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Article

A Study of Metaverse Exhibition Sustainability on the Perspective of the Experience Economy

by
Minglu Wang
1,
Shanshan Liu
2,*,
Lingling Hu
1 and
Jong-Yoon Lee
3,*
1
School of Art, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250353, China
2
School of Communication, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang 473004, China
3
School of Art, Sangmyung University, Cheonan 330-720, Republic of Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9153; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129153
Submission received: 22 April 2023 / Revised: 22 May 2023 / Accepted: 5 June 2023 / Published: 6 June 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Future of Cities and Lands Seen from the Perspective of Digital Sustainability)
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Abstract

:
With the development of information technology, many well-known art museums and galleries have adopted metaverse exhibitions for online display and dissemination of art information, building sustainable ways to participate in and experience art. Users can access the metaverse exhibition platform through the internet and enjoy classic artworks in the virtual space, which has gained many forms of artistic perception and improved physical and mental health. Currently, the factors affecting user use intentions in existing metaverse exhibition studies still need to be clarified and need to be studied in depth. This paper explores the relationship between users’ entertainment experience, educational experience, presence, affective responses, and use intention through a survey of 536 users who had experienced a metaverse exhibition. The research results show that users’ use intentions are influenced by entertainment experiences and educational experiences. Presence mediates between entertainment experiences and educational experiences on use intention. Affective responses play a moderating role between the educational experience and use intention. This study provides a relevant theoretical basis for sustainable urban and socio-economic development from a digital perspective. At the same time, this study enables the metaverse exhibition platform to design and create valuable and healthy artistic content with higher quality. The emotional state of the user’s experience was better attended to so that mental health was enhanced and managed. Furthermore, it also provided a guidance program for the development of educational experience and economic sustainability of the exhibition industry.

1. Introduction

Recently, metaverse exhibitions have flourished as an emerging mode of display, promoting the dissemination of art and sustainable socio-economic development [1]. A metaverse exhibition is an exhibition presented in a virtual space constructed based on digital image technology and network technology, with features such as immersion and hyperspace, and a collection of digital technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality [2,3]. In particular, a metaverse exhibition contains diverse functions such as artwork display, interactive experience, virtual tour, and online socialization [2,3]. Users can communicate and interact in real time through virtual digital characters, participate in online activities, and share art information. In addition, this exhibition format is a new attempt to apply metaverse technology to urban development planning and digital upgrading of pavilions, effectively enhancing the benefits of destination tourism and online digital exhibitions, and enhancing the sustainability of socio-economic development [2,3,4]. On the other hand, users’ artistic experiences through metaverse exhibitions satisfy the need for art and culture, generating a sense of well-being and good emotions. This shows that art experience and appreciation have a positive impact on mental health [5,6]. The study points out that the market scale of metaverse exhibitions has been expanding, creating a whole new cultural field and increasing the socio-economic benefits [7,8]. Therefore, to promote the sustainability of the application, it is equally important to study the factors influencing the use intention of metaverse exhibitions.
Through a metaverse exhibition, users can enjoy the exhibition works of world-famous art museums in a virtual environment, interact with other visitors and share art messages, learn relevant art knowledge, and generate entertainment and educational experiences [9]. As the user’s good experience continues to grow, people are more willing to continue using metaverse exhibitions [10,11]. In other words, use intention and user experience are closely related [12,13]. However, there are not many studies on metaverse exhibitions, and the mechanism affecting their use intentions is not clear. In particular, differences in users’ mental states when visiting an exhibition can also have an impact on the behavior and intent of sustainable experiences. Therefore, affective responses were investigated in depth as potential moderators.
The purpose of our study was as follows: first, to determine the impact of entertainment and educational experiences on the use intention. Second, the mediating role of presence between entertainment and educational experiences on use intention was examined, as well as the moderating role of affective responses. This paper provides new information on the cognitive dimension of user experience and psychological research and also provides a valuable reference for the continued development and application of virtual technology in public health.

