The power of voice! The impact of robot receptionists’ voice pitch and communication style on customer value cocreation intention

Abstract

Despite growing interest in robots’ vocal cues in human-robot interactions, there are few studies on robots’ voice pitch. Drawing upon cue consistency theory and social exchange theory, we explore the interaction effect of the voice pitch and communication style of robot receptionists on customer value cocreation intention in hospitality contexts. Through two experiments, we demonstrate that when a robot receptionist uses a task-oriented communication style, a low-pitched voice is more likely to enhance customers’ intention to cocreate value with the robot. Conversely, when a robot receptionist uses a social-oriented communication style, a high-pitched voice elicits higher value cocreation intention. Perceived social support also mediates the impact of the interaction between voice pitch and communication style on value cocreation intention. These findings enrich theoretical research on voice pitch and value cocreation in human-robot interactions and have beneficial implications for designing the voice interaction systems of robot receptionists.