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Simulated Responses: Scale Development and Validation of Satiation and Immersion in Reality-Enhancing Technologies

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Thesis embargoed until 16th July 2026(5.12 MB)

Date

2024

Authors

Supervisor

Kapitan, Sommer
van Esch, Patrick

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Doctor of Philosophy

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Volume Title

Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

Reality-enhancing technologies, spanning fields from entertainment and medical training to the military and gaming, create immersive, realistic, and engaging experiences. Prior research has highlighted that these technologies have altered marketing, especially in tourism and retail, by offering numerous benefits to companies and consumers. However, the success of these technologies heavily depends on consumer responses to computer-generated simulated experiences. Experiences in reality-enhancing technology environments are considerably different from real-world experiences, both physiologically and psychologically. Several problems, such as latency-rendering issues, low graphic quality, delays, and the awareness that the experience is just a simulation, can reduce the growth of these technologies. Reality-enhancing technologies are immersive by their nature; however, these issues can hinder the positive effect of immersion and ultimately lead to satiation. Satiation is an omnipresent phenomenon that lowers enjoyment levels and satisfaction caused by overexposure or overconsumption. This phenomenon poses a critical challenge to businesses because it is directly linked to product disposal and replacement behaviour. Although this notion significantly influences consumer behaviour and decision making, literature regarding satiation in reality-enhancing technologies is nascent and there are no psychometric measures to assess this concept in such technologies. This gap in the literature leads to formulation of four research questions that were answered across two papers organized as Chapters 3 and 4. To address this gap, the first paper conceptualizes satiation in reality-enhancing technologies as 'simulated satiation,' which refers to 'attenuation in perceived benefits that occurs due to repeated or prolonged exposure to vicarious and simulated intermediary sources,' conducts a proof-of-concept study, and creates nine testable propositions as future research directions. The second paper proposes a sister concept called 'simulated immersion,' which refers to a sense of harmony, high involvement, and being a part of a reality-enhancing technology experience. Simulated immersion significantly boosts satisfaction, loyalty, and enjoyment. As can be seen, these two concepts counter each other and together form consumers’ simulated responses in reality-enhancing technology settings. Following this, the research formally defines simulated responses in reality-enhancing technology as attenuation or rise in perceived benefits that occurs due to repeated or prolonged exposure to vicarious and simulated intermediary sources, and then develops a 12-item scale to measure simulated responses. 'Simulated responses' is a multi-dimensional construct, and the newly developed scale has two dimensions: simulated satiation (6 items) and simulated immersion (6 items). The two papers together contribute to the marketing literature by conceptualizing multiple constructs, developing, and validating a new scale. This thesis lays a foundation for future research and will serve as a leverage point for marketing practitioners who wish to assess their content efficiency.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10292/18499

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Doctoral Theses