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. Experience Economy Theory

Gilmore and Pine introduced the concept of experience economy in 1998 and argued that experience is a fully engaged activity at the individual level [14,15]. Human experiential behavior and mental activity are also the focus of psychological attention. In particular, previous studies have analyzed the psychological factors that influence users’ decision-making behavior in a specific context, with the experience economy as the theoretical center [16,17]. Moreover, the theory has applicability in studies in the field of metaverse exhibitions [18]. Experience is defined as the extent to which users engage with the metaverse exhibition, and it includes a number of areas, such as entertainment and educational experiences. Users can interact with other users in real-time, browse aesthetic information, enjoy classic artworks, and learn about art-related knowledge through the virtual characters built by the metaverse exhibition, thus gaining a rich educational experience [7]. Entertainment experience means that users actively participate in the metaverse exhibition, visit inside the virtual space, try out the diversified functions, and enjoy the fun brought by art, thus having a good mental state. Entertainment and educational experiences are an integral part of the metaverse exhibition, which attracts users by providing rich entertainment elements and functions in order to become an interesting appreciation experience, thus making users take the initiative to accept and learn aesthetic knowledge and bring into play the educational characteristics of the virtual cultural space [3,9,19,20]. At the same time, the high quality of the virtual experience helps to improve the user’s use intention [8]. This paper examines the factors that contribute to the psychology and emotions of metaverse exhibition users through the concept of the experience economy, combined with the purpose of the study.

2.2. The Impact of Entertainment Experience on Use Intention

Metaverse exhibitions enable the creation and visualization of high-quality artistic content, and as the fervor continues to grow, there is a widespread desire to use metaverse exhibitions to meet cultural and artistic needs [21,22]. Entertainment experience is a pleasant state in which an individual perceives pleasure through a particular event or behavior [23,24]. Entertainment experiences are often seen as positive emotions and good feelings generated by certain stimuli [25,26]. Users generate virtual characters in the metaverse exhibition and move freely in the art space, facilitating effective sharing and interaction as the entertainment experience continues to improve [19,27,28]. As an entertainment experience that combines the metaverse with the act of participation in an art exhibition, the user perceives a gradual integration of the senses with the virtual context, resulting in a pleasant feeling of appreciation. At the same time, users gain an entertainment experience through continuous participation [26,29]. When users are happy and entertained, they are more likely to continue experiencing the metaverse exhibition [30,31]. This study formulated the hypothesis:
H1. 
Entertainment experience has an effect on use intention.

2.3. The Impact of Educational Experience on Use Intention

Educational experiences are those in which individuals gain new information and knowledge through indirect experiences and learn about things related to that new knowledge [32,33]. More psychological concepts indicate that an educational experience is the presentation of coordination between multiple mental processes, such as perception, thought, emotion, and imagination [5,34]. The educational experience can be described as the degree of cognitive culture and art possessed by the subject of the experience as a result of active exposure to new things [35,36]. The user’s educational effectiveness varies depending on the experience environment, and the exhibition space provides a variety of visual, aesthetic, and auditory elements that enhance immersion and learning effects [8]. The metaverse exhibition itself is an educational space with application value, integrated into the art communication system through technology and supporting the sharing of aesthetic information. The exhibition space is artistically designed according to the background of the artwork while adding virtual characters to introduce and interpret the content, focusing on the user’s educational experience [10,37]. When users immerse themselves in the exhibition space, the aesthetic message conveyed by the artwork and the environment creates a sense of pleasure and positive emotions [38,39]. In addition, users may make more use of metaverse exhibitions in order to gain the desired artistic knowledge and innovative experience. Therefore, the following hypothesis was proposed in this study:
H2. 
Educational experience has an effect on use intention.

2.4. The Mediating Impact of Presence

Presence refers to the psychological response or perceived state of immersion of the user during the virtual experience [40,41]. Presence can be defined as the feeling that the user exists in a virtual space, forgetting about the location and the situation [42,43]. That is, presence is an important variable in the behavior of virtual experiences [44,45]. Users are provided with an entertaining and educational experience through their participation in virtual environments and spaces [31]. In particular, the application of metaverse exhibitions brings a diverse sense of virtual experience that can immerse users in the cultural and artistic context and create a presence, forgetting the real world in which they are located [46]. At the same time, the virtual space is a place to enjoy artworks of different styles and expressions, be exposed to diverse aesthetic elements, interact with other users and exhibition programs, have entertainment and educational experiences, and satisfy their appreciation needs [8,47]. On the other hand, presence makes users feel like they are enjoying art in a real exhibition hall, which enhances pleasure and satisfaction, resulting in stronger use intention [48,49]. Furthermore, metaverse exhibitions have a higher presence than other traditional exhibition mediums. In particular, features such as high-quality graphics and stereo sound create a depth of presence, and users gain a more positive emotional state as they enjoy the art. In other words, the stronger the presence gained during the virtual experience, the higher the sustainable use intention. In summary, this study conducted the hypothesis.
H3. 
The entertainment experience has an effect on the user’s use intention through presence.
H4. 
The educational experience has an effect on the user’s use intention through presence.

