Partner or servant? The influence of robot role positioning on consumers’ brand evaluations

Despite the increasing use of robots in marketing to improve consumers’ perceptions of brand image, relatively little is known about how the positioning of robots (i.e., as either partners or servants) influences consumer evaluations of brands employing service robots. In this paper, we examine the effect of robot role positioning on consumers in four studies within the context of time-honored brands. Study 1 demonstrates that brands using robots positioned as partners (vs. servants) will enhance consumers’ brand evaluations. Study 2 shows that psychological distance is a mechanism underlying the effect between robot role positioning and consumers’ brand evaluations. Studies 3 and 4 consider power distance belief (PDB) and service type to explore the premise’s boundary and find that these factors moderate the effect of robot role positioning on consumer brand evaluations. The findings offer theoretical and managerial implications for human-robot interaction in marketing.