An impact of multi sensory virtual reality on Deutsches museum visitors pleasant experience towards reuse and purchase intention / Muhammad Hamza Shahab

Muhammad Hamza , Shahab (2023) An impact of multi sensory virtual reality on Deutsches museum visitors pleasant experience towards reuse and purchase intention / Muhammad Hamza Shahab. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Academic literature highlights the gratifications of using virtual reality (VR) in tourism but does not provide insights into fulfilling those gratifications after using multisensory VR. Several research models are used in the literature to study gratifications, but the literature is unable to highlight the best suitable model to measure gratifications. Therefore, this research was conducted in a multi-sensory VRlab of Deutsches Museum, Munich, to address the existing gaps in the literature. The first research objective to understand visitors’ needs for using multi-sensory VR was addressed through 11 face-to-face interviews. The research model and questionnaires for this research were designed based on the emerging themes from interviews. The gratification discrepancies approach (GO-GS) of uses and gratifications theory was the primary theory applied in this research. Several nuanced gratifications were adopted, such as entertainment, education, novelty and telepresence. The data were collected two times from n = 227 respondents – before and after using VR through a cross-sectional survey design. SPSS was used for the initial data screening, and PLS-SEM was used to conduct structural equation modelling. Second research objective concludes that education, telepresence, and novelty gratifications were over-fulfilled by VR (GO>GS), but the entertainment was under-fulfilled (GO<GS). Visitors were expecting more entertainment, but VR content at Deutsches Museum could not meet their expectations. Third objective was to study the educational impact of VR at tourism destinations, which shows a drastic change in pre and post usage familiarity, concluding that the visitors preferred to get education from VR, and virtual reality is a good tool to provide education during tourism activities. Fourth objective was to provide one best suitable model to measure media consumption consequences. Therefore, seven different models were compared in quantitative analysis 1, for example, (i) gratifications sought model Σ(GS), (ii) gratifications obtained model Σ(GO), (iii) simplified discrepancy model Σ(GO - GS), (iv) discrepancy weighted by users’ personal importance model Σ j(GO - GS), (v) transactional model of model iii Σ(GS+GO), (vi) transactional model of model iv Σ j(GS+GO) and (vii) modified gratifications obtained model Σ j(GO). The result of analysis 1 concluded that the gratifications obtained model (ii) is a suitable model to influence the pleasantness of experience. The suitability was studied according to the best coefficient of determination (R2) and lowest error terms of asymptotical efficiency and consistency criteria. Fifth objective was to further investigate the role of gratifications obtained on reuse and purchase intentions through the mediating role of the pleasantness of experience (analysis 2). The model's predictive ability was tested with the help of R2, the blindfolding-based measure Q2 and PLS-predict. The visitors reported a pleasant experience through entertainment, education, and telepresence, which led them to reuse VR at tourism destinations and purchase it. In contrast, the novel experience of VR had no impact on reusing and purchasing intentions. Overall, this research concludes that the simple gratifications obtained model is a suitable model to study media consumption consequences, and entertainment, education, and telepresence are the driving factors behind a pleasant experience with VR. Several managerial recommendations are also presented at the end of the thesis.

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