Moral agency and status validation: the influence of service robots in preferential treatment dynamics

Purpose This study aims to examine how service agent type (human vs. robot) influences customers’ emotional responses to preferential treatment. While service robots are increasingly deployed in frontline roles, it remains unclear whether they can effectively deliver relational benefits that rely on perceived intentionality and social meaning. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on social appraisal theory, the authors propose that customers’ responses to preferential treatment depend on the perceived moral agency of the service agent and the extent to which the interaction validates their status. Across o3ne qualitative study and four experiments in diverse service contexts (e.g., hospitality, airlines, and restaurants), the authors examine how service agent type affects perceptions of moral agency, status and gratitude, and test key boundary conditions including treatment type (earned vs. unearned), loyalty tier, benefit type (functional vs symbolic) and perceived negative impact on other customers. Findings Results show that human agents elicit stronger gratitude and status perceptions than service robots, particularly when preferential treatment is earned or when benefits are functional. These effects are driven by higher perceived moral agency attributed to human agents. However, when preferential treatment is perceived to negatively impact other customers, service robots can generate more favourable emotional responses, as their lack of moral agency reduces moral discomfort. Research limitations/implications Given the varying degrees of anthropomorphism in service robots, the scope of this study may need to be extended to enhance the generalisability of the findings across different robotic platforms and service contexts. Future research should further examine the underlying appraisal mechanisms identified here, particularly how variations in robot design shape perceived moral agency and, in turn, influence status perceptions and gratitude. The role of customer demographics and psychographics also warrants deeper investigation, as these factors may condition how customers interpret agent intentionality and social meaning, with downstream effects on loyalty and trust. Continued research is also needed given the rapid evolution of robot capabilities. Practical implications Preferential treatment is central to relationship marketing, but its effectiveness depends not only on what is delivered, but on how customers interpret the intentionality behind it. The findings show that human agents are more likely to be perceived as intentional and morally grounded, thereby enhancing customers’ sense of status and eliciting stronger gratitude. In contrast, robot-delivered treatment may be perceived as more procedural, attenuating these relational benefits. Accordingly, service organisations should adopt a task-contingent approach. Robots are well-suited for routine, transactional interactions requiring low emotional labour, while human agents should be reserved for interactions where preferential treatment is intended to signal recognition, confer status and strengthen relational bonds. Originality/value This research advances the service robot literature by identifying moral agency as a key mechanism underlying customer responses in relational service contexts. It extends relationship marketing theory by conceptualising status as an interactional outcome shaped by the service agent and contributes to moral psychology by demonstrating the context-dependent role of perceived agency. More broadly, the findings show that service interactions are not agent-neutral: the effectiveness of automation depends not only on what is delivered, but on how and by whom it is delivered.