Can Service Robot Job Creativity, Engagement, and Performance Be as Effective as Human Frontline Service Employees

This research proposal aims to investigate whether service robots can be as engaged and creative as human frontline service employees. It also explores the effectiveness of robots in handling difficult customers and the impact of employee creativity on organizational performance. The study will contribute to the understanding of the role of robots in service marketing and provide strategic guidelines for their integration.

Ph.D. Research Proposal
Doctoral Program in Business, information and Marketing
Frontline service Employees and Robot
Can Service Robot Job Creativity, Engagement, and Performance Be as Effective as Human
Frontline Service Employees
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Advisor:
Advisor:
Central Queensland University (Sydney)
Business school
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1) Background to the research and research Question (S) to be investigated
The main focus of the research is on identifying whether or not a robot as a frontline
service employee could be as engaged and creative as the human frontline service employees.
With the same, it also seeks for identifying whether or not robot can handle a confused,
frustrated and difficult customer and if the frontline service employees need to gain creativity
for serving a customer. It is to note that customer service is regarded as one of the most
complicated differentiators for the customer loyalty. This is due to the fact that about 33% of
the total Americans claim that a single poor customer service could also make the customers
to switch to the other companies (Puneet Mehta 2018). The customer service job engagement
and creativity is very important in such a competitive market. It is also to mention that the
employee creativity notably aids towards attaining organisational effectiveness, performance
and innovation (Amabile et al. 1996). It is especially true for the frontline employees who are
required for demonstrating creativity for delivering excellent services and meeting the
customers’ expectations with different wants and needs (Wilder, Collier, and Barnes 2014).
As per Amabile (1988), creative process is a very vital element for the individuals in
organization for solving the problems as well as to deal more efficiently with their work so
that they can avoid confusions and attain excellent results. The frontline employees often
experience several unexpected situations. For instance, when the customers see a good range
of product variety and gain some extensive information related to the products and services,
they become confused and stressed to make the right choice and find it difficult to take
decision. In these cases, the help of the service employees increases customer satisfaction and
at the same time, the possibility of buying the product (Huffman and Khan 1998). Also,
frontline employees who show high degree of enthusiasm and engagement for their work
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make use of their creativity for providing better solution for customers that leads to success
for the organisational financial (Schneider, Macey, and Barbara 2009).
However, in case of elderly customers, it could result in destructiveness if they are to
interact with the robots as the frontline service employees. The population of the elderly
people might grow to 28% from 18 by 2060 and this population have the highest sensitivity
to the new technologies. They may find it difficult to face robots as frontline service
employees (Smith 2015, European Commission and the Economic Policy Committee (2015).
The employees who work in the service industry are required to have good idea regarding the
needs of customers. They should work towards increasing their level of engagement with
them as well as the firms for providing better service for the customers and organizational
outcomes. They shoyld recognize and fulfill each and every needs of the customer (Homburg,
Wieseke, and Torsten 2009). This would vale more than just focusing on the immediate sales.
These employees should think more feasibly and creatively for helping the heterogeneous
customers with making buying decisions as well as improve their potential of identifying and
reacting to the needs of the customers before customers verbalise them, when the service
robots do not showcase the heterogeneity and behave identical all over the system of service
delivery, by providing assumed and homogenous service and solution (Wirtz et al. 2018).
2) What is the anticipated significance and/or impact of the proposed research?
The main aim of this research is identify the significant impact of robot in the service
marketing as well as to give strategic guidelines for overcoming the challenges of the robotic
entry in the service marketing as frontline service employees. The elder individuals often
think robotic technology is a threat. For example, at the time of their shopping experience,
this research study is aiming towards finding out whether or not it is possible for robot to
become as creative as human beings for comforting the customers. Hence, the firms need to
strive for facilitating more positive feelings as well as increasing the perceptions of the
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advantages and the comfort for the customers. Notwithstanding this fact, the rapidly
improving technology that becomes smarter, better, and cheaper would transform all service
sectors (Wirtz and Zeithaml, 2018). The most possible impact of the idea of infusion of robots
in conjunction with the AI as well as the machine learning on the frontline employees all over
the industries has attracted notable attention from the world-wide business practitioners
(Lelieveld and Wolswinkel, 2017; Microsoft, 2018). Also, there are some jobs that require
more customer contact as compared to the others (for example, hairdressers, education, and
medical services). Therefore, there are some jobs that require more engagement and creativity
on the basis of the level of customer contacts and at the same time, they also need more skills
for quality service delivery (Oldham and Cummings, 1996). In the same way, using robot as
frontline service employees depending on the customer contact level need to be taken into
consideration.
