Service encounters increasingly feature AI-powered inputs such as add-ons recommendations or aftercare solutions. These novel forms of customer service, provided by AI rather than humans, can shape customers’ sense of agency throughout the customer journey. Customers find themselves in a form of competitive collaboration with AI, sharing tasks, resources, inputs, and decisions. This research conceptualises and develops a scale to measure shared agency power during customer-AI interactions. Understanding the role of agency in AI- customer interactions is important, as agency represents a source, mechanism, delimiter and effect of a human’s or a machine’s actions. Agency may differ across various service encounters and with it, the type of perceived risks associated with human-AI interactions. Future research may use the shared agency power scale to better understand the nature and impact of customer-AI interactions in a service context on traditional marketing factors.

Over the last several years, the growing accessibility of VR has shifted its application from military and aviation to education as it provides the capability to create immersive learning experiences (Buń et al., 2017). However, VR simulations have mostly been used in the educational curriculum of “hard sciences” or the STEM disciplines (for a review, see Merchant et al., 2014). Most notable educational applications of VR have been used in medicine and science (e.g., Arora et al., 2014; Lindgren et al., 2016). This study develops and tests a VR marketing simulation designed for a second-year marketing unit at an Australian university. Within their respective tutorials, 150 students will experience the simulations and tutorial presentation on a pre-assigned topic in their marketing curriculum. A within-subject experimental design will be adopted to examine the feasibility of the simulation, which is measured by : (1) immersion; (2) e-learning enjoyment; (3) learning self-efficacy; (4) learning attitude; (5) intention to use; (6) student engagement; and (7) knowledge-based learning performance.

Introduction In an age of rapid development at the information technology front, the viability of ‘smart travel destinations’ is increasingly becoming a reality (Buhalis & Amaranggana, 2014, 2015). Advances in mobile technology have allowed travel destinations to leverage the location-based wireless tracking capabilities afforded by 3/4G telecommunication networks, Bluetooth connectivity, GPS and Wi-Fi networks (Choe & Fesenmaier 2017; Eriksson, 2002). The benefits of these wireless tracking technologies include precise information on spatial behaviour (Edwards, Dickson, Griffin, & Hayllar, 2010), relevant location-based services (LBS)(Pedrana, 2014), navigational services (Eriksson, 2002), as well as recommender services (Tussyadiah & Wang, 2016). With this kind of data available to them, destination management organisations (DMOs) are able to develop more customise tourist engagement strategies which will help them communicate specifically tailored results to tourists (Edwards & Griffin, 2013). While the focus of current tourism research has been the benefits of these wireless tracking technologies (WTTs) to the destination, little research has been done to examine tourists’ perceptions of these technologies. The current exploratory study will investigate tourist perceptions of three prominent kinds of WTTs with differing levels of control at a travel destination: (1) wireless tracking only (WT only; low control); (2) Wi-Fi wireless tracking (Wi-Fi WT; moderate control); and (3) application-based tracking (App; high control). Theoretical development The current study applies the Expectancy-Value Theory in examining tourist perceptions of WTTs at a travel destination. The Expectancy-Value Theory suggests that motivation for a behaviour is determined by the desirability of the outcome i.e. benefits to the tourist (Sparks, 2007). In the context of this study, perceived personalisation and perceived innovativeness serve as benefits to tourists. Perceived personalisation is defined as the ability of a DMO to recognize and treat its tourists as individuals through personal messaging, targeted banner ads, special offers on bills, or other personal transactions” (Imhoff, Loftis, & Geiger, 2001). Perceived innovativeness reflects the degree to which a new product is seen to possess new and unique attributes and features (Fu, Jones, & Bolander, 2008). Studies have shown that perceived personalisation and perceived innovativeness positively impact on attitudes toward the product (Baek & Morimoto, 2012; Fu & Eliott, 2013), which in the context of this study relates to both the WTT itself as well as the destination. However, mere presence of WTTs can often provoke concerns about manipulative intent (Lee-Wingate & Xie, 2010) and privacy (Shilton, 2009). Inferences of manipulative intent is defined as tourist perceptions that a company is attempting to persuade via inappropriate, unfair or manipulative means (Campbell, 1995). Privacy concerns refer to the degree to which a tourist is worried about the potential invasion of the right to prevent the disclosure of personal information to others (Baek & Morimoto, 2012, p. 63). Inferences of manipulative intent and privacy concerns have been found to negatively impact on attitudes toward the product (Lee-Wingate & Xie, 2010; Shilton, 2009). Thus, the ability of a travel destination to emphasise the pros and minimise concerns for the cons of WTTs will result in more positive attitudes towards the WTT as well as the destination, which in turn, will