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. 2021 Jun 10;18(12):6314.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126314.

Get Close to the Robot: The Effect of Risk Perception of COVID-19 Pandemic on Customer-Robot Engagement

Jifei Wu  1 , Xiangyun Zhang  1 , Yimin Zhu  1 , Grace Fang Yu-Buck  2
Affiliations

Get Close to the Robot: The Effect of Risk Perception of COVID-19 Pandemic on Customer-Robot Engagement

Jifei Wu et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on customer-robot engagement in the Chinese hospitality industry. Analysis of a sample of 589 customers using service robots demonstrated that the perceived risk of COVID-19 has a positive influence on customer-robot engagement. The positive effect is mediated by social distancing and moderated by attitudes towards risk. Specifically, the mediating effect of social distancing between the perceived risk of COVID-19 and customer-robot engagement is stronger for risk-avoiding (vs. risk-seeking) customers. Our results provide insights for hotels when they employ service robots to cope with the shock of COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; customer engagement; protection motivation theory; risk perception; service robot; social distancing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results of the SEM. *** p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Conditional indirect effect. (A) Moderating role of risk attitude. (B) Moderating role of health consciousness.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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