3) What research method will you use to undertake the proposed research?
There are several research methods used in a research. It deals with the techniques
that are used for conducting the research in systematic way. It is to note that research
methodology refers to the process or procedure that helps to conduct the research in a
structured and organized manner. It allows an in-depth understanding of the different types of
processes that are used in the research. However, the mechanical basis for the humanoid
robot, a 120 cm high could be used as frontline service employees in both the cases of high as
well as low contact customer service. It need to be tested with both the young and old
generations. Therefore, this test could be used in David jones and Mayer, as well as in
different healthcare, hotels, university library front desk etc. With the same, in any
experiment, the human frontline service employees along with the behaviour of the robotic
frontline service employee’s must be measured. 7-point liker scale for the level of customer
satisfaction. The T- test and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for assessing the
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effectiveness of the very experiment as well as for analysing the effects of the human
frontline service employees as well as the Robotic frontline service employees are necessary.
4) What are the intended time line to undertake the proposed research?
It is to note that the preparation for this research study calls for huge time of my part
in order to carry out it successfully. It would involve investing huge time for reading the
various different literatures in this subject, negotiating with the retailers, hotels, healthcare,
where both the robot and the human are required to be tested as the frontline service
employees. I would also search for the company that would use robot and frontline employee
and at the same time, would discuss with them the shortcoming and the success that they
achieved. Furthermore, I would also need to search for the companies who would produce
robot for this (frontline service employees). To my idea, this project would take a total of 3
years in order to be completed.
5) What resources, facilities, equipment, fieldwork will be required to undertake the
proposed research?
In order to complete this research proposal, I as a student need to go through a wide
amount of literary articles, journals, books and newspapers. I also need to gain good access of
computer and internet in order to gain knowledge on these as well as to collect the academic
journals. Furthermore, I shall be participating in the seminar topics regarding the types of the
robots that could be used in this purpose as the frontline service employees. I shall also be
requiring to hire the frontline service employees as well from different companies that we are
intending to do experiment with. Hiring the robots for doing experiment is of an utmost
importance. For this purpose, I shall also be requiring to have ample of budgets for hiring
these robots. I need to make the cost estimated as accurate as possible for covering the
expenses that would be proposed in this research study. Furthermore, the University lab, as
well as the library are required for testing the hypotheses as well. I might also need to invite
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the student for participating in order to test the hypotheses. Lastly, I shall also require to do
some field works and conduct interviews in order to gain the perception of different people.
6) Which CQU University Research Strength area (s) will be the proposed research be
aligned with?
This propose research would participate in CQU university research strength area,
such as the workplace management, the creative ads, participation and access. It would
identify the many strengths and weaknesses of the robots as the frontline service employees
for measuring the details on the same and assessing whether or not they can be as engaged
and as creative as the human beings in case if there is any uncertainty for measuring their
performance. Furthermore, it is also to note that the business, marketing, service delivery and
innovation are the other related strengths or strength area of the CQU University that this
particular proposed research would be aligned with.
7) How will the proposed research contribute to the research outputs and research
culture in the nominated CQU university research strength?
