Unpacking the psychological mechanisms of service robot adoption for lonely customers

Abstract

This research attempts to bridge the fields of service robotics and loneliness studies, exploring the relationship between customers’ psychological state and technology use. Drawing upon the Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness, we propose lonely customers have a strong service robot use intention, with need for interaction serving as a mediator and information overload as a moderator. A questionnaire survey of 354 UK-based respondents was conducted to test our hypotheses. Results indicate that loneliness positively affects service robot use intention, both directly and indirectly through a reduced need for interaction. Information overload weakens the negative relationship between need for interaction and service robot use intention. Findings offer insights for service providers in designing and implementing robotic services, suggesting a balanced approach that considers customers' psychological states and varying needs for interaction.