The effect of robot anthropomorphism on employee recovery of robot service failures: the mediation of employee empathy

Purpose This study aims to investigate employee responses to robot service failures. It examines how employees recover from such failures at varying levels of robot anthropomorphism, considering the mediating role of employee empathy and the moderating role of service failure type. Design/methodology/approach Three scenario-based experiments were designed and implemented. The statistical analysis techniques adopted were independent samples t-test, multivariate analysis of variance and regression. Findings Findings reveal: a curvilinear relationship exists between employee proactive/reactive recovery and robot anthropomorphism; employee empathy mediates this relationship; and physical affordance failures prompt low proactive and high reactive recovery for low-anthropomorphism robots, while cognitive affordance failures elicit the opposite pattern for high-anthropomorphism robots. Originality/value This research enhances understanding of employee responses to robot service failures, offering insights for tourism and hospitality firms to encourage effective service recovery and foster human–robot collaboration.