Service Robot Has Entered the Game: Essays on Human-Robot-Interaction in Service Marketing

Ph.D. Candidate Hongjun Ye of Marketing Department will be defending her dissertation proposal titled, “Service Robot Has Entered the Game: Essays on Human-Robot-Interaction in Service Marketing” on 06/07/2021.

The time and location of her dissertation defense is 1pm – 3pm via Zoom.

Many thanks to Hongjun’s dissertation committee: • Committee Chair – Dr. Rajneesh Suri – Professor – Drexel University • Committee Co-Chair: Dr. Hasan Ayaz - Associate Professor – Drexel University • Committee Member Dr. Daniel Korschun – Associate Professor- Drexel University • Committee Member: Dr. Yanliu Huang - Associate Professor – Drexel University • Committee Member: Dr. Drhuv Grewal - Professor – Babson College • Committee Member: Dr. Abhijit Guha - Assistant Professor – University of South Carolina • Committee Member: Dr. Ewart de Visser - Technical Director – United States Air Force Academy

Abstract: Research and practice in Human-Robot-Interaction often focus on improving the human-likeness of the robots. Developers often place their focus on how to make robots more human-like, aesthetically (e.g., facial features), functionally (e.g., finger movements), or both. However, these types of improvements can be costly.

Through a series of studies, I study customers’ perceptions of humanoid robots in comparison with conventional self-service technology such as kiosks. Results suggest that making robots human-like is not the only way that could enhance customers’ evaluations of the robots.