리테일 서비스 로봇 저항요인에 관한 연구

Retailers are actively introducing robots to improve shopping experiences and consumer services by exploiting innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things(IoT). Previous research on service robots has focused on consumer technology adoption. However, consumer resistance or avoidance significantly contributes to the diffusion of innovative technologies such as service robots. Thus, the study examined the factors explaining the resistance to service robots in retail and the moderating role of social presence in the relationships between resistance and its determinants. Specifically, the impacts of perceived complexity, need for interaction, and inertia on retail service robot resistance and the moderating effect of social presence were examined. For the purpose of this study, an online survey was conducted on U.S. consumers who had experience using service robots when shopping at retail stores. The findings of the study are as follows. First, perceived complexity, need for interaction, and inertia positively affected the resistance to service robots. Second, social presence had no moderating effect on the impact of perceived complexity on the service robot resistance, but there was a moderating effect on the need for interaction-resistance and inertia-resistance links. This study contributed to the retail literature by investigating the resistance factors of service robots used in retail stores and providing practical implications for retailers who want to use service robots.