The more extroverted the better? Unraveling the complex relationship between service robots' personality and the service robot experience

Abstract

Abstract This study combines the customer experience, service robot, and communication literatures to explore how a service robot's personality affects the overall service robot experience. It considers individual (here, the customers' extroverted vs. introverted personality) and situational (here, hedonic vs. utilitarian service settings) contextual factors, and three specific service robot experiences (here, warmth, competence, and discomfort). A pretest ( n = 81) shows that a robot's personality (here, extroversion vs. introversion) can be shaped using verbal and nonverbal cues in the service robot design. Applying Complexity and Configuration Theories and using the novel fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis and necessary condition analysis (NCA) techniques, the main study ( n = 279) reveals the complex impact of the service robot personality on the overall service robot experience. Unlike conventional methods (e.g., SEM and regression) yielding averaged results, our findings show that various configurations with both introverted and extroverted robot personalities can equally lead to positive service robot experiences, based on the individual and situational context in which customers are embedded and the extent to which warmth, competence and discomfort are perceived. Hence, the more extroverted is not always better. Finally, the NCA findings reveal the minimum competence level that is required to obtain a certain level for the overall service robot experience. By understanding the intricate link between robot personality and its context, this research helps companies in strategically enhancing the service robot experience.