Meaning of Manual Labor Impedes Consumer Adoption of Autonomous Products

Abstract

Technologies are becoming increasingly autonomous, able to complete tasks on behalf of consumers without human intervention. For example, robot vacuums clean the floor while cooking machines implement recipes on their own. These autonomous products free consumers from daily chores that they used to perform manually. The current research suggests that some consumers derive meaning from completing such manual tasks, and that this meaning of manual labor acts as a barrier to the adoption of autonomous products. A series of field and experimental studies shows that consumers who score high (vs. low) on the meaning of manual labor construct tend to evaluate autonomous products less favorably and adopt them less frequently. However, making alternative sources of meaning in life salient can serve as a remedy to increase autonomous product adoption among these consumers. One such strategy is to emphasize that the time gained through the use of autonomous products can be spent on meaningful activities, thus offsetting the detrimental effects of meaning of manual labor on autonomous product adoption. The findings suggest effective interventions for firms that offer autonomous products while stressing the need to provide meaningful experiences to consumers.