制造业智能化与企业出口产品质量：来自中国的微观证据

随着第四次工业革命的到来，工业机器人的使用成为制造业智能化的重要表征，并对出口贸易产生了愈发深远的影响。研究使用中国2000—2014年行业层面的机器人应用数据、企业层面的机器人进口数据以及中国企业和产品层面的两类微观数据，检验工业机器人对出口产品质量的影响。企业和产品层面的实证结果均表明，工业机器人的使用能够显著促进中国出口产品质量升级。且在考虑工具变量的因果识别、样本选择偏误及多重稳健性检验后依然成立。基于进口工业机器人的准自然实验同样稳健，且促进效应随引进时间递增。机制分析表明，工业机器人主要通过全要素生产率提振、企业创新能力增强和劳动要素升级三个渠道提高企业出口产品质量。     

When service robots look at themselves in the mirror: An examination of the effects of perceptions of robotic self-recognition

Service robots sharing the same environments with humans are typically designed to have various humanlike features, because perceptions of robots as humanlike make them more acceptable to human users. This study examines one human characteristic that has hitherto been unexplored in studies of humans' perceptions of robots: a self-recognition ability. For (adult) humans, self-recognition is typically uncomplicated and effortless, yet it is of fundamental importance for social interaction, and therefore it was assumed that perceptions of robotic self-recognition abilities would be used for inferences about other robot attributes. A between-subjects experiment, in which a domestic service robot's ability to recognize itself was manipulated (low vs. high), showed that high self-recognition boosted perceptions of the quality of the service delivered by the robot, and that this effect was mediated by perceptions of the robot as having a capacity for learning and having theory of mind.     

The future of service: The power of emotion in human-robot interaction

Astoundingly, recent technological advancements have enabled robots to display emotions. Yet, while emotional expression is valued in the field of service, understanding emotions in human-robot interaction remains underexplored. Since emotions are contagious/transmittable, this study utilised Instagram data to uncover how emotional robots influence potential consumers’ affective feelings. By employing machine learning algorithms and sentiment analysis, the findings suggest that the expressions of surprise and happiness are key to creating positive impacts on potential consumers. The cross-disciplinary nature of this study lays the groundwork for next-level social, design, and creative experiences in artificial intelligence research regarding consumer service and experience contexts.     

The impact of service robots in retail: Exploring the effect of novelty priming on consumer behavior

This study aims to bridge a gap in the extant research by examining consumer behavior that is unrelated to, but elicited by, service robots. The results of six studies showed that participants primed with robots (vs. humans) were more likely to engage in exploratory consumption behaviors. This effect was mediated through the elicitation of a sense of novelty, affected by the degree of service robots' intelligence and moderated by consumers' subjective knowledge. The study also examines different types of exploratory buying behaviors that have implications for marketers' and retailers’ use of service robots to promote exploratory consumption.     

Global Value Chains,the Rise of the Robots and Human Capital

This essay examines whether robots will lead to the reshoring of activity from low-wage countries to rich countries, leading to a revival of manufacturing in rich countries. I argue that reshoring will not lead to an employment boom in rich countries, because the brilliant robots are a capital-biased technology, and as such, they potentially replace smart people. As a result, the skill premium – the wage discrepancy between a university graduate and a high school graduate – is declining in Europe. I argue further that the expansion of higher education has been too aggressive in light of the capital bias of digital technology.     

Making life: a brief history of human-robot interaction

This article is based on a talk for the Third Annual Eugene H. Fram Chair in Applied Critical Thinking lecture at Rochester Institute of Technology, which took place on 23 September 2014. The talk weaved together a brief history of robots, feral data, the internet of things, and consumer materiality to illuminate how life infuses our imagination of technology. This article illuminates the intersection of culture and technology and provides a lively history of the interactions between humans and robots.     

