The development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies in the foodservice industry has expanded dramatically. The economic benefits of such adoption are likely to be similar to those experienced by other sectors, such as manufacturing. However, unlike many other sectors, the appeal of restaurants involves consumer perceptions of those making the product. In particular, we argue that—especially in craft food contexts—consumers expect food to be prepared “with love.” As robots are intuitively incapable of doing so, restaurateurs face a conundrum: how to take advantage of the economic benefits of robotic chefs, while maintaining consumer perceptions that meals are prepared with love? We test a series of potential interventions aimed at overcoming the gap in such perceptions and find that AI-enabled (i.e., chat-based) relationship-building between robot chefs and restaurant patrons is the most effective option. In fact, our relationship-building intervention fully closes the gap between preferences for human chefs, relative to robotic chefs. Additional managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.
AbouabN.GomezP. (2015). Human contact imagined during the production process increases food naturalness perceptions. Appetite, 91, 273–277.
2.
AggarwalP.McGillA. L. (2007). Is that car smiling at me? Schema congruity as a basis for evaluating anthropomorphized products. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(4), 468–479.
3.
AggarwalS.YuL.HasjimB.LeeD. H.KimE.LeeJ. B.. . .DiamondC. (2018). Stigma and negative self-perceptions of young people living with human immunodeficiency virus in Bandung, Indonesia: A case series. International Health, 10(5), 401–403. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihy031
4.
BatraR.AhuviaA.BagozziR. P. (2012). Brand love. Journal of Marketing, 76(2), 1–16.
5.
BelancheD.CasalóL. V.SchepersJ.FlaviánC. (2021). Examining the effects of robots’ physical appearance, warmth, and competence in frontline services: The Humanness-Value-Loyalty model. Psychology & Marketing, 38(12), 2357–2376.
6.
BelkR. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154
7.
BellS. J.AuhS.SmalleyK. (2005). Customer relationship dynamics: Service quality and customer loyalty in the context of varying levels of customer expertise and switching costs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 332(2), 169–183.
8.
BlockA. E.KuchenbeckerK. J. (2019). Softness, warmth, and responsiveness improve robot hugs. International Journal of Social Robotics, 11, 49–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-018-0495-2
ChamberlainR.MullinC.ScheerlinckB.WagemansJ. (2018). Putting the art in artificial: Aesthetic responses to computer-generated art. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 12(2), 177.
CuddyA. J.FiskeS. T.GlickP. (2004). When professionals become mothers, warmth doesn’t cut the ice. Journal of Social Issues, 60(4), 701–718.
13.
DavenportT.GuhaA.GrewalD.BressgottT. (2020). How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 24–42.
14.
DingA.LeeR. H.LegendreT. S.MaderaJ. (2022). Anthropomorphism in hospitality and tourism: A systematic review and agenda for future research. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 52, 404–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.07.018
EpleyN.AkalisS.WaytzA.CacioppoJ. T. (2008). Creating social connection through inferential reproduction: Loneliness and perceived agency in gadgets, gods, and greyhounds. Psychological Science, 19(2), 114–120.
18.
EpleyN.WaytzA.AkalisS.CacioppoJ. T. (2008). When we need a human: Motivational determinants of anthropomorphism. Social Cognition, 26(2), 143–155. doi.org/10.1521/soco.2008.26.2.143
19.
EpleyN.WaytzA.CacioppoJ. T. (2007). On seeing human: A three-factor theory of anthropomorphism. Psychological Review, 114(4), 864–886. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.864
20.
FangS.HanX.ChenS. (2023). The impact of tourist–robot interaction on tourist engagement in the hospitality industry: A mixed-method study. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 64(2), 246–266. https://doi.org/10.1177/19389655221102383
FiskeS. T.CuddyA. J.GlickP.XuJ. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878–940.
