Familiarity Breeds Affinity – How Personal Experiences Change Employees’ Attitudes Towards a Social Robot

Abstract

Abstract Advancements in social robot technology are leading to an increased adoption of social robots by organizations whose employees previously had little to no experience with such technology. Previous research has generally highlighted the effects of experiences with social robots on the formation of attitudes toward this technology. However, it remains unclear how personal experiences with an implemented specific social robot in a work context affect attitudes toward this robot. To address this question, we accompanied the implementation of the social robot Pepper in a kind of natural experiment setting at the main site of a multi-location organization. Subsequently, we collected quantitative and qualitative data of company employees from all locations, those who were able to gain personal experiences with the robot and those who were not. Our analysis aims to quantitatively reveal experience-driven differences in the overall evaluation, perceived human-likeness, and acceptance of the robot at work, as well as to investigate the underlying mechanisms qualitatively. Our results highlight the critical role of personal experiences with a social robot introduced into an organization in shaping positive attitudinal dimensions towards this robot.