Breaking the mold: Is there a gender stereotype when robot service failures happen?

IF 9.9 1区管理学 Q1 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

International Journal of Hospitality Management Pub Date : 2025-04-01 DOI:10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104210

Hui Jiang , Fang Meng , Xiaonan Zhang

{"title":"Breaking the mold: Is there a gender stereotype when robot service failures happen?","authors":"Hui Jiang , Fang Meng , Xiaonan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104210","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application of service robots has been reshaping service practices and experiences in the hospitality and tourism industry. It is common for robots to be assigned human-specific characteristics (either humanlike or non-humanlike) and gender-specific traits (either feminine or masculine). Three experimental studies were conducted to explore how robot human-likeness and robot gender influence customers’ emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral responses in different service failure scenarios. The results suggest that customers have more negative attitudinal and emotional responses, whereas less negative behavioral response toward humanoid robots (with apparent feminine features) compared to non-humanoid robots (with masculine features), leading to the generation of spurious loyalty when service failure happens. This is mediated by customer affection induced by the service robots. The findings provide valuable insights into the design and implementation of robots in hospitality and tourism services to meet customer expectations, dimmish the potential risks, and enhance customer experiences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48444,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Hospitality Management","volume":"129 ","pages":"Article 104210"},"PeriodicalIF":9.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Hospitality Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278431925001331","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The application of service robots has been reshaping service practices and experiences in the hospitality and tourism industry. It is common for robots to be assigned human-specific characteristics (either humanlike or non-humanlike) and gender-specific traits (either feminine or masculine). Three experimental studies were conducted to explore how robot human-likeness and robot gender influence customers’ emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral responses in different service failure scenarios. The results suggest that customers have more negative attitudinal and emotional responses, whereas less negative behavioral response toward humanoid robots (with apparent feminine features) compared to non-humanoid robots (with masculine features), leading to the generation of spurious loyalty when service failure happens. This is mediated by customer affection induced by the service robots. The findings provide valuable insights into the design and implementation of robots in hospitality and tourism services to meet customer expectations, dimmish the potential risks, and enhance customer experiences.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

International Journal of Hospitality Management HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM-

CiteScore

21.20

自引率

9.40%

发文量

218

审稿时长

85 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Hospitality Management serves as a platform for discussing significant trends and advancements in various disciplines related to the hospitality industry. The publication covers a wide range of topics, including human resources management, consumer behavior and marketing, business forecasting and applied economics, operational management, strategic management, financial management, planning and design, information technology and e-commerce, training and development, technological developments, and national and international legislation. In addition to covering these topics, the journal features research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, and analyses of business practices within the hospitality industry. It aims to provide readers with valuable insights and knowledge in order to advance research and improve practices in the field. The journal is also indexed and abstracted in various databases, including the Journal of Travel Research, PIRA, Academic Journal Guide, Documentation Touristique, Leisure, Recreation and Tourism Abstracts, Lodging and Restaurant Index, Scopus, CIRET, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. This ensures that the journal's content is widely accessible and discoverable by researchers and practitioners in the hospitality field.