Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Reza Etemad-Sajadi is a Professor at the EHL Hospitality Business School, part of the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO). His primary focus lies at the intersection of technology, hospitality, and healthcare, exploring how emerging technologies like AI-driven robots and connected health devices impact service delivery and customer experience. He leads research projects addressing ethical implications of human-robot interaction, the integration of hospitality principles into healthcare services, and the application of technology acceptance models (TAM) to service sectors.

Research Interests: Human-Robot Interaction, Healthcare Technologies, Service Quality, Customer Experience, Ethics in Technology, and CRM strategies. His work emphasizes ethical considerations, trust, and social presence in technology adoption, particularly in frontline service contexts.

Key Projects: He spearheaded studies on ethical frameworks for service robots, enhancing homecare through connected health technologies, and analyzing B2B/B2C interactions via virtual agents. His research often employs structural equation modeling (SEM) and partial least squares (PLS) to assess latent variables like trust, social presence, and perceived usefulness.

Publications: Over 20 peer-reviewed articles in journals like International Journal of Hospitality Management and International Journal of Social Robotics. Recent work highlights the diminishing role of technology in healthcare satisfaction compared to human assurance and the critical ethical concerns surrounding labor replacement and data privacy in robotics.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams across HES-SO and industry partners like Touchmind, focusing on practical applications of robotics and AI in hospitality and healthcare sectors.