A technology acceptance model for the perception of restaurant service robots for trust, interactivity, and output quality

Abstract

Robotics has entered food services for orders and deliveries. Robots not only attract customer's attention, but also solve the problems of human resource shortages, training, and turnover rates. For these reasons, restaurant robots may become staple in future culinary experiences. The present study attempts to study the perception of restaurant robots using technology acceptance model (TAM) with trust, interactivity, and quality of output as the variables. The interviewed subjects are general managers or deputy managers in more than 100 restaurants in Taiwan. The results indicate that attitude positively influences acceptance with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use positively nudges attitude. Perceived ease of use significantly increases perceived usefulness. Trust and the quality of output significantly affect perceived usefulness, as does interaction has a positive influence on perceived ease of use. Finally, we hope this research result will shed some light on the future implementation of robotics in restaurant services.