Stefanie Paluch

About

Stefanie Paluch is a pioneering scholar in service management and human-robot interaction, whose research has fundamentally shaped our understanding of how artificial intelligence and robotics are transforming the service sector. Her landmark 2018 paper, "Brave New World: Service Robots in the Frontline," has amassed over 2,000 citations, positioning her as one of the foremost authorities on service robotics globally. Paluch's work systematically examines the complex dynamics between service robots, customers, and frontline employees, exploring how autonomous technologies reshape service encounters, responsibility attribution, and customer experience. Her contributions extend beyond technological adoption to nuanced psychological dimensions of human-robot interaction. Notably, her research reveals counterintuitive benefits of robotic service delivery — demonstrating that robots can actually reduce customer embarrassment in uncomfortable service situations and may sometimes be preferred over human employees. She has also pioneered investigations into frontline employees' willingness to collaborate alongside robotic colleagues, introducing critical frameworks for understanding workplace integration. With a cumulative citation count exceeding 3,500 across her top papers, Paluch's scholarship bridges theoretical service management with practical implications for hospitality, retail, and healthcare industries navigating an increasingly automated future.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Brave new world: service robots in the frontline

   2,082 citations · 2018
2. 2
   Service robots, customers and service employees: what can we learn from the academic literature and where are the gaps?

   541 citations · 2020
3. 3
   Service Robots: Drivers of Perceived Responsibility for Service Outcomes

   318 citations · 2019
4. 4
   Service robots, agency and embarrassing service encounters

   200 citations · 2021
5. 5
   “My colleague is a robot” – exploring frontline employees' willingness to work with collaborative service robots

   165 citations · 2021
6. 6
   Artificial Intelligence and Robots in the Service Encounter

   58 citations · 2020
7. 7
   Metaperception benefits of service robots in uncomfortable service encounters

   53 citations · 2024
8. 8
   Service Robots and the Future of Services

   44 citations · 2020
9. 9
   Service Robots, Customers, and Service Employees: What Can We Learn from the Academic Literature and Where are the Gaps?

   42 citations · 2020
10. 10
    Service Robots, Agency, and Embarrassing Service Encounters

    9 citations · 2021

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links