Context (archaeology)

Robot

World Wide Web

Biology

Social psychology

Social exchange theory

Tourism

Psychiatry

Computer science

Social robot

Robot control

Paleontology

Social relation

Interactivity

Human–robot interaction

Psychology

Applied psychology

Political science

Mobile robot

Neglect

Artificial intelligence

Tourism Management

Despite service robots' importance in the tourism industry, few studies have investigated human–robot interaction from a reciprocal exchange perspective. This paper applies social exchange theory to the context of human–robot interaction along with relational and psychological states based on two empirical studies with two service robots (i.e., Pepper and Connie) in hotel settings. Findings reveal significant positive effects of perceived intelligence, perceived social presence, and perceived social interactivity on trust, leading to usage intentions. Similarly, perceived social presence and perceived social interactivity are positively related to rapport, driving usage intentions. Perceived intelligence and perceived social interactivity negatively lead to uniqueness neglect to contribute to usage intentions. We additionally identify mediating roles of rapport, trust, and uniqueness neglect in the relationships between human–robot attributes and usage intentions. Our results deliver key insight into how human–robot interaction attributes influence users’ relational and psychological states and subsequent usage intentions.

Service robots: Applying social exchange theory to better understand human–robot interactions