positive consumer usage behavior. Moreover, although the claims of Rafiq et al (2022) and Meli an-Gonz alez et al (2021) emphasize the "uncanny valley phenomenon" in anthropomorphic theory (Mori, 1970, and previous studies have concentrated almost exclusively on the negative consequences between anthropomorphism and perceived risk, such as fear of deception, privacy, unemployment, loss of security and relationships, disappointment (Choi et al, 2021), replacement of humans (Huang and Rust, 2018) and deviant consumer behavior (Dootson et al, 2023). Therefore, this research also develops previous research by arguing that anthropomorphism can act as a facilitator, showing an curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship with perceived risk.…”

“…The common view on service robot anthropomorphism is that it leads to positive consumer usage outcomes which need to be further developed, promoted and applied (Stroessner and Benitez, 2019). Current empirical evidence supports this view, since service robot anthropomorphism is associated with increasing consumer trust (Leite et al, 2013), restoring customer satisfaction (Choi et al, 2021) and reducing deviant consumer behavior (Dootson et al, 2023). However, researchers have recently challenged the common perception of the "positive effects of service robot anthropomorphism", suggesting that there are negative effects of service robot anthropomorphism on consumer usage intention (Broadbent et al, 2011;Vlachos et al, 2016;Ackerman, 2016;Mende et al, 2019).…”

Friend, mentor, lover: does chatbot engagement lead to psychological dependence?

“…The existing literature on AI use in services is predominantly focused on adoption drivers and satisfaction outcomes in the contexts of self-service technology and physically embodied service robots. The theories used to study these phenomena are dominated by the technology acceptance model (Fernandes and Oliveira, 2021; Wirtz et al ., 2018), anthropomorphism theory (Letheren et al ., 2021; Pitardi et al ., 2022) and computers-are-social-actors paradigm (Dootson et al ., 2022; Schuetzler et al ., 2021). A dearth of research attention is dedicated to post-adoption, long-term customer relationships with social chatbots and their potential negative consequences, despite their growing adoption by consumers.…”