The effect of service robots on employees’ customer service performance and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior

Purpose This paper aims to explore the effect of service robots on employees’ customer service performance and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior through psychological need satisfaction and role stress. Moreover, this paper examines the moderating role of service robots’ autonomy. Design/methodology/approach Data collected from managers and employees at hotels in South Korea were used to test the aforementioned association. In this paper, partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to test the hypotheses. Findings Service robots enhance service employee performance through employees’ psychological need satisfaction, which can decrease service employee performance through role stress. As hypothesized, service robots’ autonomy is the moderator on these associations. Practical implications This study shows that using service robots does not always lead to positive employee performance. Therefore, managers should find ways to mitigate the role stress and enhance perceived robot autonomy. Originality/value This study offers a balanced perspective of the personal benefits and costs of the use of service robots by developing a dual-path model that unpacks the energizing and draining mechanisms underlying the double-edged effects of working with service robots on employees’ psychological strain and employees’ psychological needs.