A Theoretical Framework For Understanding Aesthetic Experiences In Relation To Website Design And Utilitarian Outcomes

Online affective experiences and their relationships to utilitarian and non-utilitarian outcomes are of growing interest. This study investigates one affective experience – aesthetics – and its impact on online utilitarian values. As the concept of web aesthetic experience has not been well studied or understood, this study proposes a novel theoretical model connecting web aesthetic experiences to online utilitarian values. Based on the prior literature from other disciplines, the study treats the aesthetic experience as a complex and multi-dimensional construct, which contains three distinct sub-dimensions: aesthetic appraisal, aesthetic judgment, and aesthetic emotion. The research process will include making the selection of diverse level of aesthetic websites and a cross-over design experiment. The structural equation modelling technique will be employed to evaluate the relationships between the web aesthetic experience and utilitarian outcome. The expected contributions of this study are: (i) to construct a novel theoretical model based on the psychological and philosophical concepts of aesthetic experience and utilitarian value; (ii) to identify the multi-dimensional evidence of web aesthetic experiences; (iii) to provide theoretical and practical knowledge for predicting the utilitarian outcomes through online users’ aesthetic experiences. The study also points to the need for more research in this complex area

The Impact of Experiential Augmented Reality Applications on Fashion Purchase Intention

Utilizing the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of augmented reality (AR) (specifically augmentation) on consumers’ affective and behavioral response and to assess whether consumers’ hedonic motivation for shopping moderates this relationship. An experiment using the manipulation of AR and no AR was conducted with 162 participants aged between 18 and 35. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling and randomly assigned to the control or stimulus group. The hypothesized associations were analyzed using linear regression with bootstrapping. The paper demonstrates the benefit of using an experiential AR retail application (app) to positively impact purchase intention. The results show this effect is mediated by positive affective response. Furthermore, hedonic shopping motivation moderates the relationship between augmentation and the positive affective response. Because of the chosen research approach, the results may lack generalizability to other forms of augmentation. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed model using different types of AR stimuli. Furthermore, replication of the study with other populations would increase the generalizability of the findings. Results of this study provide a valuable reference for retailers of the benefits of using AR when attempting to optimize experiential value in online environments. The study contributes to experiential retail and consumer purchase behavior research by deepening the conceptualization of the impact of experiential technologies, more specifically AR apps, by considering the role of hedonic shopping motivations.Peer reviewe

The influence of social eWOM information on attitude formation for aesthetic products, the case of fine art

