Paying for robotic errors: exploring the relationship between robot service failure stressors, emotional labor and recovery work engagement
本研究识别了三种机器人服务失败压力源（不合规任务、顾客不当对待、机器人不稳定性），并发现它们通过情绪劳动策略的双重路径影响员工的恢复工作投入，其中深层扮演和服务共情增强投入，而表层扮演和工作去人格化削弱投入，人机协作氛围调节这一过程。
Purpose This paper aims to identify types of robot service failure stressors and explores its impact on emotional labor and recovery work engagement from the employees’ standpoint. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted a mixed-method approach in the hospitality industry in China, which included 25 hospitality workers participating in semi-structured interviews and 435 hospitality employees participating in a two-stage questionnaire survey. Findings Three types of robotic service failure stressors – illegitimate tasks, customer mistreatment and robotic instability – were identified. These stressors significantly influence emotional labor strategies in employee subsequently shaping their recovery work engagement through dual pathways. The sequential mediation effect of deep acting and service empathy serves to enhance recovery work engagement, whereas the sequential mediation effect of surface acting and workplace depersonalization diminishes this engagement. Human–robot collaborative climate moderates these effects in this context. Practical implications The findings from this study yield several implications for hospitality managers in managing employees and service robots to perform human–robot collaboration tasks. Originality/value Current research has primarily delved into how robot service failures impact customer experiences, leaving the effects on employees less explored. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first empirical study to explore the relationship between robot service failure and employee emotional responses and behaviors, enriching the literature on service robots in the hospitality industry and also proposing new directions and frameworks for future human–robot interaction research.