A common problem in top-down technology projects is lack of end-user involvement. Employees’ willingness to seek help from robots in internal service scenarios is important for the successful implementation of service robots in the hospitality industry. This study conducts individual in-depth interviews to propose a model regarding the determinants of employees’ willingness to seek help from robots. Findings indicate that robots’ characteristics (i.e., their relative advantages, functions, and appearance) and employees’ characteristics (i.e., their help-seeking needs, their psychological defenses, availability of helpers, demographics, and exposure to working with robots) are important determinants of employees’ willingness to seek help from robots. Robots’ characteristics increase employees’ perceived benefits, which leads to employees’ willingness to seek help from robots. Moreover, robots’ appearance influences employees’ perceived psychological distance and employee–robot fit, which influence employees’ willingness to seek help. This study provides an initial step for understanding the reasons that employees are willing to seek help from robots.

中文翻译：

---

员工是否愿意向机器人寻求帮助的决定因素

自上而下技术项目的一个常见问题是缺乏最终用户的参与。员工在内部服务场景中寻求机器人帮助的意愿对于服务机器人在酒店行业的成功实施至关重要。本研究对个人进行深度访谈，提出一个关于员工寻求机器人帮助意愿的决定因素的模型。研究结果表明，机器人的特征（即它们的相对优势、功能和外观）和员工的特征（即它们的寻求帮助需求、心理防御、帮助者的可用性、人口统计数据以及与机器人一起工作的接触程度）很重要员工是否愿意向机器人寻求帮助的决定因素。机器人的特性增加了员工的感知收益，从而导致员工愿意向机器人寻求帮助。此外，机器人的外观会影响员工感知的心理距离和员工与机器人的契合度，从而影响员工寻求帮助的意愿。这项研究为了解员工愿意向机器人寻求帮助的原因提供了第一步。