2.5. Moderating Role of Affective Responses

In the metaverse exhibition, affective responses refer to the internal reactions and psychological phenomena that occur when users interact with virtual spaces. Specifically, affective responses are conditions that explain users’ decisions and behaviors and influence their satisfaction and thoughts about using the product [50,51,52]. In other words, affective responses have been identified as a key factor influencing use intention. Affective responses have practical significance in virtual participation and experience and are reactions to users’ feelings, emotions, and needs [53,54]. Prior research has shown that with positive affective responses, users are more receptive and favorable to the product and more willing to use it [55,56]. However, when fewer positive emotional responses are generated in the virtual space, the user’s perception of the experience is reduced. As metaverse exhibitions continue to upgrade their functionality and technology, they bring more exciting and enjoyable affective responses to users than traditional exhibit media, generating positive attitudes toward their use [42,56,57,58]. In addition, whether affective responses can enhance the impact of entertainment and educational experiences on use intention is likewise worthy of further study. We propose the following hypothesis:
H5. 
Affective responses enhance the impact of the entertainment experience on users’ use intention.
H6. 
Affective responses enhance the impact of the educational experience on users’ use intention.

2.6. Proposed Research Model

Based on these findings, this study builds on the entertainment and educational experiences proposed by Gilmore and Pine in hopes of exploring the impact of metaverse exhibition experience factors on user use intention. Moreover, it was hoped that this study would be able to test the mediating role of presence and the moderating role of affective responses. Based on the aforementioned theoretical study, a research model was set up, as shown in Figure 1.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Participants

This survey was conducted from 23 February and 28 March 2023. Our selected survey respondents were around 18–40 years old, covered different career fields, and had no experience in visiting metaverse exhibitions. In this study, in order to test the research model and hypotheses, a questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Specifically, questionnaires and questions that were more established in the field of digital media and metaverse exhibition research were selected, and questionnaire items were identified. The description section at the front of the questionnaire introduces the way to experience this survey, the URL to experience the metaverse exhibition, and related notes. In order to bring a more intuitive and understandable experience, users could click on the URL to go directly to the exhibition to experience it, and after the experience, a questionnaire survey was conducted. Moreover, the average questionnaire time was 19 min. If the user fills in the questionnaire for a shorter time or shows no experience, it will not be considered a valid questionnaire and will be deleted. On the other hand, we selected as the object of our investigation the famous exhibition of the metaverse collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA, which presented representative modern art and is of great value in the history of modern art in the world. Users visited an exhibition of modernist painting art, including oil and watercolor paintings, showing the evolution of Western painting art from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The paintings are unique in style, with exaggerated and distorted images and artistic expression. The questionnaire information was collected through WENJUANXING, a data collection website with extensive research experience and a customer base. Finally, 13 invalid questionnaires were removed, and we used 536 survey samples for testing.

3.2. Variable Measurement

3.2.1. Entertainment Experience

The measure of entertainment experience was modified from Lee et al. on the entertainment experience scale (Appendix A). There are fifteen items on the scale (e.g., “I had a great time experiencing the metaverse exhibition.”) [59,60,61]. The options on the questionnaire ranged from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). The higher the score, the stronger the degree of user entertainment experience.

3.2.2. Educational Experience

This study used the Yi and Lee et al. scales on educational experiences. Among them, the scale contains nine indicators (e.g., “Visiting the metaverse exhibition gave me a lot of knowledge about art.”) [59,62]. The response options for the questionnaire ranged from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).

