Customer acceptance of humanoid service robots in hotels: moderating effects of service voluntariness and culture

Purpose: The current study proposes a research model integrating TAM3 constructs and human aspects of humanoid service robots (HSRs), measured by the Godspeed questionnaire series (GQS), and tested across two hotel properties in Japan and the US. Design/methodology/approach: Potential participants were approached randomly by e-mail invitation. A final sample size of 395, across two hotels, one in Japan and the other in the US, was obtained and the data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. Findings: The results confirm that perceived usefulness (PU), driven by subjective norms and output quality, and perceived ease of use (PEOU), driven by perceived enjoyment and absence of anxiety, are the immediate direct determinants of users' re-patronage intentions for HSRs. Results also showed that users prefer anthropomorphism, perceived intelligence, and the safety of an HSR for re-using it. Implications: The findings have practical implications for the hospitality industry suggesting multiple attributes of an HSRs that managers need to consider before deploying them in their properties. Originality: The current study proposes an integrated model determining factors that affect the re-patronage of HSRs in hotels