서비스 로봇의 비인간적 외형의 효과: 당혹 및 비당혹 제품 비교를 중심으로

초록

This study investigates how the appearance of service robots influences consumers’ social emotions and behavioral responses in the context of purchasing embarrassing and non-embarrassing products. Previous research has suggested that human-like traits in automated systems, such as service robots, can enhance consumer experiences by fostering positive interpersonal interactions. However, this study highlights that social emotions include not only positive but also negative experiences, which human-like robots might amplify in specific contexts. The findings reveal that in embarrassing product scenarios, human-like robots heighten feelings of embarrassment and negative social emotions, leading to lower attitudes toward the robot and reduced visit intentions. Conversely, in non-embarrassing contexts, human-like robots reduce the impact of negative emotions and promote positive consumer responses, such as increased positive word- of-mouth intentions. Furthermore, in embarrassing scenarios, the mediating role of embarrassment was significant in explaining the effects of robot appearance on service attitudes and behavioral intentions. These results emphasize the need to reconsider the assumption that human-like robots universally improve consumer reactions and suggest that the design and deployment of service robots must account for the emotional context of consumer interactions. The findings also highlight the potential risks of using human-like robots in situations that may evoke negative social emotions, offering practical insights for designing effective robot interaction strategies in situations prone to negative social emotions.

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