서비스 로봇의 공감 반응과 고객 통제감이 귀인 및 구전 의도에 미치는 영향

Abstract

This study examines how customers attribute responsibility for service outcomes provided by a service robot, focusing on the roles of empathic responses from the robot and customer perceived control. A 2 (service outcome: success vs. failure) × 2 (robot empathy: empathic vs. non-empathic) × 2 (customer control: high vs. low) between-subjects design was applied in an online survey context, using a restaurant scenario with a student sample. The findings are as follows. First, customers exhibited a self-serving bias such that they felt higher personal responsibility for successes than for failures. Notably, in low-control conditions, non-empathic robots further decreased the customer’s own responsibility. Second, with respect to robot responsibility, empathic robots were perceived as more accountable for successful service outcomes and less accountable for failures. Moreover, when customer control was high, empathic robots’ contribution to successful outcomes was more positively recognized; when customer control was low, empathic robots bore even lower blame for service failures. Third, empathic robots also increased the store manager’s responsibility in successful outcomes. Finally, for a successful outcome, greater responsibility attributed to both customers themselves and the service robot led to higher positive word-of-mouth intentions. Overall, these results provide a theoretical grounding for understanding consumer reactions to service robots. They also offer practical insights for service providers on how to implement empathy features in robots and manage customer control strategies to optimize responsibility attributions and enhance positive recommendations.