Effects of emotional responses of robot-served restaurant customers on satisfaction, personal involvement and other consequences

Purpose – This study explores diners’ emotional reactions to robot-served food, and their consequences. Design/methodology/approach – To test the model, this study collected 673 responses from customers of Korean robot-service restaurants, and used structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify the interrelationships between relevant constructs. Findings – Positive emotions of love, joy, positive surprise and pleasure positively affected customers’ satisfaction with robot-service restaurants. Customer satisfaction was also found to significantly impact customers’ involvement with robot-service restaurants, consumer outcomes and business outcomes. The positive influence of personal involvement on customer and business outcomes was confirmed. Practical implications – The findings have managerial implications for enhancing customer experiences in robot-service restaurants. Specifically, they highlight the importance of emotion-driven strategies that elicit positive emotions such as joy, love, surprise and pleasantness, which significantly influence customer satisfaction, involvement and behavioral outcomes. Originality/value – This study offers a novel contribution by applying the multidimensional Love-Joy-Positive Surprise-Pleasantness (LJPP) emotion model to the context of robot-service restaurants.