3.2.3. Presence

The present study used Wang’s revised presence scale (e.g., “I feel that the works in the metaverse exhibition space are presented to me as if they were real works.”) [2]. This scale has been used more often in virtual exhibition research and has become more mature and accurate, so it was adopted.

3.2.4. Affective Responses

The scale revised by Lee and Cho was used in this study (e.g., “The whole atmosphere of the virtual exhibition space made me feel very excited.”) [63]. The response options range from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). The higher the score, the stronger the user’s affective responses.

3.2.5. Use Intention

The study used a revised questionnaire by Shetu et al. (e.g., “I am currently using the metaverse exhibition and will continue to use it.”) [64]. The options on the questionnaire ranged from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).

3.3. Procedure

This study was approved and reviewed by the Academic Research Ethics Committee of the Qilu University of Technology. Written informed consent was obtained from the respondents before the study, which was agreed upon and approved. Furthermore, when it came to companies or individuals, we used pseudonyms to protect anonymity.

3.4. Data Analysis

We used SPSS 27.0 software to perform descriptive statistics and correlation analysis of the variables. The SPSS PROCESS model 5 was used to analyze the mediating effect of presence on entertainment and educational experiences on use intention and the moderating effect of affective response [65]. Specifically, the mediating and moderating effects can be analyzed by means of specific models provided by PROCESS to assess the linkage of the conceptual framework and to analyze the influence relationships between the variables.

4. Results

Descriptive Statistics

Of the 536 survey samples used, 257 were males, and 279 were females. Additionally, we divided the age of users into five interval groups for testing (SD = 1.130). To test whether the data were normally distributed, kurtosis and skewness tests were performed. Sample entertainment experience mean = 3.22, skewness = −0.04, and kurtosis = −0.38. Sample educational experience mean = 3.25, skewness = −0.20, and kurtosis = −0.65. The kurtosis and skewness values of the measured samples showed a normal distribution for the samples between +1.96 and −1.96 [2]. Moreover, the data show that 70.71% of the sample is 18–33 years old, and 62.88% of the users have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Most users use the metaverse exhibition on average once every 15 days. The descriptive statistics of this study are summarized in Table 1. Table 2 presents the results of descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.
Reliability reflects the consistency and stability of the measurement. Generally, Cronbach’s alpha greater than 0.8 can be considered good [3]. The reliability was tested in this study. According to the test results in Table 2, the reliability of the scale was high. The mean value distribution of the variables is given in Figure 2. In addition, this study measured the degree of correlation between the variables through correlation analysis. Tested Pearson values between 0.4 and 0.6 indicate a relatively high correlation [2]. The results of the study showed that the correlations of entertainment experience, educational experience, presence, and affective responses with use intention were 0.486 **, 0.630 **, 0.344 **, and 0.480 **, respectively, and the correlation coefficients of all four groups of variables did not exceed 0.8 and were significantly correlated at the p < 0.01 level. Therefore, the four groups of variables in this study did not have the problem of collinearity and presented a significant correlation with use intention, which can be used for further analysis.
Table 3 shows the relationship between entertainment experience, educational experience, and use intention. Specifically, entertainment experience has a significant impact on use intention (β = 0.648, SE = 0.051, and t = 12.635). Therefore, hypothesis 1 was supported. On the other hand, educational experience has a significant effect on use intention (β = 0.419, SE = 0.045, and t = 9.218). Therefore, hypothesis 2 was also supported. In addition, we tested the moderated mediation model using model 5 of PROCESS with 95% confidence intervals and 5000 bootstrap samples, which were judged to be significant if the 95% confidence interval did not include 0, which has been standardized for all data [65]. Specifically, the mediating role of presence between entertainment experience, educational experience, and use intention was examined. The results of the study are shown in Table 3, where presence has a significant mediating effect between entertainment experience and use intention (β = 0.249 and 95% CI = [0.174, 0.330], excluding 0). Presence also had a mediating effect on educational experience and use intention (β = 0.253 and 95% CI = [0.181, 0.327], excluding 0). Therefore, hypotheses 3 and 4 are supported.
In addition, we tested the moderating effect of affective responses by using model 5 in PROCESS [65]. The results are shown in Table 4. Affective responses produced a significant moderating effect between educational experience and use intention (β = 0.071 and t = 2.12). To elucidate the above-mentioned moderating effects, we divided the affective responses into two groups (M + 1 SD and M − 1 SD) (Figure 3). The results showed that educational experience had a significant effect on the use intention of metaverse exhibition users when affective responses were low (mean − 1 SD) (b = 0.216, t = 3.813, and p = 0.000). When affective responses were high (mean + 1 SD), there was no significant effect of educational experience on the use intention of metaverse users (b = −0.041, t = −0.756, and p = 0.940). Thus, we found that affective responses had a significant moderating effect on educational experience and use intention (β = 0.071 and 95% CI = [0.105,0.328], excluding 0). Therefore, hypothesis 6 was supported.

