IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i5p3064-d765241.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experiencing a Food Production Site Using Wearable Devices: The Indirect Impact of Immersion and Presence in VR Tours

Author

Listed:
  • Francesca De Canio

    (Department of Economics Marco Biagi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy)

  • Elisa Martinelli

    (Department of Economics Marco Biagi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41121 Modena, Italy)

  • Margherita Peruzzini

    (Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41123 Modena, Italy)

  • Sara Cavallaro

    (Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41123 Modena, Italy)

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is among the main technologies revolutionizing numerous sectors, including tourism. In the latter context, virtual tours (VTs) are finding increasing application. Providing an immersive and realistic human–machine interaction, VR tours can bring visitors to virtually experience destination areas. The proposed research presents a theoretical and empirical investigation of the role played by some technical VR features (i.e., presence, immersion, ease-of-use) on VR visitors’ enjoyment, satisfaction, and, accordingly, on the physical visit intention of the production site and neighboring areas. After having experienced a 360-degree VR tour of a food production site, created specifically for this study, 140 visitors were surveyed online. Results—emerging from a PLS structural equation model—show that immersion and presence both directly impact the enjoyment and indirectly the user’s VR tour satisfaction and visit intention. Further, if the VR tour is perceived as easy to use, it influences visitors’ satisfaction and physical visit intention. This study contributes to the novel VR literature, applied in the tourism sector, evidencing how immersive and enjoyable scenarios, experienced via widespread devices such as smartphones, may impact tourists’ choices. In food tourism, VR technologies can be fundamental in attracting new visitors to the production sites and neighboring areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca De Canio & Elisa Martinelli & Margherita Peruzzini & Sara Cavallaro, 2022. "Experiencing a Food Production Site Using Wearable Devices: The Indirect Impact of Immersion and Presence in VR Tours," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:3064-:d:765241
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/3064/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/3064/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hoyer, Wayne D. & Kroschke, Mirja & Schmitt, Bernd & Kraume, Karsten & Shankar, Venkatesh, 2020. "Transforming the Customer Experience Through New Technologies," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 57-71.
    2. Sarah Hudson & Sheila Matson-Barkat & Nico Pallamin & Guillaume Jégou, 2019. "With or without you? Interaction and immersion in a virtual reality experience," Post-Print hal-02159315, HAL.
    3. Hudson, Sarah & Matson-Barkat, Sheila & Pallamin, Nico & Jegou, Guillaume, 2019. "With or without you? Interaction and immersion in a virtual reality experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 459-468.
    4. F. Canio & E. Martinelli & M. Peruzzini & G. Marchi, 2021. "The use of virtual tours to stimulate consumers’ buying and visit intentions: an application to the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 209-226, September.
    5. Huang, Yu-Chih & Backman, Sheila J. & Backman, Kenneth F. & Moore, DeWayne, 2013. "Exploring user acceptance of 3D virtual worlds in travel and tourism marketing," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 490-501.
    6. Jung, Timothy & Chung, Namho & Leue, M. Claudia, 2015. "The determinants of recommendations to use augmented reality technologies: The case of a Korean theme park," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 75-86.
    7. Sifeng Nian & Honglei Zhang & Ling Mao & Wenjing Zhao & Hui Zhang & Youhai Lu & Yingying Zhang & Yifan Xu, 2019. "How Outstanding Universal Value, Service Quality and Place Attachment Influences Tourist Intention Towards World Heritage Conservation: A Case Study of Mount Sanqingshan National Park, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Piera Buonincontri & Alessandra Marasco & Haywantee Ramkissoon, 2017. "Visitors’ Experience, Place Attachment and Sustainable Behaviour at Cultural Heritage Sites: A Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-19, June.
    9. Spielmann, Nathalie & Mantonakis, Antonia, 2018. "In virtuo: How user-driven interactivity in virtual tours leads to attitude change," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 255-264.
    10. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van & Vasiliki Vrana & Nguyen Thien Duy & Doan Xuan Huy Minh & Pham Tien Dzung & Subhra R. Mondal & Subhankar Das, 2020. "The Role of Human–Machine Interactive Devices for Post-COVID-19 Innovative Sustainable Tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-30, November.
    11. Kim, Jiyeon & Forsythe, Sandra, 2008. "Adoption of Virtual Try-on technology for online apparel shopping," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 45-59.
    12. Ha-Lim Rhee & Kyu-Hye Lee, 2021. "Enhancing the Sneakers Shopping Experience through Virtual Fitting Using Augmented Reality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, June.
    13. Schlosser, Ann E, 2003. "Experiencing Products in the Virtual World: The Role of Goal and Imagery in Influencing Attitudes versus Purchase Intentions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(2), pages 184-198, September.
    14. Xu, Feifei & Buhalis, Dimitrios & Weber, Jessika, 2017. "Serious games and the gamification of tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 244-256.
    15. Francesca De Canio & Davide Pellegrini & Maria Elena Aramendia-Muneta, 2016. "The smartphoners: consumer segmentation by smartphone usage," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(1), pages 123-144.
    16. Giuseppe De Luca & Ahmadreza Shirvani Dastgerdi & Carlo Francini & Giovanni Liberatore, 2020. "Sustainable Cultural Heritage Planning and Management of Overtourism in Art Cities: Lessons from Atlas World Heritage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-11, May.
    17. Marios Koufaris, 2002. "Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and Flow Theory to Online Consumer Behavior," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(2), pages 205-223, June.
