Acceptance of robots as co-workers: Hotel employees’ perspective

This study aims to develop a model for the acceptance of robots as co-workers from the perspective of hotel employees and uses empirical model testing to validate the findings. Mixed-methods research was conducted by employing a sequential exploratory strategy, whereas qualitative research was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The key informants were executives, HR managers, reception managers, and some staff of three hotels in Thailand. Five main themes were uncovered from the IPA: human, robot, organization, human–robot collaboration (HRC), and robot acceptance. Relationships between the themes were established and were promoted as the premise for an initial robot acceptance model. Thereafter, the survey questionnaire was drafted using the instrumental development approach. The model is a good fit with the empirical data. Human, robot, and organizational factors significantly affect robot acceptance and HRC. Meanwhile, HRC plays a mediator role in the relationship of human, robot, and organizational factors with robot acceptance, but in a negative direction. This implies that the respondents generally accept robots. However, the level of acceptance decreases when HRC is involved.