5. Discussion

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence mechanism between users’ entertainment experience, educational experience, and use intention when using the metaverse exhibition. The findings suggest that entertainment and educational experiences positively influenced the use intention of the metaverse exhibition. This can be seen in how, when users feel the entertainment and educational experiences, they will be more actively involved and use the metaverse exhibition. This is consistent with the results of previous studies [9,31]. Metaverse exhibitions have changed the way people appreciate art, breaking through the limitations of physical space and time, and the form of visiting has become free, allowing for increased participation, connection, and communication in social activities, and the lack of social interaction in offline art exhibitions has been resolved. At the same time, the metaverse exhibition plays an effective role in promoting offline physical exhibitions, and the number of visitors has increased, promoting the sustainable development of the economy of the tour destination. Users are free to watch and interact in the virtual space, and the entertaining content and features increase their interest in appreciating the many forms and styles of exhibits while gaining a wealth of aesthetic knowledge, creating the intent to want to experience and participate on an ongoing basis. At the same time, it shows the feasibility of developing sustainable arts education programs. In addition, the development and upgrading of different participation models in the virtual system effectively increased the quality and frequency of use.
Furthermore, presence mediates entertainment experience, educational experience, and use intention [31]. This can be seen as the fact that when users perceive entertainment and educational experiences, the presence increases their intention to use the metaverse exhibition. Specifically, users are captivated by the wonderful artwork, creating a sense of immersion as they enjoy it, which gives them an art experience like a real exhibition and makes them more willing to continue using the metaverse exhibition. With the gradual strengthening of the design and functions, users can communicate and connect with other users through the unique image provided by the program, which expands the communication of art space and the sharing of information, which has the effect of stimulating individual active participation. At the same time, features in the system, such as comments and shared online viewing, enhance the social connection between users and the outside world. In addition, the functional systems, such as the exhibition and sale of artworks in the virtual space and immersive investment, have been improved with the upgrade of the system and service quality of the exhibition platform. The frequency of user use and consumption has been increased, which also promotes the transformation of the benefits of the platform and the sustainability of economic development in the context of digital technology.
Users develop a variety of positive perceptions and emotions during their visit. In particular, a deeper degree of emotion promotes higher use intention among users. This is consistent with the results of previous studies [41,66,67]. In other words, as users perceive the educational experience in the aesthetic, the audiovisual function and artistic presentation of the metaverse exhibition bring shock and enjoyment, creating a deep connection with affective responses. In particular, metaverse exhibitions provide easy access to be able to acquire aesthetic knowledge, and users become interested and imaginative in the process of learning about art information and curatorial narratives, gaining pleasure in dynamic interaction, and generating the psychological effects of collaborative participation, social connection, and virtual enjoyment. Users gain a high degree of immersion, master the educational effects of the information, and satisfy their cultural and artistic needs. As the user has a continuous experience, there is a subjective perception of well-being, which is beneficial to physical and mental health. The results of the study showed that affective responses moderated the relationship between educational experience and use intention.
On the other hand, as a new finding, affective responses in this study did not produce a moderating effect between recreational experience and use intention. This is probably due to the fact that during the visit to the metaverse exhibition, the influence of factors such as equipment, environment, and improper operation reduced the sense of fun and experience and did not produce positive affective responses. At the same time, due to the wrong and excessive use of the exhibition program, situations such as vertigo and disorientation can arise, and the fun elements of the activities and games in the space cannot be conveyed properly, making the entertainment less entertaining and failing to obtain a normalized affective response. In summary, affective responses did not enable users to generate use intention when engaging in an entertainment experience. In addition, the results of the study on exhibition experience by Jung et al. showed that the entertainment experience had a positive impact on use intention as a way to propose measures to improve the virtual experience [18]. Although this study was conducted on users in China, there are similarities in comparison. However, this paper focuses more on the level of affective responses, yielding diverse usage results.