    18. Seokho Han & Ji-Hwan Yoon & Jookyung Kwon, 2021. "Impact of Experiential Value of Augmented Reality: The Context of Heritage Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-13, April.
    19. Nadeem Akhtar & Nohman Khan & Muhammad Mahroof Khan & Shagufta Ashraf & Muhammad Saim Hashmi & Muhammad Muddassar Khan & Sanil S. Hishan, 2021. "Post-COVID 19 Tourism: Will Digital Tourism Replace Mass Tourism?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, May.
    20. Yim, Mark Yi-Cheon & Chu, Shu-Chuan & Sauer, Paul L., 2017. "Is Augmented Reality Technology an Effective Tool for E-commerce? An Interactivity and Vividness Perspective," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 89-103.
    21. Kang, Hyo Jeong & Shin, Jung-hye & Ponto, Kevin, 2020. "How 3D Virtual Reality Stores Can Shape Consumer Purchase Decisions: The Roles of Informativeness and Playfulness," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 70-85.
    22. Healy, Noel & van Riper, Carena J. & Boyd, Stephen W., 2016. "Low versus high intensity approaches to interpretive tourism planning: The case of the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 574-583.
    23. Loureiro, Sandra Maria Correia & Guerreiro, João & Eloy, Sara & Langaro, Daniela & Panchapakesan, Padma, 2019. "Understanding the use of Virtual Reality in Marketing: A text mining-based review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 514-530.
    24. Vasileios Sidiropoulos & Dimitrios Bechtsis & Dimitrios Vlachos, 2021. "An Augmented Reality Symbiosis Software Tool for Sustainable Logistics Activities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    25. Giulia Wally Scurati & Marco Bertoni & Serena Graziosi & Francesco Ferrise, 2021. "Exploring the Use of Virtual Reality to Support Environmentally Sustainable Behavior: A Framework to Design Experiences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wedel, Michel & Bigné, Enrique & Zhang, Jie, 2020. "Virtual and augmented reality: Advancing research in consumer marketing," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 443-465.
    2. Qin, Hong & Peak, Daniel Alan & Prybutok, Victor, 2021. "A virtual market in your pocket: How does mobile augmented reality (MAR) influence consumer decision making?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. Qin, Hong & Osatuyi, Babajide & Xu, Lu, 2021. "How mobile augmented reality applications affect continuous use and purchase intentions: A cognition-affect-conation perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Petit, Olivia & Javornik, Ana & Velasco, Carlos, 2022. "We Eat First with Our (Digital) Eyes: Enhancing Mental Simulation of Eating Experiences via Visual-Enabling Technologies," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 277-293.
    5. F. Canio & E. Martinelli & M. Peruzzini & G. Marchi, 2021. "The use of virtual tours to stimulate consumers’ buying and visit intentions: an application to the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 209-226, September.
    6. Meißner, Martin & Pfeiffer, Jella & Peukert, Christian & Dietrich, Holger & Pfeiffer, Thies, 2020. "How virtual reality affects consumer choice," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 219-231.
    7. Cowan, Kirsten & Spielmann, Nathalie & Horn, Esther & Griffart, Clovis, 2021. "Perception is reality… How digital retail environments influence brand perceptions through presence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 86-96.
    8. Songhong Chen & Yuanshu Tian & Siyun Pei, 2024. "Technological Use from the Perspective of Cultural Heritage Environment: Augmented Reality Technology and Formation Mechanism of Heritage-Responsibility Behaviors of Tourists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-23, September.
    9. Kirk, Colleen P. & Chiagouris, Larry & Gopalakrishna, Pradeep, 2012. "Some people just want to read: The roles of age, interactivity, and perceived usefulness of print in the consumption of digital information products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 168-178.
    10. Laura Studen & Victor Tiberius, 2020. "Social Media, Quo Vadis? Prospective Development and Implications," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-22, August.
    11. Arghashi, Vahideh & Yuksel, Cenk Arsun, 2022. "Interactivity, Inspiration, and Perceived Usefulness! How retailers’ AR-apps improve consumer engagement through flow," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Pathak, Kanishka & Prakash, Gyan, 2023. "Exploring the role of augmented reality in purchase intention: Through flow and immersive experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    13. Nawres, Darragi & Nedra, Bahri-Ammari & Yousaf, Anish & Mishra, Abhishek, 2024. "The role of augmented reality in shaping purchase intentions and WOM for luxury products," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    14. Ionica Oncioiu & Iustin Priescu, 2022. "The Use of Virtual Reality in Tourism Destinations as a Tool to Develop Tourist Behavior Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, April.
    15. Maksim Godovykh & Carissa Baker & Alan Fyall, 2022. "VR in Tourism: A New Call for Virtual Tourism Experience amid and after the COVID-19 Pandemic," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-11, February.
    16. Mohamed Daassi & Sana Debbabi, 2021. "Intention to reuse AR-based apps: The combined role of the sense of immersion, product presence and perceived realism," Post-Print hal-03372420, HAL.
    17. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau & Dorothea N. Aliman & Alina M. Herting & Gerrit P. Cziehso & Marc Linder & Raoul V. Kübler, 2023. "Social interactions in the metaverse: Framework, initial evidence, and research roadmap," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 889-913, July.
    18. de Regt, Anouk & Plangger, Kirk & Barnes, Stuart J., 2021. "Virtual reality marketing and customer advocacy: Transforming experiences from story-telling to story-doing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 513-522.
    19. Cowan, Kirsten & Ketron, Seth & Kostyk, Alena & Kristofferson, Kirk, 2023. "Can you smell the (virtual) roses? The influence of olfactory cues in virtual reality on immersion and positive brand responses," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(3), pages 385-399.
    20. Anderson, Kelley Cours & Laverie, Debra A., 2022. "In the consumers’ eye: A mixed-method approach to understanding how VR-Content influences unbranded product quality perceptions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:3064-:d:765241. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.