What drives the continuance intention of service robots in the hospitality industry? An integrated model of motivated consumer innovativeness and extended technology continuance theory
Teng Yu, Ai Ping Teoh, Junyun Liao, Chengliang Wang · Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management · 2026
The rapid deployment of service robots in the hospitality industry has created new opportunities and challenges for sustaining guest engagement beyond the initial novelty. Drawing on the extended technology continuance theory (TCT) and motivated consumer innovativeness, this study develops and tests an integrated model to explain continuance intention of service robots among hotel guests. We surveyed 750 Chinese travelers who had interacted with service robots and analyzed the data using PLS-SEM and multigroup analysis (MGA) for business and leisure segments. Results indicate that functional innovativeness significantly predicts confirmation and perceived usefulness, while hedonic, cognitive, and social innovativeness enhance confirmation, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. In the core TCT pathway, confirmation influences satisfaction but not directly perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use both enhance satisfaction, attitude, and continuance intention of service robots. Satisfaction emerges as the most powerful driver of continuance intention, and attitude also contributes significantly. Interaction comfort moderates the effect of satisfaction on continuance intention of service robots and the effect of attitude on continuance intention of service robots. MGA reveals that leisure travelers rely more on hedonic innovativeness, whereas business travelers emphasize social innovativeness when evaluating perceived usefulness. Theoretically, this study extends TCT by integrating multidimensional innovativeness and affective boundary conditions. Practically, it offers guidance for segment-specific robot design, communication strategies, and deployment in leisure versus business settings to encourage sustained use of service robots in the hospitality industry.