Soothing the Storm! Service Robots and the Art of Blending Reason With Emotion in Customer Service
Xuanwu Zhang, Muzi Wang, Cong Cao · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · 2025
The objective of this research was to investigate the strategies employed by service robots on digital travel platforms to soothe angry users and enhance user satisfaction through perceived value. The survey sample included 337 users of service robots on online travel platforms. The data revealed that information quality stimuli via the central pathway and emotional interaction stimuli via the peripheral pathway significantly affected user satisfaction for angry users. Secondly, users’ perceived practical and hedonic value during their interactions with service robots further connected quality of information, emotional interaction, and consumer satisfaction, explaining their relationships. In this study, we deeply explored how the service quality of robots affects user satisfaction in different situations from macro-research and multidimensional perspectives using the elaboration likelihood model and stimulus-organism-response theory. This integrated framework allowed us to more comprehensively analyse the complex dynamics of user satisfaction, providing both theoretical and practical insights into the use of intelligent robots in the service industry and the customisation of user experiences.