Moral Machines – Investigating Ethical Aspects in Human-Robot Interactions

The deployment of service robots in service firms and organizations has become increasingly prevalent. Service robots, capable of sophisticated human-like interactions, are coming to be integral in serving, assisting, and collaborating with both internal and external customers. Significant advances in artificial intelligence and robotics have accelerated this trend. While the integration of service robots can offer great benefits, such as increased efficiency and improved service delivery, it also introduces complex ethical challenges. This dissertation addresses the ethical considerations in human–robot interactions (HRI) within customer service environments. This thesis aims to advance knowledge on ethical issues in customer–robot interactions and to provide insights into how ethically responsible service robots impact customer perceptions and responses in both internal and external service encounters. To this end, the thesis includes four research studies that explore the understudied field of service robot ethics and moral HRI. The first chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to the topic, outlining its relevance to managerial practice and scientific research. The chapter also delineates the overarching research questions and the structure of the thesis. Chapter 2, a conceptual study, aims to synthesize the extant knowledge on ethical considerations in customer–robot interactions. By conducting a scoping review, the key concepts, commonly used theories, and significant developments over time are identified. Moreover, the study introduces the SECUROBI framework, which structures existing knowledge along five pillars, and delineates future research avenues. Chapter 3, the first empirical study, examines the conceptualization and operationalization of (im)moral service robots in a retail context. In addition, it investigates customer responses to (im)moral service robots during customer encounters, relying on moral foundations theory and the ‘computers are social actors’ paradigm. The findings from four online experiments provide valuable empirical evidence regarding the influence of moral service robot behavior on customers’ trust and their ethical concerns. Chapter 4, the second empirical study, presents the findings of a mixed-methods study on customer responses to service robot morality. This study includes field experiments and subsequent customer interviews in a retail and personal services setting to examine the efficiency–morality tradeoff in service robot deployment, elucidating the impact of product involvement on customer preference for moral versus efficient service robots. Additionally, it investigates the underlying mechanisms of customer responses to service robot morality through a vignette-based laboratory study, drawing on the expectancy–disconfirmation paradigm and using polynomial regression and response surface analyses. By taking a customer-centric approach, this study provides valuable insights into the strategic adoption of moral service robots at the customer interface. Chapter 5, the third empirical study, shifts the focus to an office environment context and examines how internal customers judge the intentionality of robot actions, drawing on the Knobe effect. This study highlights differences in attributed intentionality based on the moral valence of the side effects of robots’ decisions and investigates the mechanisms underlying these effects. It discusses the implications of perceiving robots as intentional agents and explores the consequences of human-like robot design for intentionality attributions. Chapter 6 summarizes the dissertation’s contributions to research and managerial implications. It also highlights the limitations of this thesis and proposes avenues for future research. In sum, this thesis attempts to make a significant contribution to the field of service robot ethics by advancing understanding of ethical considerations in customer–robot interactions and providing new insights into how the moral behaviors of service robots influence customer responses. Specifically, this work consolidates knowledge of service robot ethics, empirically examines moral HRI phenomena, and systematically investigates the underlying mechanisms of customer responses. In addition to its research contributions, this comprehensive investigation into the ethical dimensions of HRI offers valuable insights for managerial practice and robot designers regarding responsible design and deployment of morally programmed service robots. Ultimately, the insights from this thesis can help enhance responsible, customer-centric, and trustworthy HRI and service practices.