To what extent are Consumers Ready for a Fully Autonomous Restaurant? An Examination of Consumer Acceptance of automated service technology in the Restaurant Industry.
Literature Review
The foundation of technological innovation and advancement across the globe and the various industries is to increase efficiency in daily human activities and increase the individual experience and satisfaction as far as service delivery is concerned. In the restaurant industry, technological provisions have allowed for the automation of services as the businesses in the given sector seek to increase responsiveness to consumer needs. However, questions mark the extent to which consumers are ready for fully autonomous restaurants. Here, various previous studies on the automation of services in the restaurant industry through technology inform the topic on what extent the consumers are ready for fully autonomous restaurants.
Current Technological Advancements in restaurant Industry
According to West (2015), the automation of services in the restaurant industry has seen entities in the given sector remove humans in the food delivery whereby, technologically modified tables are allowing customers to place food orders from the facility’s kitchen without engaging waitresses or waiters. West (2015) further asserts that technology is enabling for the automated payments thus obviating the requirement for restaurant cashiers while in other cases, automated tables provide the customers with the ability to direct chefs on the specifications of ingredients to add on the food directly. Here, it is evident that the use of technology is revitalizing the service delivery with an imminent implication that the efficiency associated with automated services is bound to influence customer acceptance of fully automated restaurants. A study by Susskind and Curry (2016) provides further information to expound on the issues raised by West (2015) by indicating that patrons in the restaurant industry are embracing guest-facing technology with 70 to 80 percent of the study’s respondents identifying that the given provision was beneficial. Susskind and Curry (2016) explain that table-top technology reduced the time spent in dining as well as reducing the time required from the service providers to meet customer needs while individuals who used the table-top technological hardware to make orders and payments spent more money than those who did not. Here, efficiency is deemed as the profound factor informing the automation of the services in restaurants whereby, the redundancies associated with human services including time consumption and the need for counter-checking of service information are eliminated by the adoption of technology. Susskind and Curry (2016) cite tableside payment and online ordering as the preferred technologies among restaurant customers, and while the study provides relevant information as far as the technology in the restaurant industry is concerned, more analysis is required to determine the extent to which customers are ready for fully autonomous restaurants.
Implications of Automation of Restaurants
Cavusoglu (2015) technology in the contemporary restaurant industry is pivotal in business operations and the support of service delivery. The study notes that the adoption of technology has resulted in the reduction of operational costs while increasing the overall revenues. Here, it is imminent that the benefits attained from technological innovations in the given economic sector can be attributed to the efficiency in addressing customer needs which in turn enhance satisfaction leading to increasing in demand and subsequently the revenue generation. However, information on the extent to which the customers are ready for a fully autonomous restaurant is not provided by the study. Lydia et al. (2015) assert that self-service technology is developing acceptance in the restaurant sector with the effect of the given technological provision on consumer behavior remaining unknown. DiPietro (2017) on the other hand reveals that there is an increased role of technology in the restaurant industry as far as the prospects for an optimistic future are concerned. It is thus evident that the incorporation of technology in the restaurant industry is bound to affect the performance of the sector regarding profitability and customer satisfaction based on the efficiency of service delivery. However, there is a need to research further on the area to determine the extent to which customers are ready for fully autonomous restaurants.
Future Prospects of Restaurant Automation
Puzder (2016) identifies that government policies that are inclined towards increasing the costs of labor, reduced technology costs and customer preferences are the primary factors informing the pattern towards the automation of the restaurant industry. Puzder (2016) further highlights that making ‘something more convenient and less expensive’ tends ‘to catch on’ thus implicating that there are high prospects for the acceptance of fully automated restaurants by customers. Ivanov et al. (2017) establish that not all the services in the restaurant industry have the possibility of automation based on the fact that automation of service delivery process is dependent on business competitiveness, economic efficiency and customer experience. It is thus evident that the while technology is providing enormous possibilities in the restaurant industry, there is the unknown extent of customer acceptance which will, in turn, affect further automation. According to Jasonos and McCormick (2017), contemporary consumers in the restaurant industry are explained as ‘tech-savvy,’ and self-sufficient individuals who elicit comfort in using technological based application and hence, ensuring that technology is user-friendly and up-to-date is important in influencing acceptance and satisfaction. Shahid Iqbal et al. (2017) expound on the aspect of self-service technology as part of restaurant automation and reveals that there is a positive relationship between consumer behavioral intentions and loyalty and the quality of the self-service technology. Kansakar et al. (2018) denote that there is a need for the overhaul of the technological platforms in hospitality establishments including restaurants including the restaurants to accommodate the changing landscape of contemporary technology. Here, technology is poised to include aspects such as the full automation of services in restaurants.
Conclusion
The various studies on the topic of technology as far the restaurant industry is concerned to explain the fact that automation of services is among the contemporary trends in the given industry. Here, the aspect of the efficiency of the services as a result of technology adoption is explained as the influencing factor in determining customer satisfaction and the preference for automatic restaurants over the human-based service delivery entities. Also, past studies reveal that the automation of the restaurants is dependent on consumer preferences and the economical interplay of cost and business efficiency. While consumers can be perceived as inclined towards accepting the automation of services in restaurants through technological innovation and application, the extent to which the individuals are ready for fully autonomous restaurants is not explicitly defined in the assessed literature. It is thus imminent that the information on the level of acceptance among consumers as far as automation in the restaurant industry is bound to affect the level of adoption of technology and the personalization of services thus informing the foundation for this research topic. This study will seek to address the knowledge gap surrounding the extent to which consumers are ready for fully automated restaurants.
References
Cavusoglu, M. (2015). "An analysis of technology applications in the restaurant industry." Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5456
Dipietro R. (2017). Restaurant and foodservice research: A critical reflection behind and an optimistic look ahead. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 29, 1203-1234.
Jasonos, M. & McCormick, R. (2017). Technology Integration for Restaurants & Hospitality Industry in the Year 2025. The Haaga-Helia University of Applied Science. (1). https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/132779/Jasonos_Michael%20McCormick_Richard.pdf?sequence=1
Ivanov, Stanislav Hristov, and Webster, Craig and Berezina, Katerina, Adoption of Robots and Service Automation by Tourism and Hospitality Companies (May 6, 2017). Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimen, 27 (28), 1501-1517.
Kansakar, P., Munir, A., & Shabani N. (2018). Technology in Hospitality Industry: Prospects and Challenges. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine. 1 (2). 1-6
Lydia Hanks, Nathan D. Line, & Anna S. Mattila. (2016). The Impact of Self-Service Technology and the Presence of Others on Cause-Related Marketing Programs in Restaurants. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. 25, 547-562.
Puzder, A. (2016). Why Restaurant Automation is on the Menu. Wall Street Journal. March 24th, 2016. https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-restaurant-automation-is-on-the-menu-1458857730
Shahid Iqbal, M., Ul Hassan, M., Habibah, U., & Tiuwright, L. (2018). Impact of self-service technology (SST) service quality on customer loyalty and behavioral intention: The mediating role of customer satisfaction. Cogent Business & Management. 5.
Susskind, A. M., & Curry, B. (2016). The influence of table top technology in full-service restaurants. Cornell Hospitality Report, 16(22), 3-9.
West, D. (2015). What happens if robots take the jobs? The impact of emerging technologies on employment and public policy. Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/robotwork.pdf