positively impact on intention to visit the destination (based on arguments in tourism research suggesting that both attitudes toward products and the destination itself may have an impact on intention to visit e.g. Elliot, Papadopoulos & Kim 2011; Lee & Lockshin 2012). The hypothesised model for this study can be seen in Figure 1. Methodology The conceptual model was tested using data from the United States via the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform. A total of 750 responses were acquired but only 615 were included for analysis (responses were excluded due to incomplete data or straight-lining). A between-subjects experimental design was implemented respondents viewing a stimulus for either (1) wireless tracking only (WT only; low control); (2) Wi-Fi wireless tracking (Wi-Fi WT; moderate control); or (3) application-based tracking (App; high control). A pretest of the stimulus confirmed the levels of control proposed by the researchers. Respondents were first told to imagine their next travel destination and were then shown a stimulus. In the WT only condition, respondents were told that the destination was tracking the movement of tourists when their smartphones wireless, Bluetooth or mobile reception was turned on. In the Wi-Fi WT condition, respondents were informed that the destination would track tourists logged on to the destination’s Wi-Fi network. In the App condition, respondents were notified that the destination has an app system which allows the destination to track tourists and send them personalised push notifications. The difference between these three conditions was the level of perceived control that tourists had over the tracking of their location within the destination. Respondents then rated the WTT and destination with regards to inferences to manipulative intent, privacy concerns, perceived personalisation, perceived innovativeness, attitude toward the WTT, attitude toward the destination, and intention to visit the destination. The measures for each of these scales were chosen for their reliability and relevance to the current study. Structural equation modelling then examined the hypothesised relationships for significance. Results and discussion Exploratory and factor analysis was conducted to ensure the unidimensional of the scales. Composite reliabilities ranged from 0.70 to 0.95 and the average variance extracted scores ranged from 0.70 to 0.87, suggesting strong internal validity for all scales. All measures were also tested for convergent and discriminant validity which were both supported. Then, the hypotheses were examined using a multigroup analysis with structural equation modelling in AMOS 22. The goodness-of-fit indices for the structural model was deemed acceptable (χ²/df=1.67; RMSEA=0.03; CFI=0.97; NFI=0.94; IFI=0.90) (model comparisons revealed no significant differences at a model level suggesting that the model applied across the different groups). The results of the path analysis revealed five hypotheses which were fully supported (H1a, H2a, H3a, H3b and H6b). The remaining six hypotheses (H1b, H2b, H4a, H4b, H5 and H6a) were only partially supported with significant parameter estimates noted for either one or two of the conditions. The full result of the path analysis can be seen in Table 1. The results suggest that inferences of manipulative intent significantly decreased attitude toward the WTT, highlighting the need for destinations to be transparent about the reasons for tracking tourists. Specifically, the concealed tracking of tourists’ movements was particularly damaging to attitude toward the destination. Privacy concerns also negatively impacted on attitude toward the WTT for all conditions, but surprisingly privacy concerns appeared to significantly increase attitude toward the destination under the App condition. A potential explanation for this is the fact that despite potential for privacy infringements, tourists possess control over usage of the application, thereby moderating the ability of the destination to track them. However, this result warrants greater investigation in future studies. Perceived personalisation was noted to positively impact on attitudes toward the WTT and destination suggesting that tourists positively regarded the benefits of personalisation that the WTT afforded them. Further, perceived innovativeness appeared to positively impact on attitude towards the WTT for the App condition, but more interestingly, positively impacted on attitude toward the destination for the WT only condition. This may potentially suggest that while tourists did perceive manipulative intent in the wireless tracking of their whereabouts they also perceived this to be an innovation. Theoretically, this study extends the tourism literature with regards to the installation or application of wireless tracking technologies. It highlights the aspects that appeal to tourists as well as the concerns that they may have. From a managerial perspective, the results suggest a need for transparency as well as the empowerment of tourists to choose the degree to which their whereabouts are tracked within the destination. It offers further insights into which technologies are best suited to be leveraged in order to develop stronger tourist engagement at the destination. The implications of these results apply to destination managers, marketers as well as policy makers. A successful balance between obtaining valuable information about tourists and providing them with a choice whether or not to be tracked is crucial in ensuring favourable perception of the travel destination.

