Whispers of automation: Exploring the influence of service robots on food waste

IF 8.3 1区管理学 Q1 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

International Journal of Hospitality Management Pub Date : 2025-10-18 DOI:10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104484

Lingling Wen , Liyao Huang

{"title":"Whispers of automation: Exploring the influence of service robots on food waste","authors":"Lingling Wen , Liyao Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijhm.2025.104484","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although food waste is a prevalent and critical issue in the tourism and hotel sectors, research on the causes of food waste from the perspective of environmental cues remains underexplored. Thus, this study aims to address this gap by examining how service robots, as a specific type of environment cue, influence food waste in the tourism and hospitality industries. Through six experiments, we found that consumers are more likely to waste food when interacting with robot chefs compared to human chefs. This effect occurs because robot chefs are perceived to exert less effort in food production than human chefs. Additionally, we discovered that individual traits and environmental changes can moderate this effect. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of factors driving food waste in the context of service robots and is the first to examine the impact of service robots on food waste. The findings offer practical implications for reducing food waste, enhancing resource utilization, and achieving sustainable development within these industries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48444,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Hospitality Management","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 104484"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-18","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/S0278431925004128","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

Although food waste is a prevalent and critical issue in the tourism and hotel sectors, research on the causes of food waste from the perspective of environmental cues remains underexplored. Thus, this study aims to address this gap by examining how service robots, as a specific type of environment cue, influence food waste in the tourism and hospitality industries. Through six experiments, we found that consumers are more likely to waste food when interacting with robot chefs compared to human chefs. This effect occurs because robot chefs are perceived to exert less effort in food production than human chefs. Additionally, we discovered that individual traits and environmental changes can moderate this effect. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of factors driving food waste in the context of service robots and is the first to examine the impact of service robots on food waste. The findings offer practical implications for reducing food waste, enhancing resource utilization, and achieving sustainable development within these industries.

查看原文本刊更多论文

自动化的低语：探索服务机器人对食物浪费的影响

虽然食物浪费在旅游业和酒店业是一个普遍而关键的问题，但从环境因素的角度研究食物浪费的原因仍未得到充分探索。因此，本研究旨在通过研究服务机器人作为一种特定类型的环境线索如何影响旅游和酒店业的食物浪费来解决这一差距。通过六次实验，我们发现与人类厨师相比，消费者在与机器人厨师互动时更容易浪费食物。之所以会产生这种效应，是因为人们认为机器人厨师在制作食物时比人类厨师付出的努力更少。此外，我们发现个体特征和环境变化可以缓和这种影响。我们的研究有助于更深入地了解在服务机器人的背景下导致食物浪费的因素，并首次研究了服务机器人对食物浪费的影响。研究结果对减少食物浪费、提高资源利用率和实现这些行业的可持续发展具有实际意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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.