Ethics meets service robots: A cross-cultural perspective on how dual luxury–task fit reshapes hotel service differentiation

Abstract

This study examines how customers’ ethical perceptions of service robots influence hotel service differentiation through the dual mediating mechanisms of luxury-technology fit and task-technology fit. Drawing on the ethics position theory and dual-congruity perspectives, we conducted a cross-cultural investigation comparing hotel customers from Taiwan (n = 556) and the United States (n = 551) to clarify the cultural differences in the mechanisms from their ethical perceptions of service robots to their expected degree of hotel service differentiation. The results reveal that ethical perceptions have a positive influence on performance expectancy and perceived importance across cultures, albeit with varying intensities. While the relationship between ethical perceptions and performance expectancy remains consistent across both cultures, the impact on perceived importance is more substantial in the U.S. than in Taiwan, reflecting the individualistic nature of U.S. culture. Notably, tasktechnology fit emerged as a significant mediator between performance expectancy and service differentiation in cultural contexts, whereas luxurytechnology fit did not demonstrate the expected mediating effect. The mediating role of tasktechnology fit between perceived importance and service differentiation was particularly pronounced in Taiwan, aligning with its cultural emphasis on practical harmony and contextual adaptation. These findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of technology-enabled service differentiation and provide practical insights for implementing service robots in culturally diverse hospitality contexts.