Effect of Augmented Reality (AR) experiential value and flow experience on psychological ownership of product and technology

The emergence of Augmented Reality (AR) technologies has made it possible for marketers to engage and interact with consumers in new ways and thus influence positive behavioral outcome. The interactive nature of the AR technologies provides consumers scope to form attachment with the product and technology in forms of psychological ownership. Although the formation of psychological ownership of both product and technology has been studied, they have been studied separately. As AR being highly interactive provides scope for forming attachment with the product and technology, this study addresses the literature gap by providing a mechanism to understand the formation of both psychological ownership of product and technology and their relationship with AR’s functional and emotional value. By analyzing responses from 480 online survey respondents, we provide empirical evidence that the functional and emotional value has opposite effect on the psychological ownership of consumers. Specifically, our results show that the functional value negatively affects while as emotional value positively affects psychological ownership of product and technology, and flow experience mediates these relationships. Consumers’ perceived control also plays a role in the formation of psychological ownership of product and technology as well as their flow experience. We find empirical evidence that for high (low) perceived control, the positive effect of emotional value of consumers on the psychological ownership of product and technology is strengthened (weakened); while as for high (low) perceived control, the negative effect of functional value on the consumers psychological of product and technology is weakened (strengthened). Although our results show that perceived control does not moderate the relationship of functional values with that of flow experience, it moderates the relationship of emotional values with flow experience such that for high (low) perceived control, the positive effect of emotional value on flow experience is strengthened (weakened). These findings can help marketers in AR app design by helping them understand how different functional and emotional aspects of the AR experience affect consumers’ psychological ownership of product and technology