Viva robonomics!? Cost–benefit analysis of robots and future directions in service and robonomics research

Purpose: Despite extensive research on the design and adoption of service robots, their efficiency—specifically, the impact on costs, revenues and profitability—has received limited attention. This essay seeks to stimulate a scholarly conversation on this topic by surveying the emerging literature on empirical insights on cost–benefit analyses and then highlighting key components of cost-benefit analyses for service robots. Next, grounded in “service profit logic,” this essay empirically examines consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) vis-à-vis human-robot (cobotic) teams as a crucial marketing variable in the context of cost–benefit analyses for service robots. 

Design/methodology/approach: This research combines a review of empirical findings from the literature on cost–benefit analysis and consumer WTP in the context of service robots with the first exploratory experimental study investigating consumer WTP for a cobotic service team. 

Findings: This essay offers an illustrative process for cost–benefit analyses of service robots, outlining key cost drivers and benefits and reviewing empirical evidence. The findings highlight the situational profitability of robots, with economic feasibility influenced by context and usage frequency. Consumer WTP is shaped, among others, by perceived usefulness, emotional engagement and anthropomorphic features of service robots. An exploratory study on cobotic teams in healthcare reveals they can increase WTP for human-only teams, especially when robots are in leadership roles. The essay concludes with proposed directions for future research. 

Originality/value: Building on existing literature, this essay expands the understanding of cost–benefit analysis of service robots. Further, it offers novel initial empirical insights into consumer WTP for cobotic service teams.