Exploring the adoption of social robots: Influences of promotion focus, anthropomorphism, and monetary sacrifice

Amid the rapid advancement of technology, social robots are increasingly becoming a part of human society. This study explored the associations between promotion focus, prevention focus, anthropomorphism, facial expression, monetary sacrifice, and overall attitudes with users' intention to use social robots. We employed a survey-based design and analyzed data from 300 adult users through partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results showed significant associations of promotion focus, anthropomorphism, monetary sacrifice, and overall attitude with the intention to use social robots. Notably, monetary sacrifice was associated with a positive perception, indicating that higher costs might be seen as an indicator of superior quality and advanced technology. Conversely, prevention focus and facial expression did not show significant associations with the intention to use social robots. These findings provide useful guidelines for product developers and marketers in social robotics who want to appeal to consumers while optimizing both time and cost.