Over the past decade, the advances in the Internet of Things has allowed WiFi infrastructure to track the movement and location of smart devices. This innovative technology is sometimes referred to as wireless analytics or offline / in-store visitor analytics. Similar to an offline or instore version of website analytics, wireless analytics can infer instore shopping behavior from analyzing the dwell time, movement, and behavior of a smart device within a designated vicinity. The study was carried out at an activation area of food trucks at an Australian metropolitan university. Visitor analytics were gathered by using a wireless analytic modem that was configured to ping and pick up wireless signal emitted by smart devices within the radius of the food truck area. Challenging past research on pop-stores, our findings show that novelty of pop-up food trucks may not necessarily predict their success and consumers tend to prefer familiar food trucks at the Australian metropolitan university. In fact, the presence of novel food trucks may encourage consumers to walk-by without any interaction with the food trucks.

Measuring consumers’ emotion with self-report methods has remained a challenge in luxury marketing. In comparison to self-report measure, psychophysiological methods promise to provide a scientific, objective and sensitive measure of the neurophysiological basis of emotional processes. The objective of this paper is to: (1) examine the feasibility of using psychophysiological methods in luxury marketing; (2) compare the capability of psychophysiological methods to capture emotion beyond those measured by self-report methods; and (3) better under luxury consumers’ emotion processes. In this study, brain wave analysis, heart rate, skin conductance, and facial expression were used to investigate consumers’ emotional response toward luxury marketing stimuli. The psychophysiological findings identified anger, interest and arousal as key emotional processes that affect consumers’ reaction to luxury branding. These findings show that psychophysiological methods are not only feasible in informing luxury branding practices but also provide insights into luxury consumers’ emotional experience beyond those captured by self-report methods.

This study assesses the interactive effect of shelf-based scarcity and shelf organisation on luxury purchases. Previous studies have addressed multiple factors surrounding shelf based scarcity (e.g. Parker and Lehmann 2011; Van Herpen et al 2014) however none has considered perceived luxuriousness as a potential explanation for the effects of shelf-based scarcity; nor have many studies used a luxury context. This study therefore examined whether product luxuriousness, product popularity, product supply and/or product quality serve as underlying mechanism of shelf-based sacristy effects. The study recruited 125 consumers and the experiment followed a mixed factorial design. The luxuriousness of the brand and the organisation of the shelf display were manipulated between subjects, whereas stock level was manipulated within subjects. Data collated consisted of both self-report and psycho-physiological methods (brainwave and facial expression) Low stock level was perceived to more tidy than medium and high stock level when the shelf display was disorganised; a significant interactive effect (Mlow = 4.06, Mmedium = 3.71 4.77, Mhigh = 2.86, ps = .025, p < .001). Significantly higher perceived product quality was reported for low stock product than high stock product (Mlow = 5.34, Mhigh = 4.79, p < .001), as participants’ perceived high stock to be restocked more frequently. Results of bootstrapping indicated that perceived luxuriousness was found to be the only significant partial mediator for the effect of stock level on approach motivation, further supported by brainwave and facial expression analysis (Indirect = .066, 95%CI = [.0043, .1362], p < .001).The direct effect of stock level remained significant after accounting for the indirect effect (Direct = .11, 95%CI = [.0117, .2091], p < .001). This study is the first to use psychophysiological methods to validate self-report findings and to examine perceived luxuriousness as a plausible explanation of the shelf-based sacristy effect.