GiebelhausenM.PoehlmanT. A. (2024). Permissibility vs. feasibility: AI in service from a CX perspective. Journal of Services Marketing, 38(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2023-0210
27.
GranuloA.FuchsC.PuntoniS. (2021). Preference for human (vs. robotic) labor is stronger in symbolic consumption contexts. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 31(1), 72–80.
28.
GrzegorzS.ArsenA.FumiyaI. (2022). Mastication-enhanced taste-based classification of multi-ingredient dishes for robotic cooking. Frontiers in Robotics & AI, 9, 886074. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2022.886074
29.
GuoY.CuiX.ZhaoY. (2024). Handwritten typeface effect of souvenirs: The influence of human presence, perceived authenticity, product types, and consumption goals. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 58, 345–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.02.009
30.
HarkerM. J.EganJ. (2006). The past, present and future of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 22(1–2), 215–242. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725706776022326
31.
HaslamN.LoughnanS.KashimaY.BainP. (2008). Attributing and denying humanness to others. European Review of Social Psychology, 19(1), 55–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463280801981645
32.
HayesA. F. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). Guilford Publications.
HuangD.JinX.HuangJ.KongS. (2023). Tourist acceptance of robot chefs in gastronomy experiences: A behavioural reasoning perspective. Tourism Management Perspectives, 48, 101172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101172
35.
HwangJ.KimH. M.KimI. (2022). The antecedent and consequences of brand competence: Focusing on the moderating role of the type of server in the restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 50, 337–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.02.005
36.
KimS. Y.SchmittB. H.ThalmannN. M. (2019). Eliza in the uncanny valley: Anthropomorphizing consumer robots increases their perceived warmth but decreases liking. Marketing Letters, 30, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-019-09485-9
37.
KramerT.BlockL. (2011). Nonconscious effects of peculiar beliefs on consumer psychology and choice. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(1), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.09.009
38.
KramerT.BlockL. (2014). Like Mike: Ability contagion through touched objects increases confidence and improves performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 124(2), 215–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.03.009
LeungX. Y.WenH. (2020). Chatbot usage in restaurant takeout orders: A comparison study of three ordering methods. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45, 377–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.09.004
41.
LiuH.XuS.ChenZ.HouY. (2023). The impact of social distancing on tourists’ preferences for anthropomorphism. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 55, 383–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2023.05.002
42.
LiuY.WangX.DuY.WangS. (2023). Service robots vs. Human staff: The effect of service agents and service exclusion on unethical consumer behavior.Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 55, 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2023.05.015
43.
McNeillyK. M.BarrT. F. (2006). I love my accountants–they’re wonderful: Understanding customer delight in the professional services arena. Journal of Services Marketing, 20(3), 152–159.
44.
MendeM.ScottM. L.van DoornJ.GrewalD.ShanksI. (2019). Service robots rising: How humanoid robots influence service experiences and elicit compensatory consumer responses. Journal of Marketing Research, 56(4), 535–556.
MoralesA.DahlD.ArgoJ. (2018). Amending the law of contagion: A general theory of property transference. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 3(4), 555–565.
47.
MylodM. (Director). (2022). The menu [Film]. Searchlight Pictures.
48.
NassC.MoonY. (2000). Machines and mindlessness: Social responses to computers. Journal of Social Issues, 56(1), 81–103.
49.
NemeroffC.RozinP. (1994). The contagion concept in adult thinking in the United States: Transmission of germs and of interpersonal influence. Ethos, 22(2), 158–186.
50.
NewmanG. E.DiesendruckG.BloomP. (2011). Celebrity contagion and the value of objects. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 215–228.
51.
NieJ.PakM.MarinA. L.SundarS. S. (2012). Can you hold my hand? Physical warmth in human-robot interaction. In Proceedings of the seventh annual ACM/IEEE international conference on human-robot interaction (pp. 201–202). https://doi.org/10.1145/2157689.2157755
52.
