Humanlike robot and human staff in service: Age and gender differences in perceiving smiling behaviors

With the development of humanlike robots, more service providers are applying this technology and there is no exception in the tourism and hospitality industry. Yet, it is unclear how different gender and age groups perceive robots in the service encounter. The present study investigates customers' perceptions toward the smiling behaviors, especially with various degrees of head tilts, of humanlike robots and humans in a service setting by comparing the perceptions of males (n=92) and females (n=121) of varying generations. A total of 10 stimuli were used with head tilt at − 20°, −10°, 0°, 10°, and 20°, in which, head tilt is considered a unique trait in smiling behavior. Findings showed that male and female customers in differing age groups had different perceptions toward the overall service quality, specifically the reliability and assurance, and overall visiting intentions, given by either the robot or human staff. Besides, customers all perceived interpersonal warmth and their customer satisfaction similarly. Finally, the findings provide insights for robotic technology and are of credible relevance regarding to technological improvements. Moreover, it contributes considerably to the tourism and hospitality industries.