Employees’ perceived service robot support: construct conceptualisation and scale development

Purpose Given the continual collaboration between employees and service robots, it is valuable to understand how employees work with service robots. This paper aims to conceptualise employees’ perceived service robot support (PSRS) and to develop a validated scale to evaluate the impact of service robot adoption in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach A five-stage study using a mixed-methods approach was conducted to generate and refine the scale with a series of validation analyses. Findings The eight-item PSRS scale includes three dimensions: affective support, instrumental support and responsive support. As a key job resource, affective support has been found could enhance employees’ work engagement and job satisfaction. Practical implications The findings provide practical insights for hospitality managers. The PSRS framework helps employees and managers clearly understand the multifaceted support service robots can provide. Proactively facilitating effective interaction between employees and robots can improve operational efficiency and ultimately elevate service quality. Originality/value The development of the PSRS scale allows systematic measurement, providing a comprehensive understanding of how service robots support employees. These findings contribute to the theoretical knowledge of the employee–service robot collaboration.