Examining the impact of service robot communication styles on customer intimacy following service failure

With the growing use of robots in the service industry, service failures have increased. This study applies the Communication Accommodation Theory to examine how robot employees' communication style can foster perceived intimacy, reducing customer anger and negative word-of-mouth. The study also tests if this relationship varies based on failure severity. Results show that an informal communication style significantly reduces negative word-of-mouth through intimacy, but only for low severity failures. These findings offer valuable insights for service providers using robots, emphasizing the need to adapt communication styles based on failure severity to effectively manage negative customer experiences.     

The Dawn of the AI Robots: Towards a New Framework of AI Robot Accountability

Journal of Business Ethics - Business, management, and business ethics literature pay little attention to the topic of AI robots. The broad spectrum of potential ethical issues pertains to using...     

Predictors of consumers’ willingness to share personal information with fashion sales robots

This study investigates whether consumers' self-interests and social interactions predict their willingness to share their personal information with a fashion sales robot. The study develops hypotheses based upon the information sharing theory and tests them by building a decision tree predictive model. Using a video stimulus of a fashion sales robot, we conduct interviews, pretests, and main data collection (n = 464) in the United States. The results indicate that service quality, enjoyment, and usefulness, which reflect self-interest, and trust, which reflects social interaction, predict consumers’ willingness to share personal information with the robots. These results suggest that fashion marketers should focus strategically on service quality and enjoyment when they adopt AI sales robots and use them as a medium to share information in customer service.     

ROBOT–BRAND FIT THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND PERSONALITY ON CONSUMER REACTIONS TO SERVICE ROBOT ADOPTION

Marketing Letters - Can every brand benefit from adopting service robots? To tackle this important question, we examined the interactive effects of brand personality (sincere vs. exciting) and...     

Service robots with (perceived) theory of mind: An examination of humans’ reactions

In the near future, it is expected that we humans will receive an increasing part of various services from robots. Many observers, and several existing studies, indicate that we react more positively if our robots have humanlike attributes and capabilities, and the present study examines one such capability: theory of mind. It has to do with the ability to impute mental states to others, which is essential for human-to-human interaction (including interactions in service settings). More specifically, the present study examines the effects of perceptions of service robots' theory of mind capabilities in human-to-robot interactions when the main downstream variable is perceived service quality. Several mediators are also examined. To this end, two empirical studies comprising human-to-robot interactions in a domestic setting were conducted. Both studies indicate that a service robot with more as opposed to less perceived theory of mind enhances perceived service quality, and that this effect is mediated by perceived humanness and perceived usefulness in relation to the robot. It may be argued that a robot's theory of mind capability can also be seen as creepy, which may reduce perceived service quality, because a competent mind reader can create serious harm to others. In the present study, however, robotic theory of mind capabilities did not influence creepiness perceptions.     

The Future of Retailing

Retailers have embraced a variety of technologies to engage their customers. This article focuses on “The Future of Retailing” by highlighting five key areas that are moving the field forward: (1) technology and tools to facilitate decision making, (2) visual display and merchandise offer decisions, (3) consumption and engagement, (4) big data collection and usage, and (5) analytics and profitability. We also suggest numerous issues that are deserving of additional inquiry, as well as introduce important areas of emerging applicability: the internet of things, virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robots, drones, and driverless vehicles.     

Intelligent Tools and Digital Platforms: Implications for Work and Employment

We must proceed in a way that allows citizens, in their multiple roles as workers and consumers, to participate in shaping the future, not just allowing it to happen to them. It is not a matter of robots coming, but rather one of how to direct the evolution of platforms and the development and deployment of intelligent tools and systems.     

Growth in the age of automation: Foundations of a theoretical framework

The replacement of humans by machines in the development of a wide array of productive tasks is changing the economic landscape. Mutations on the structure of employment, widening income gaps, and uncertain effects over growth are some of the worries currently in the mind of economists. This article develops the foundations of a neoclassical growth model that puts into perspective the impact of automation over the aggregate economy. In particular, efficiency gains propelled by the current wave of innovation are confronted with the associated loss of jobs and with the potential social unrest and anxiety that the substitution of labor by robots brings. The strength of each effect determines transition paths and steady‐state results.     

