How robot coolness shapes active seniors’ co-creation experience

Purpose This study aims to examine how active seniors (aged 50–70) perceive and engage with serving robots in restaurants, focusing on how perceived coolness influences their co-creation experience (CCE), subjective well-being and revisit intentions. By centering on this growing yet underexplored segment, the study addresses a gap in technology-integrated hospitality research. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on service-dominant logic, an online survey was administered among active seniors. A total of 300 valid responses were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test relationships among perceived coolness, co-creation experience, subjective well-being and revisit intention. Findings The results indicate that the multidimensional nature of perceived coolness significantly influences all three types of co-creation experience: hedonic, cognitive and personal. These experiences, in turn, positively impacted active seniors’ subjective well-being and revisit intentions. Practical implications Serving robot restaurants should optimize the design, functionality and customer engagement features of serving robots to enhance their perceived coolness toward those service types. Human-like robots with expressive features may help active seniors view them as novel service employees. To ensure interactions are not only functional but also enjoyable and meaningful, restaurants can provide guided tutorials on navigating digital interfaces. By fostering meaningful interactions and encouraging active participation, restaurants can strengthen long-term loyalty among this influential segment. Originality/value This study fills a gap by examining active seniors’ perception of and engagement with serving robots through an integrated framework linking perceived coolness, co-creation experiences, well-being and revisit intention. By empirically focusing on senior consumers who have often been characterized as technologically vulnerable in prior research, this study extends the literature on senior consumers in technology-driven services.