Frontline employees' responses to customer abuse of robots: An emotional and cognitive perspective

Abstract

The growing incidence of robot abuse in public settings has become a notable concern in human–robot interactions. However, previous studies have focused on bystanders’ various reactions, whereas the responses and underlying mechanisms triggered by witnessing robot abuse remain underexplored. Therefore, drawing on the dual-process theory, this study examined the varied responses of frontline employees’ to witnessing the abuse of various task-focused robots. This study conducted two scenario-based experiments with full-time hospitality employees. The results revealed that employees who observed customers’ abuse of robots performing functional tasks were inclined to engage in customer-oriented behavior, and this association was mediated by performance stress (conscious/cognitive processing path). Conversely, witnessing the abuse of robots performing social tasks triggered moral outrage and enhanced retaliatory behavioral intentions (intuitive/affective processing path). Additionally, organizational service climate moderated these effects, increasing the impact of performance stress on customer-oriented behavior and decreasing the impact of moral outrage on retaliatory behavioral intentions. This study enriches the understanding of the spillover effects of robot abuse within the hospitality service triad.