Specifically human: Human work and care in the age of machines

This paper aims to show how the frequently asked question about the future of work, that is, whether human beings are going to be replaced by machines and robots, arose, and why the way such question is posed is inadequate to account for the human and social value of care professions. We discuss how the dimensions entailed in care professions are specifically human and argue that any kind of human work actually reflects them (and will reflect them in the future), irrespective of the impact of technological changes. The present argument also aims to unveil the extent of the effects of the postmodern epistemological crisis regarding the concept of work, to reformulate the question about the future of human work, and to offer a characterization of care as a specific component of human work in the age of machines.     

Animal crackers: making progress on The Penguin's Progress

The vast majority of academic articles, according to eminent literary critic John Sutherland, read like they're written by robots in a Japanese car factory. And that a Toyota-style recall is sorely needed. This statement may or may not be true, but many scholars would surely concede that remedial writing measures are necessary. This paper describes one such measure, an illustrated novel that's similar to Shrek, only with advertising characters like the Michelin Man instead of fairytale characters like the Gingerbread Man. After an apt introductory anecdote, the rationale for The Penguin's Progress is explained, the difficulties surrounding its creation are itemised, and an extract from the work-in-progress is presented.     

Transforming the Customer Experience Through New Technologies

New technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), virtual assistants, chatbots, and robots, which are typically powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), are dramatically transforming the customer experience. In this paper, we offer a fresh typology of new technologies powered by AI and propose a new framework for understanding the role of new technologies on the customer/shopper journey. Specifically, we discuss the impact and implications of these technologies on each broad stage of the shopping journey (pre-transaction, transaction, and post-transaction) and advance a new conceptualization for managing these new AI technologies along customer experience dimensions to create experiential value. We discuss future research ideas emanating from our framework and outline interdisciplinary research avenues.     

Is a gift on sale “heart-discounted”? Givers’ misprediction on the value of discounted gifts and the influence of service robots

The main purpose of this research is to investigate whether, why, and when givers and recipients perceive the value of a discounted gift differently. The studies provide convergent evidence that givers perceive discounted gifts as less valuable than regular-priced gifts whereas recipients do not perceive them as different. Givers' devaluation of the discounted gift is driven by their concern about the thoughtfulness of a gift. Moreover, the giver-recipient asymmetry is mitigated when the in-store interaction with a salesperson is substituted by technology via a service robot. This research contributes to the gift-giving literature and the growing literature on service robots by revealing how promotional offers influence consumers’ evaluation of gifts and how technological advance in retail may affect the proposed effect. Managerial implications for planning and executing price promotions for gifts are also discussed.     

Robotic service quality – Scale development and validation

Viewing robots as service agents that provide services to customers for value exchange, the study developed a scale to measure robotic service quality. The scale underwent several stages of development including item generation, domain specification, scale refinement, and validity testing, including internal and external cross validation. A range of methods were used in this process. Data were collected from Australia, China, and Vietnam to test external validity. Four dimensions were identified to represent robotic service quality. Development of this scale has implications for artificial intelligence and service research. The scale can be used by practitioners to enhance customer experience and generate positive attitudinal and behavioural responses from customers.     

Ethics at the workplace in the fourth industrial revolution: A Catholic social teaching perspective

While many studies on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) focus on efficiency, productivity and economic progress, only a few have considered its ethical aspects. This article tries to contribute to filling this vacuum by providing a comprehensive approach to ethical risks at the workplace. Drawing upon Catholic social teaching (CST)—addressed to all people of good will—it analyzes ethical aspects at the workplace posited by the FIR, and more particularly by Industry 4.0, which is at the core of this revolution. CST emphasizes the dignity of the worker and the necessity to flourish at the workplace. While robots, artificial intelligence, and interconnected technologies are only instrumental, the real subject of work is the worker. This casts specific light on the ethical issues analyzed, including effects on employment, wages and inequality, human quality treatment, relational aspects, safety and health, surveillance on employees, and meaningful work.