Affordance Actualization of Social Robots: Empirical Evidence from the Hotel Industry

Social robots exhibit a range of affordances for users. Drawing on the affordance theory, this study examined the affordance actualization of social robots in hotels based on user experience of social robots use. An LDA topic modeling analysis was performed based on online hotel reviews generated by hotel customers on TripAdvisor. We found that users actualize social robots’ affordances such as luggage and storage handling, front desk tasks, delivery tasks, and navigational assistance while providing enjoyment and social interactions during hotel services. This study contributes to the literature by uncovering the actualized utilitarian, social, and hedonic affordances and the specific dimensions of these affordances of social robots in hotels.