OğanE. (2024). Artificial intelligence in restaurant businesses: A systematic review on service robots. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 16(2), 150–162. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-03-2024-0058
53.
OsawaH.OhmuraR.ImaiM. (2009). Using attachable humanoid parts for realizing imaginary intention and body image. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1, 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-008-0004-0
54.
PalmatierR. W. (2008). Relationship marketing. Marketing Science Institute.
PozharlievR.De AngelisM.RossiD.RomaniS.VerbekeW.CherubinoP. (2021). Attachment styles moderate customer responses to frontline service robots: Evidence from affective, attitudinal, and behavioral measures. Psychology & Marketing, 38(5), 881–895.
57.
PuzakovaM.KwakH.RoceretoJ. F. (2013). When humanizing brands goes wrong: The detrimental effect of brand anthropomorphization amid product wrongdoings. Journal of Marketing, 77(3), 81–100.
RozinP.MarkwithM.McCauleyC. (1994). Sensitivity to indirect contacts with other persons: AIDS aversion as a composite of aversion to strangers, infection, moral taint, and misfortune. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103(3), 495–504. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.103.3.495
60.
SchmittB. (2020). Speciesism: An obstacle to AI and robot adoption. Marketing Letters, 31(1), 3–6.
61.
SchrollR.SchnurrB.GrewalD. (2018). Humanizing products with handwritten typefaces. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(3), 648–672.
SinghS.OlsonE. D.TsaiC. H. (2021). Use of service robots in an event setting: Understanding the role of social presence, eeriness, and identity threat. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 49, 528–537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.10.014
64.
SmalleyD. G. (2001). The amazing connection between food & love. Tyndale House Publishers.
SochackiG.AbdulaliA.HosseiniN.IidaF. (2023). Recognition of human chef’s intentions for incremental learning of cookbook by robotic salad chef. IEEE Access, 11, 57006–57020.
67.
SöderlundM. (2021). The robot-to-robot service encounter: An examination of the impact of inter-robot warmth. Journal of Services Marketing, 35(9), 15–27.
68.
Spyce.com. (2021). Spyce—Taste the possibilities. Tailored to you. https://www.spyce.com/
69.
SungJ. Y.GuoL.GrinterR. E.ChristensenH. I. (2007). My Roomba Is Rambo: Intimate home appliances. In: KrummJ.AbowdG. D.SeneviratneA.StrangT. (Eds.), UbiComp 2007: Ubiquitous computing. UbiComp 2007. Lecture notes in computer science (Vol. 4717). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74853-3_9
70.
TuomiA.TussyadiahI. P.StienmetzJ. (2021). Applications and implications of service robots in hospitality. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 62(2), 232–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965520923961
71.
WuJ.ChenJ.DouW. (2017). The Internet of Things and interaction style: The effect of smart interaction on brand attachment. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(1–2), 61–75.
72.
WuM.TanG. W.AwE. C.OoiK. B. (2023). Unlocking my heart: Fostering hotel brand love with service robots. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 57, 339–348.
73.
ZhangS.HuZ.LiX.RenA. (2022). The impact of service principal (service robot vs. Human staff) on service quality: The mediating role of service principal attribute. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 52, 170–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.06.014
74.
ZhouC. (2018, March). How artificial intelligence can help transform customer engagement and sales. CRM Magazine, 22(2), 10.
75.
ZhuD. H. (2022). Effects of robot restaurants’ food quality, service quality and high-tech atmosphere perception on customers’ behavioral intentions. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 13(4), 699–714. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-01-2021-0022
76.
ZhuD. H.ChangY. P. (2020). Robot with humanoid hands cooks food better? Effect of robotic chef anthropomorphism on food quality prediction. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(3), 1367–1383.
77.
ZhuD. H.ZhangW. Q. (2023). Do we have to know the hen that lays the eggs? How the disclosure timing of robot chef identity affects consumer perceived ethicality. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 32(10), 2080–2097. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2023.2266781
