Purpose Based on relational value theory, this research explores how different preventive recovery strategies employed by service robots affect customer misbehavior intentions. Design/methodology/approach This research conducted three studies. Study 1 examined the effects of preventive recovery strategies (gratitude-based vs. apology-based) on customer misbehavior intentions, with social distance as the mediator. Study 2 and Study 3 further investigated the moderating role of cuteness and service failure severity in these effects. Findings The results confirm that gratitude-based preventive recovery strategies lead to lower customer misbehavior intentions than apology-based ones, and this is caused by the narrowed social distance. However, these effects would be attenuated in low-cuteness or high-severity conditions. Practical implications This study offers valuable insights for the practice of preventive service recovery and customer misbehavior management in AI-driven service scenarios. Originality/value Our findings enrich the theoretical framework of AI-driven service recovery and customer misbehavior by examining the potential positive effect of preventive recovery strategies by service robots.
Liu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.