6. Conclusions

This paper explores the factors that influence the willingness to use metaverse exhibitions and the psychological factors of users. If we want to increase the experience of metaverse exhibitions, we need to pay more attention to the psychological state of users. This paper constructs a mediating model of regulation between entertainment experience, educational experience, presence, affective responses, and use intention. The impact of entertainment and educational experiences on use intention was confirmed through an empirical approach. Presence mediates between entertainment experience and educational experience on use intention. Furthermore, the moderating role of affective response between educational experience and use intention was confirmed. From a technical point of view, it helps to improve the quality of virtualization services in the metaverse exhibition space. On a psychological level, it helps the user’s emotions reach a correct and ideal state of balance and enhances physical and mental health. In addition, this study combines the metaverse exhibition and the experience economy, thus expanding the boundaries and space for the application of the theory. At the same time, this paper enriches the research with metaverse exhibition as the main topic and provides a new perspective for studying users’ use intention from the level of psychology. On the other hand, the practical industrial implications of this study are as follows: first, the educational experience becomes a key factor influencing the use intention of metaverse exhibition users. Therefore, in the design of virtual spaces, attention should be paid to educational and artistic aspects. Especially in the exhibition of paintings in virtual space, the aesthetic information and knowledge of the works can be richly set. It can also create themes and backgrounds of different artistic styles so that users can obtain the artistic spirit and thoughts of the creators through audiovisual and other perceptions and feel the rich artistic atmosphere, thus generating good affective responses and promoting the dissemination and sharing of the exhibition. In addition, the exhibition space can plan the content of games or events, set interesting elements, and users can participate in the experience through virtual characters to increase entertainment and community activity. At the same time, users can also visit with higher resolution devices, expanding visual depth, effectively reducing vertigo and visual fatigue, and increasing the sense of artistic experience. In summary, this paper also highlights the practical value of the field of art.

7. Limitations and Future Research

This study also has some limitations. First, considering that the sample investigated originated from China, the scope of the study sample and the generalizability of the findings have limitations. The scope of the study could be expanded in the future, and the breadth of the study could also be increased by further comparing the differences in user experience and sustainable use between different countries. In addition, the metaverse exhibition is in an early stage of development, and while the research is innovative, the exhibition itself may be technically and functionally imperfect. As technology continues to evolve and systems are updated, further in-depth studies could be conducted, and in particular, information and system quality can be included in future studies as factors that may affect user use. On the other hand, as discussed in this study, there are multiple dimensions of affective responses, which also result from different experiential behaviors and intentions, and future research could examine the sub-dimensions of affective responses and the effects on user behavior, which are equally profound.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.W.; methodology, L.H.; formal analysis, S.L.; investigation, S.L.; resources, M.W.; data curation, L.H.; writing original draft preparation, J.-Y.L.; writing review and editing, M.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the Ministry of Education, grant number 20YJA760027.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to the privacy restrictions.

Acknowledgments

In this section, you can acknowledge any support given which is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix A. Questionnaire