The objective of this paper is to: (1) examine the feasibility of using psychophysiological methods in luxury marketing; (2) compare the capability of psychophysiological methods to capture emotion beyond those measured by self-report methods; and (3) better under luxury consumers’ emotion processes. Measuring consumers’ emotion with self-report methods has remained a challenge in luxury marketing (Atwal & Williams, 2009; Kumar & Garg, 2010). In comparison to self-report measure, psychophysiological methods promise to provide a scientific, objective and sensitive measure of the neurophysiological basis of emotional processes (Karmarkar & Yoon, 2016; Li, Scott, & Walters, 2014; Wang & Minor, 2008). Yet, few studies in luxury marketing have used these methods. In this study, brain wave analysis, heart rate, skin conductance, and facial expression will therefore be used to investigate consumers’ emotional response toward luxury marketing stimuli. The findings of this study will therefore provide both researchers and managers a test of concept to apply multiple psychophysiological methods in luxury marketing. This provide potential avenues for managers to better understand and manage the unobservable psychological processes that underlie luxury consumers’ behaviour.

A paradox exists in our understanding of consumer psychology and behavior. There is a strong positive relationship between familiarity and liking that resides at the core of consumer psychology and behavior (e.g., Monahan, Murphy, & Zajonc, 2000; Monin, 2003; Monin & Oppenheimer, 2005; Zajonc, 1968; 2001). Yet, consumer also prefer novelty (e.g., Bornstein, Kale, & Cornell, 1990; Gillebaart, Förster, & Rotteveel, 2012; Rubera & Kirca, 2012; Talke, Salomo, Wieringa, & Lutz, 2009). For instance, they favor brands more after repeated exposure (Fang, Singh, & Ahluwalia, 2007; Ferraro, Bettman, & Chartrand, 2009), but excessive exposure results in satiation and boredom (Bornstein et al., 1990). Similarly, consumers are both neophiliacs and neophobics who hold a dualistic tendency to approach and avoid innovations, respectively (for a review, see van Trijp & van Kleef, 2008). In fact, recent research on the psychology of familiarity failed to coincide on whether people prefer familiarity or novelty (Norton, Frost, & Ariely, 2011; 2013; Norton et al., 2007; Reis, Maniaci, Caprariello, Eastwick, & Finkel, 2011; Ullrich, Krueger, Brod, & Groschupf, 2013). In this theoretical paper, we propose that a missing piece to this paradox is our understanding of people’s affective motivations to approach novelty. Interest is an emotion that motivates people’s curiosity to approach novel, complex, but not necessarily pleasant stimuli (e.g., Turner & Silvia, 2006). Thus, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relevance of interest to our understanding of consumer psychology and behavior. Specifically, liking (contentment and joy) motivates people to favor familiarity, whereas interest motivates consumers to favor novelty. Specifically we use an appraisal theory perspective to differentiate the emotional and motivational quality of interest from liking (contentment and joy). Furthermore, we show how interest and its related appraisal may explain the boundary conditions of the familiarity-liking association that are not yet explained in the existing literature. Practical and theoretical implications of the differentiation between the familiarity-liking and interest-novelty association in consumer psychology and marketing are discussed.

