Dining with robots: An integrated perspective on functional, emotional and relational dimensions of customer experience

Abstract

Abstract As service robots become increasingly embedded in hospitality settings, especially restaurants, understanding how customers experience and respond to these technologies is essential for advancing theory and informing design. This study examines how functional, emotional and relational dimensions jointly shape customer satisfaction and revisit intentions in the context of non-humanoid, task-oriented robots. Addressing gaps in existing adoption-focused models, the research integrates the stimulus–organism–response (S–O-R) framework with the USUS model to investigate how constructs such as service efficiency, enjoyment, friendliness, trust and rapport influence post-adoption engagement. Using data from 308 real-world restaurant customers and analysed through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the study explores both mediation and moderation pathways, including the roles of rapport and individual novelty-seeking tendencies. This work contributes to the human–robot interaction (HRI) and service marketing literature by shifting focus from humanoid social mimicry to functional robotic design’s affective and relational potential. The findings explain how emotional connection, operational performance and psychological traits shape sustained customer engagement with robotic services. Implications are offered for designing customer-centric, socially acceptable and operationally effective robot experiences in high-contact service environments.