How can businesses make human-robot teams work? New research

New research from Henley Business School has identified the organisational conditions needed for employees and service robots to work together successfully, warning that poor implementation can lead to job insecurity, disengagement and staff turnover. The study introduces the concept of Hybrid Service Agency (HSA), a new framework explaining how human-robot teams can achieve outcomes that neither people nor robots could deliver alone.

Published in The Service Industries Journal, the research was led by Dr Matteo Borghi, with Dr Phatcharasiri Ratcharak at the University of Greenwich and Professor Babak Taheri at Texas A&M University. The team conducted a systematic review of 129 peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2026 examining the impact of service robots in hospitality and tourism workplaces.

Successful collaboration between humans and robots

Rather than focusing on whether customers accept robots, the study found that research has increasingly shifted towards understanding how robot adoption affects employees, workplace wellbeing and organisational performance.

The study identifies three key conditions for successful human-robot collaboration: strong organisational governance, clear role design between humans and robots, and employees feeling empowered to adapt and shape their work alongside new technologies. The framework proposes that when these factors are present, organisations are more likely to achieve 'Hybrid Service Agency' - an emergent team capability that enables humans and robots to complement one another and create greater value together.

There are risks to introducing a mechanical team member

However, the study also highlights a significant risk. Where employees see robots as a threat to their jobs, this is linked to insecurity, disengagement and intentions to leave. The research suggests that these negative outcomes are driven less by the technology itself and more by how organisations communicate, manage and implement robotic systems.

The review also found evidence that performance can hold up while employees’ passion for their work declines, meaning problems may not show up in standard performance figures until they are well advanced.

The findings have implications far beyond hospitality and tourism because - though these sectors are among the most advanced in deploying service robots - the authors argue that the lessons are highly relevant for healthcare, retail and professional services as organisations increasingly introduce artificial intelligence and automation into frontline operations.

Dr Matteo Borghi, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Henley Business School, said about the findings:

“Robots can look like a success on paper while quietly wearing down the people who work beside them. Our review shows that the outcome depends less on the technology than on how organisations introduce it: explaining why the robot is there, being clear about who does what, and giving staff room to shape their own work. Get those right, and people and robots can achieve together what neither could alone.”

The researchers hope the new Hybrid Service Agency framework will help organisations think beyond technology adoption and focus instead on creating workplaces where people and intelligent technologies can thrive together.

Dr. Borghi has also written about the findings for hospitality operators in an article for Hospitality Net.