Developing and validating a service robot integration willingness scale

As new technologies continue to advance consumer experience, utilization of service robots and artificial intelligence to deliver human services has been increasingly gaining attention from hospitality and tourism businesses. This research sets out to conceptualize and test a multi-dimensional Service Robot Integration Willingness (SRIW) Scale that uncovers the key dimensions characterizing consumers’ long-term willingness to integrate artificial intelligence and service robots into regular service transactions. Drawing on a five-stage scale development procedure, a 36-item six-dimensional SRIW scale was developed, which includes performance efficacy, intrinsic motivation, anthropomorphism, social influence, facilitating condition, and emotions. The SRIW scale demonstrates rigorous psychometric properties per findings of construct validity and reliability tests, and invariance analysis across four service industries (e.g., hotels, restaurants, airlines, and retail stores) where service robots have already been or are likely to be launched. Theoretical and managerial implications of the SRIW scale and directions for future research are elaborated.