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The Effect of COVID-19 on Airline Transportation Services: A Study on Service Robot Usage Intention

Author

Listed:
  • Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene

    (General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, 10332 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Bülent Yıldız

    (Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu 37150, Turkey)

  • Şemsettin Çiğdem

    (Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep 27310, Turkey
    Faculty of Economics, Management and Law, Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University, Turkestan 161200, Kazakhstan)

  • Renata Činčikaitė

    (General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, 10332 Vilnius, Lithuania
    Faculty of Business Management, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

Abstract

Robots have started to be used in the service sector as well as in the manufacturing industry. The use of service robots in airport services, tourism, and hospital services also brings many advantages. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing physical contact and providing hygiene are essential benefits of service robots. For this purpose, the effect of COVID-19 fear on perceived trust in service robots and the intention to use them at airports was investigated in this study. For analysis, data were collected from 730 participants from 64 different countries, by questionnaire. The data were analyzed with the SPSS and AMOS package programs. As a result of the structural equation model analysis, it was determined that COVID-19 fear affects perceived trust in service robots and the intention to use them positively, and perceived trust also affects the intention to use service robots positively. In addition, as a result of the Process Macro analysis, it was found that perceived trust has a high mediating effect on the effect of COVID-19 fear on the intention to use. The research results show that people’s attitudes towards COVID-19 shape the perception of robot usage in air transport services.

Suggested Citation

  • Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene & Bülent Yıldız & Şemsettin Çiğdem & Renata Činčikaitė, 2021. "The Effect of COVID-19 on Airline Transportation Services: A Study on Service Robot Usage Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12571-:d:678951
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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