Exploring the Influence of Dynamic and Self-Referencing Characteristics in Augmented Reality (AR) on Customer-Based Brand Equity: A Study on the Impact of AR Brand Experiences and the Moderating Role of Narcissism

Augmented Reality (AR) has witnessed significant growth in its applications, particularly in brand management, cause of its uniqueness of mapping virtual 3D elements with the real environment. Using AR, customers can try virtual products in real time on their own. Therefore, AR gives the consumer the feeling of self-reference. This paper addresses how dynamics and self-reference through AR experience affects consumers’ brand perception and evaluation, i.e., Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE). Furthermore, this paper addresses how self-referenced AR brand experiences are perceived by narcissists, as 1/20 individuals exhibit strong narcissistic traits. Drawing from our research questions, two empirical studies with German-speaking University students were conducted. Study 1 (N = 55) investigates the influence of dynamic interactions, whereas Study 2 (N = 46) explores the effects of self-referencing within AR on the perception of brand experience, extended by the influence of the personality trait narcissism. The results from Structural Equation Modeling show that in both studies pre-CBBE positively influences the AR brand experience and post-CBBE evaluation. However, our results partly support the effect of the brand experience on post-CBBE. One-way ANOVA identifies no effect from a higher dynamic level on the consumers’ perception of the AR brand experience and no significant tendency of user preference for high self-referencing AR. Results of an univariate ANOVA indicate a trend among narcissists to perceive AR brand experiences more positively compared to non-AR brand experiences, however, they reach no statistical significance. This paper provides a valuable contribution to research on the personality structure of narcissism in combination with the core characteristic of self-referencing in AR-induced brand experience. These findings and the results on the property of dynamic might help brand managers and developers design better AR brand experiences.