This research aims to further our understanding about the influence of eWOM communication on consumers' decision-making process and its effects on the development of aesthetic product attitudes in an online social context. The growing number of studies that explore the influence of online WOM information on consumer decision-making still presents a lack of understanding in specific consumption contexts.;This requires further theoretical development on the modality in which eWOM communication retrieved from social platforms alters the decision-processes in emotionally rich consumption contexts. Accordingly, given aesthetic product typology's recent market trends, and art in particular, which saw a shift from predominantly offline consumption towards online mediated channels, fine art has been chosen as the subject of the current study as the prototypical example of an aesthetic good.;A mixed-method approach within a pragmatic philosophical stance was deemed most suitable to explore the research problem. The lack of research within the area called for an initial qualitative method of data collection in the form of in-depth interviews. A total of 28 in-depth interviews were carried out with different groups of stakeholders, such as commercial galleries, consumers, artists etc. This phase of the study helped pare down the number of variables to be included in the model and offered an indication of the experimental design requirements.;The primary phrase of research consisted of a quantitative data collection in the form of an online administrated experiment. This stage sought to test the developed product attitude formation model, accounting for the influence of social eWOM information. A total of 426 responses were collected, and data were subjected to statistical analyses, specifically analyses of variance and SEM.;The findings of this research highlight several contributions to theory, which advances our understanding of how consumers form product attitudes in an online social context, particularly attitudes towards aesthetic products.;Firstly, this study found that the attitude a consumer develops about an aesthetic product in an information-rich context is not pre-determined by the product typology, but depends on consumer-specific factors. In this instance, eWOM information enters the process as cognitive input and induces a shift in product preferences that suppress the influence of affect that was previously considered of paramount importance.;Secondly, the study highlights the importance of the purchase motivations of the consumer as, these act upon the extent of influence that eWOM information has on product attitude. Thirdly, the study identified the specific dimensions of eWOM that exhibit a differential impact upon product attitude development. Fourthly, a new theoretical model that accounts for the aesthetic product attitude formation process was developed and defined by the variables that exert an influence on the process in an online social context.;The results of this study provide several managerial recommendations that help inform marketing practice, given the pervasive adoption of social media for following and purchasing aesthetic products.This research aims to further our understanding about the influence of eWOM communication on consumers' decision-making process and its effects on the development of aesthetic product attitudes in an online social context. The growing number of studies that explore the influence of online WOM information on consumer decision-making still presents a lack of understanding in specific consumption contexts.;This requires further theoretical development on the modality in which eWOM communication retrieved from social platforms alters the decision-processes in emotionally rich consumption contexts. Accordingly, given aesthetic product typology's recent market trends, and art in particular, which saw a shift from predominantly offline consumption towards online mediated channels, fine art has been chosen as the subject of the current study as the prototypical example of an aesthetic good.;A mixed-method approach within a pragmatic philosophical stance was deemed most suitable to explore the research problem. The lack of research within the area called for an initial qualitative method of data collection in the form of in-depth interviews. A total of 28 in-depth interviews were carried out with different groups of stakeholders, such as commercial galleries, consumers, artists etc. This phase of the study helped pare down the number of variables to be included in the model and offered an indication of the experimental design requirements.;The primary phrase of research consisted of a quantitative data collection in the form of an online administrated experiment. This stage sought to test the developed product attitude formation model, accounting for the influence of social eWOM information. A total of 426 responses were collected, and data were subjected to statistical analyses, specifically analyses of variance and SEM.;The findings of this research highlight several contributions to theory, which advances our understanding of how consumers form product attitudes in an online social context, particularly attitudes towards aesthetic products.;Firstly, this study found that the attitude a consumer develops about an aesthetic product in an information-rich context is not pre-determined by the product typology, but depends on consumer-specific factors. In this instance, eWOM information enters the process as cognitive input and induces a shift in product preferences that suppress the influence of affect that was previously considered of paramount importance.;Secondly, the study highlights the importance of the purchase motivations of the consumer as, these act upon the extent of influence that eWOM information has on product attitude. Thirdly, the study identified the specific dimensions of eWOM that exhibit a differential impact upon product attitude development. Fourthly, a new theoretical model that accounts for the aesthetic product attitude formation process was developed and defined by the variables that exert an influence on the process in an online social context.;The results of this study provide several managerial recommendations that help inform marketing practice, given the pervasive adoption of social media for following and purchasing aesthetic products

Gamification – A Novel Phenomenon or a New Wrapping for Existing Concepts?

Adding game elements to products and services has become a popular approach for enhancing users’ experiences. Accordingly, gamification is widely considered an important method for intrinsically motivating users toward a preferred behavior. But what exactly about gamification is actually novel? In a broad literature review, we compare and contrast gamification to similar concepts such as hedonic, persuasive and intrinsically motivating information systems. By decomposing and classifying game elements found in the literature, we distinguish between already existing elements and ones that can be considered new. In order to drive this area of research forward, we develop an extended framework for gamification, identify gaps in the literature, and propose future avenues for research

The utilitarian and hedonic outcomes of music information seeking in everyday life

This qualitative study focuses on what contributes to making a music information-seeking experience satisfying in the context of everyday life. Data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with 15 younger adults (18 to 29 years old). The analysis revealed that satisfaction could depend on both hedonic (i.e., experiencing pleasure) and utilitarian outcomes. It was found that two types of utilitarian outcomes contributed to satisfaction: (1) the acquisition of music, and (2) the acquisition of information about music. Information about music was gathered to (1) enrich the listening experience, (2) increase one's music knowledge, and/or (3) optimize future acquisition. This study contributes to a better understanding of music information-seeking behavior in recreational contexts. It also has implications for music information retrieval systems design: results suggest that these systems should be engaging, include a wealth of extra-musical information, allow users to navigate among music items, and encourage serendipitous encountering of music.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio

