Cooking with Robots? Exploring Culinary Arts Students’ Acceptance Through Perceived Value and the Technology Acceptance Model
Yulee Shin, Byeongkwan Min, Junho Hwang, Sunny Ham · Journal of Culinary Science & Technology · 2025
As food technology accelerates transformation in the foodservice industry, culinary education must evolve to prepare culinary arts students for technology-integrated kitchen environments. Understanding how these students perceive and accept cooking robots is therefore essential. This study investigates culinary arts students’ acceptance of cooking robots by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with perceived value dimensions. Survey data from 185 students in South Korea were analyzed to examine how perceived quality, emotional value, and social influence affect perceived usefulness, ease of use, and behavioral intention. The findings reveal that functional reliability and emotional engagement are key drivers of acceptance, while price sensitivity plays a minor role. These results show how culinary education can better support culinary arts students in developing the skills and attitudes needed to work with food technology in real kitchen settings.