Does Virtual Help Reality? Effects of Pre-Visit Information Tools on Learning, Satisfaction, Museum Liking, and Willingness to Visit

(disponible en anglais seulement)

[VERSION EN PRÉPUBLICATION]

Domenico Sardanelli, Concetta Ferrara, Mara Cerquetti

Domenico Sardanelli is an Associate Professor in Business Economics and Management at the eCampus University (Italy). His research interests focus on marketing manage­ment, marketing analytics, and consumer behavior and decision-making. He has published several research papers on these topics in international academic journals about management and marketing.
Concetta Ferrara is an Adjunct Lecturer in Web and Social Media Marketing at the University of Macerata. Her current research focuses on cultural marketing, museum management and sustainability, museum networks, and audience development.
Mara Cerquetti is a  Full Professor in Management at the Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism of the University of Macerata. Her research and publications focus on cultural management and policy, cultural marketing, museum management, and sustainable tourism. She has been a member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Il Capitale Culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage since 2010.

ABSTRACT
Assuming the disruptive role played by Information and Communication Technologies in enhancing museums’ appeal and attracting new audiences, this paper examines the use of virtual tours (VTs) as a pre-visit information tool outside of a museum and their effects on users’ learning and satisfaction, as well as the museum liking and the intention to visit it. Across two experimental studies and one Individual Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis, the research shows that VTs, compared with written guides, increase satisfaction, liking, learning, and intention. The individual participant data meta-analysis combining both studies confirmed that VTs’ indirect effects on satisfaction, liking, and intention via flow were significant at low and moderate awareness, but weaker at high levels (moderated mediation). Taken together, these results orient practitioners to reconsider the use of traditional written tools and to evaluate the quality of VR-based experiences.

KEYWORDS
Virtual reality; satisfaction; museum liking; learning; intention to visit; flow