The CQU university researches enables the professionals from the different
disciplines to incorporate some sustainable principles of deign that are drawn from the
permaculture into their day-to-day practices in a good range of fields and areas, comprising
of the nature and land as well as the tools and technologies. It is also to mention that the CQU
seeks for becoming one of the most engaged Universities of Australia laying a special focus
on the internationally and globally relevant activities which could benefit the Central
Queensland region in particular. Furthermore, the invigoration of the research as one of the
most important pillars in the growth and development of the CQU has focused on
determining the important areas of research specialisation which would benefit the
stakeholders of Central Queensland. Its main research strengths and main research focus are
in different areas that could benefit this region to a significant extent. One of them include
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tools and technologies. This research study is particularly focused on improved technology
that could further be used in the near future by the markers and business men in order to alter
the human hands with the technologically advanced robots who would successfully be
meeting the needs and the demands of the future day customers. This study is highly based on
growth and development of business, not by means of internal improvements or socially or
financially, but technologically in order to provide the customers with highly improved
service delivery. This would also present the cons of this idea as how it would influence the
elder generation and why they could resist this change. This study would shed light on both
the advantages and disadvantages of doing so by assessing the data and information gathered
and at the same time, this would also be helping the stakeholders of the Central Queensland
region, which is the main focus of the CQ University.
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References:
Amabile, Teresa M. (1988), “A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations,”
Research in Organizational Behaviour, 10, 123-167.
Amabile, Teresa M., Regina Conti, Heather Coon, Jeffrey Lazenby, and Michael Herron
(1996), “Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity,” Academy of Management Journal,
39 (5), 1154-1184.
European Commission (DG ECFIN) and the Economic Policy Committee (AWG) (2015),
“The 2015 ageing report: economic and budgetary projections for the 28 EU member states
(2013-2060)”, available at: http://europa.eu/epc/pdf/ageing_report_2015_en.pdf (accessed
April 17, 2017).
Homburg, Christian, Jan Wieseke, and Bornemann Torsten (2009), “Implementing the
Marketing Concept at the Employee-Customer Interface: Role of Customer Need
Knowledge,” Journal of Marketing, 73 (4), 64-81.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/12/26/2019-ai-outlook-is-customer-
service-the-new-marketing/#1e3877025479
Huffman, Cynthia, and Barbara E Kahn (1998), “Variety for Sale: Mass Customization or
Mass Confusion?” Journal of Retailing, 74 (4), 491-513.
Lelieveld I and Wen C. Wolswinkel (2017), “How intelligent automation and robotics impact
IT service delivery”, available at: www.accenture-insights.nl/en-us/articles/how-intelligent-
automationrobotics- impact-it-service-delivery/ (accessed January 15, 2018).
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Lovelock, Christopher H., Paul G. Patterson, and Jochen Wirtz (2011), “Service Marketing,
An Asia-Pacific and Australian Perspective,” Australia: Pearson.
Microsoft (2018), “AI retail playbook: transformation strategies for intelligent retail”,
available at:http://info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-82/images/Final%20AI%20Retail
%20Playbook.pdf (accessed February 2, 2018).
Oldham, Greg R., and Anne Cummings (1996), “Employee Creativity: Personal and
Contextual Factors at Work,” Academy of Management Journal, 39 (3), 607-634.
Puneet Mehta(2018), Is The Customer Service the New Marketing?, Forbes, Available at:
Schneider, Benjamin, William H. Macey, and Karen M. Barbera (2009), “Driving Customer
Satisfaction and Financial Success through Employee Engagement,” People and Strategy,
New York, 32 (2), 22-27.
Smith, A. (2015), “Older adults and technology use”, Pew Research Center, available at:
www. pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-adults-and-technology-use/ (accessed March 17,
2017).
Wilder, Kelly M., Joel E. Collier., and Donald C. Barnes (2014), “Tailoring to Customers’
Needs: Understanding How to Promote an Adaptive Service Experience with Frontline
Employees,” Journal of Service Marketing, 17 (4), 446-459
Wirts Jochen, Paul G Patterson, Warner H Kunz, Thorstoen Gruber, Vinh Nhat Lu,
StefaniePaluch, Antje Martins (2018)”, “"Brave new world: service robots in the frontline",
Journal of Service Management, Vol. 29 Issue: 5, pp.907-931,
Wirtz Jochen, and Valarie A. Zeithaml (2018), “Cost-effective service excellence”, Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 46 No. 1, pp. 59-80
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