Luxury brands are explicitly marketed to appear rare, exclusive, prestigious, and authentic (Phau & Prendergast, 2000; Turunen & Laaksonen, 2011; Tynan, McKechnie, & Chhuon, 2010). The glamour and distinction that these brands generate appeal to consumers’ desire to signal their accomplishments, success, or social superiority (Mandel, Petrova, & Cialdini, 2006; McFerran, Aquino, & Tracy, 2014). It is, therefore, unsurprising that the marketing communication of many luxury brands explicitly portray images of successful, sophisticated, and confident people expressing their social superiority. However, the empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of such portrayal in luxury communication is scant. Only a pilot study showed that exposure to a story of a similar successful other may increase desire for luxury goods (Mandel et al., 2006). In the present research, we propose that envy is a key determinant of how consumers perceive display of pride and social superiority. Our findings from two studies showed that benign (malicious) envy predisposes consumers to perceive portrayal of social superiority on luxury marketing communication to be an expression of authentic (hubristic) pride. This relationship between benign (malicious) envy and authentic (hubristic) pride enhances (reduces) the luxury perception and positive brand attitude toward the luxury brand in the advertisement. These findings were replicated in a correlational study on genuine advertisements (Study 1) and an experiment that successfully manipulated consumers’ experience of benign envy (Study 2). Separate studies have recently shown that experience of benign envy can increase consumers’ willingness to pay toward the envied product (Van de Ven et al., 2011) and that the experience of authentic pride increases luxury consumption (McFerran et al., 2014). However, no existing research has explored the complementary effect of envy and pride on consumers’ response toward luxury marketing communication. The current research is therefore the first to demonstrate the differential effect of benign and malicious envy on: (1) consumers’ interpretation of social superiority as an expression of authentic and hubristic pride; (2) consumers’ response toward the portrayal of social superiority in luxury marketing; and (3) how portrayal of social superiority enhances or reduces luxury perception and brand attitude of a luxury brand. These findings also provide insights into the complementary relationship between envy and pride in consumer psychology. Lange and Crusius (2015) suggested that other’s authentic and hubristic pride expression may evoke the experience of benign and malicious envy, respectively. The current research, however, shows that the Luxury brands are explicitly marketed to appear rare, exclusive, prestigious, and authentic (Phau & Prendergast, 2000; Turunen & Laaksonen, 2011; Tynan, McKechnie, & Chhuon, 2010). The glamour and distinction that these brands generate appeal to consumers’ desire to signal their accomplishments, success, or social superiority (Mandel, Petrova, & Cialdini, 2006; McFerran, Aquino, & Tracy, 2014). It is, therefore, unsurprising that the marketing communication of many luxury brands explicitly portray images of successful, sophisticated, and confident people expressing their social superiority. However, the empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of such portrayal in luxury communication is scant. Only a pilot study showed that exposure to a story of a similar successful other may increase desire for luxury goods (Mandel et al., 2006). In the present research, we propose that envy is a key determinant of how consumers perceive display of pride and social superiority. Our findings from two studies showed that benign (malicious) envy predisposes consumers to perceive portrayal of social superiority on luxury marketing communication to be an expression of authentic (hubristic) pride. This relationship between benign (malicious) envy and authentic (hubristic) pride enhances (reduces) the luxury perception and positive brand attitude toward the luxury brand in the advertisement. These findings were replicated in a correlational study on genuine advertisements (Study 1) and an experiment that successfully manipulated consumers’ experience of benign envy (Study 2). Separate studies have recently shown that experience of benign envy can increase consumers’ willingness to pay toward the envied product (Van de Ven et al., 2011) and that the experience of authentic pride increases luxury consumption (McFerran et al., 2014). However, no existing research has explored the complementary effect of envy and pride on consumers’ response toward luxury marketing communication. The current research is therefore the first to demonstrate the differential effect of benign and malicious envy on: (1) consumers’ interpretation of social superiority as an expression of authentic and hubristic pride; (2) consumers’ response toward the portrayal of social superiority in luxury marketing; and (3) how portrayal of social superiority enhances or reduces luxury perception and brand attitude of a luxury brand. These findings also provide insights into the complementary relationship between envy and pride in consumer psychology. Lange and Crusius (2015) suggested that other’s authentic and hubristic pride expression may evoke the experience of benign and malicious envy, respectively. The current research, however, shows that the