Effects of emotional responses of robot-served restaurant customers on satisfaction, personal involvement and other consequences

Purpose This study explores diners’ emotional reactions to robot-served food, and their consequences. Design/methodology/approach To test the model, this study collected 673 responses from customers of Korean robot-service restaurants, and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify the interrelationships between relevant constructs. Findings Positive emotions of love, joy, positive surprise and pleasure positively affected customers’ satisfaction with robot-service restaurants. Customer satisfaction was also found to significantly impact customers’ involvement with robot-service restaurants, consumer outcomes and business outcomes. The positive influence of personal involvement on customer and business outcomes was confirmed. Practical implications The findings have managerial implications for enhancing customer experiences in robot-service restaurants. Specifically, they highlight the importance of emotion-driven strategies that elicit positive emotions such as joy, love, surprise and pleasantness, which significantly influence customer satisfaction, involvement and behavioral outcomes. Originality/value This study offers a novel contribution by applying the multidimensional Love-Joy-Positive Surprise-Pleasantness (LJPP) emotion model to the context of robot-service restaurants.