Re-imagining Arts-centered Inquiry as Pragmatic Instrumentalism

Arts education must continually provide justification for its inclusion in the K-12 curriculum. This dissertation utilizes philosophical and conceptual analysis to probe the tensions, ironies, and contradictions that permeate the arts education advocacy discourse. Using evidence from advocacy materials published online, scholarly critiques of themes in the advocacy discourse, and research reports describing school-based arts programs, I construct an argument that posits generative consequences for student learning when arts-centered inquiry is reimagined as pragmatic instrumentalism. Such a reimagining of arts-centered inquiry seeks to draw a distinction between utilitarian justifications for the arts and instrumental benefits the arts provide individual students in mediating complex and connected learning. In reclaiming the term “instrumental” for arts-centered inquiry, I offer a way to restore the notion of generativity to arts learning and a means to promote greater understanding among practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and advocates

Consumers and Augmented Reality in Shopping and Services: Drivers and Consequences

This dissertation investigated the effect of augmented reality on user experience and also the mediation effect of user experience in the relationship between augmented reality and the outcome variables including user satisfaction and user’s willingness to buy/user’s willingness to use augmented reality. Three studies were conducted in three different contexts, including buying consumer products, entertainment services and vehicle service use. The results indicate that augmented reality significantly and positively influence user experience, and user experience fully mediates the impact of augmented reality on user satisfaction and user’s willingness to buy/ user’s willingness to use augmented reality. Further, the results showed that trade-off between price and value, user’s information privacy control, perceived control and responsiveness moderate the effect of augmented reality on user experience. In addition, a new scale was developed to capture and measure the output quality in terms of image recognition generated by augmented reality. Additionally, a new aspect of user experience exclusively driven by augmented reality was developed and added to the current user experience scale

The Effect of Customer Experience Towards Engagement in Soco by Sociolla

Abstract. Though usage of m-commerce is increasing, the engagement for the platform is low. This research aims to optimize engagement through variable that influences customer experience. Data gathering is done through online survey and use PLS SEM method to analyze the final data. Based on the result of 407 respondents, customer experience has a significant effect towards engagement. Though, customer experience will have stronger effect towards engagement through satisfaction. The most influential antecedents in customer experience is Telepresence. The more immersed the customers in an app, the more it brings to positive customer experience. The findings provide managerial implications for marketers in multi-channel retail, specifically in beauty industry, who uses m-commerce as their channel to set strategy in optimizing customer experience and engagement in mobile application.Keywords: Customer experience; engagement; satisfaction; m-commerce; mobile applicationAbstrak. Meskipun penggunaan m-commerce meningkat, engagement untuk platform ini masih cukup rendah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengoptimalkan engagement melalui variabel yang mempengaruhi customer experience. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui survei online dan menggunakan metode PLS SEM untuk menganalisis data akhir. Berdasarkan hasil dari 407 responden, customer experience memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap engagement. Akan tetapi, pengalaman pelanggan akan memiliki efek yang lebih kuat terhadap keterlibatan melalui kepuasan. Faktor yang paling berpengaruh dalam pengalaman pelanggan adalah Telepresence. Semakin banyak pelanggan terikat dalam suatu aplikasi, semakin banyak membawa pengalaman pelanggan yang positif. Temuan ini memberikan implikasi manajerial bagi pemasar di multi-channel retail, khususnya di industri kecantikan, yang menggunakan m-commerce sebagai saluran mereka untuk mengatur strategi dalam mengoptimalkan pengalaman pelanggan dan keterlibatan dalam aplikasi mobile.Kata kunci: Aplikasi seluler; customer experience; engagement; kepuasann; m-commerc