A model for user acceptance of robot journalism: Influence of positive disconfirmation and uncertainty avoidance

• We explored factors affecting acceptance of news articles by robot journalists. • Perceived quality on news by robots raises satisfaction towards them. • The satisfaction increases the intention to accept them. • Prior expectancy and uncertainty avoidance were added as factors. • The two attributes were featured as negative factors in this research model. This study explored factors affecting acceptance of news articles written by robot journalists. Until now, there has been little discussion about robot journalism in the perspective of user behavior, especially in terms of psychological and cultural factors influencing users’ intention to continue or discontinue consumption of news articles produced by robot journalists. According to the results of this study, perceived quality and positive disconfirmation on news by robot journalists raised satisfaction, which led to an increase in intention to accept robot journalism. Also, the role of prior expectation and uncertainty avoidance were explored. The lower the prior expectation, the stronger the effect of positive disconfirmation on satisfaction, and the higher uncertainty avoidance, the weaker the effect of satisfaction on intention to accept news by robot journalists.