New technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robots, machine learning and blockchain are rapidly transforming the nature of services, consumer experiences and dynamics between service providers, their frontline employees and customers. 

Such technologies are both persuasive and invasive; they create opportunities and challenges for users, facilitators and beneficiaries. One area predicted to have a significant impact on service experience is the integration of artificial intelligence and service robots. Research suggests that robots will effectively engage customers and have the potential to offer an immersive service experience. Service providers, specifically in healthcare, aged care, hospitality and the banking sector have realised the value of AI and are increasingly deploying robots for delivering services. Currently, applications of AI across these sectors see the rise of robots operating in lieu of waiters, medical surgeries assistants, caregivers and bank tellers.

Being in-service of others (e.g., consumers) is an inherently social process where meaningful frontline employee-consumer interactions are a hallmark of service quality. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brings the need to practise social distancing, challenging traditional ideals of service provision to achieve service value. The pandemic is leading both companies and consumers to develop coping mechanisms and resilience to handle vulnerable situations and reinvent themselves to achieve wellbeing. In the post-pandemic era, a need for social distancing and futureproofing for crisis will drive more industries such as healthcare and hospitality to invest in robotics to achieve effective contactless service delivery, altering the role of organisational frontlines. Employees will be expected to accept service robots as part of their workplace, enabling the safe delivery of service. 

Aged care providers are currently experimenting with the deployment of robotics in service delivery; yet, the pace of adopting it in healthcare and hospitality is slow. This is partly due to costs and fear of employee and consumer readiness.  However, the COVID-19 crisis is driving businesses to hasten robotic adoption to equip their frontline workers for the new post-pandemic norms. More research is needed to help us understand organisational perceptions of service robots better and the role they play in successful service design models and their impacts on the psychological safety of consumers and employees.

"In the post-pandemic era it is not going be a race against machines, it would be a race with the machines. It would be about extending and augmenting human capabilities and healing the world with the help of new technologies."

Dr Sanjit K. Roy

One of the most fascinating effects of COVID-19 pandemic has been a technological revolution unlike anything we have seen before. There has been an increase in the use of robots to eliminate human-to-human contact in service delivery. However, against this rapid development, there is a debate among practitioners and academics about how humans and machines can create value for firms and society. We argue that in the post-pandemic era it is not going be a race against machines, it would be a race with the machines. It would be about extending and augmenting human capabilities and healing the world with the help of new technologies.

Our research indicates that service firms can create opportunities for frontline service employees and service robots to co-work based on interactions. What this means is that these man-machine- made interactions have the potential to achieve important post-pandemic outcomes for contactless delivery, psychological safety and value creation.

Understanding the critical role of AI and service robots in sustaining an appropriate balance between service efficiency and service customisation can help service firms to reduce job stress and enable safe working service environments in post-pandemic times. Effectively, this understanding should translate into positive organisational outcomes such as improved performance, reduced turnover of service employees, enhanced brand reputation and better short- and long-term preparedness for crisis management.

By Dr Sanjit K. Roy, UWA Business School

Read the full issue of the Winter 2021 edition of Uniview. [PDF 3MB]