Table
Table A1. Questionnaire.
Table A1. Questionnaire.
ConstructItemsDescriptionSource
Entertainment experienceEN1I had a great time experiencing the metaverse exhibition.[59,60,61]
EN2In the virtual space, there are entertainment elements.
EN3Visiting the metaverse exhibition has been very interesting for me.
EN4The exhibition attracts the attention of users.
EN5This way of visiting the exhibition is very special.
EN6The exhibition offers a fun and diverse range of viewing points.
EN7The exhibition as a whole gives a vivid feel.
EN8There are many activities in the exhibition space.
EN9The entire exhibition gives an inviting feel.
EN10During the experience of the exhibition, I forgot the passage of time.
EN11Inside the exhibition, there are functions and modules for entertainment.
EN12I was impressed by my participation in the metaverse exhibition.
EN13This exhibition event is really fascinating.
EN14During the course of the novel virtual experience, I felt like becoming another person.
EN15Experiencing diverse technology and entertainment projects made me happy.
Educational experienceED1Visiting the metaverse exhibition gave me a lot of knowledge about art.[59,62]
ED2Visiting the exhibition satisfied my curiosity about aesthetics.
ED3The experience of the metaverse exhibition is educational.
ED4The artwork in the exhibition space inspires one’s desire to learn.
ED5The exhibition experience was a great learning experience for me.
ED6The experience of visiting the exhibition has enabled me to gain more knowledge.
ED7The experience of the exhibition has enhanced my art appreciation skills.
ED8I learned a lot at the metaverse exhibition.
ED9The metaverse exhibition offers a wonderful and sensual experience.
PresencePS1I feel that the works in the metaverse exhibition space are presented to me as if they were real works.[2]
PS2Visiting the exhibition has the presence of being in a different environment.
PS3The artwork was like it was on display in front of me.
PS4It feels like moving in the background of a virtual space.
PS5During your visit to the exhibition, you can forget about your daily life for a while.
PS6At the end of the experience, I felt like I had returned from my visit.
PS7The virtual world disappears with the end of the experience.
Affective responsesAR1The whole atmosphere of the virtual exhibition space made me feel very excited.[63]
AR2I feel satisfaction and joy in conducting artistic experiences.
AR3During the visit to the exhibition, the mood shifted.
AR4I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the virtual space.
Use intentionUI1I am currently using the metaverse exhibition and will continue to use it.[64]
UI2I would recommend the metaverse exhibition to others.
UI3I will invest more time in the experience of the exhibition.
UI4I wish I could use the metaverse exhibition more often.

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Sustainability 15 09153 g001 550
Figure 1. Research model.
Figure 1. Research model.
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Figure 2. Distribution of the mean value of variables.
Figure 2. Distribution of the mean value of variables.
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Figure 3. Showing moderation.
Figure 3. Showing moderation.
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Table
Table 1. Respondent profiles (N = 536).
Table 1. Respondent profiles (N = 536).
Characteristics FrequencyThe Percentage
GenderMale25747.95
Female27952.05
Age18 years and below11922.20
18–25 years29154.29
26–33 Years8816.42
34–40 Years264.85
40 Years and above122.24
EducationHigh school285.22
College degree17131.90
Bachelor degree19636.57
Master14126.31
Frequency of useOnce every 1 to 5 days295.41
Once every 6 to 10 days8616.04
Every 11 to 15 days28152.43
More than 15 days14026.12
Table
Table 2. Correlations between variables.
Table 2. Correlations between variables.
VariablesMSDCronbach’s
α		12345
EN3.2170.6830.8721
ED3.2460.8160.8700.486 **1
PS3.2520.7480.8760.630 **0.545 **1
UI3.2101.0320.9210.344 **0.236 **0.303 *1
AR3.2740.9230.9070.480 **0.371 **0.542 **0.219 **1
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01. N = 536. M, mean; SD, standard deviation; EN, entertainment experience; ED, educational experience; PS, presence; UI, use intention; and AR, affective response.
Table
Table 3. Direct and indirect impact analysis.
Table 3. Direct and indirect impact analysis.
RelationshipβSE95% CI
Lower Upper		pResults
Direct effect
EN → UI0.6480.0510.5480.7490.000Supported
ED → UI0.4190.0450.3300.5080.000Supported
Indirect effect
EN → PS → UI0.2490.0400.1740.3300.000Supported
ED → PS → UI0.2530.0380.1810.3270.000Supported
N = 536, bootstrapping randomly sampled 5000 times.
Table
Table 4. Moderation analysis.
Table 4. Moderation analysis.
RelationshipβSE95% CI
Lower Upper		tpResults
EN × AR → UI−0.0170.035−0.0850.051−0.4880.626Not supported
ED × AR → UI0.0710.0340.0050.1372.1250.034 *Supported
* p < 0.05. EN, entertainment experience; ED, educational experience; UI, use intention; AR, affective response.
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Wang, M.; Liu, S.; Hu, L.; Lee, J.-Y. A Study of Metaverse Exhibition Sustainability on the Perspective of the Experience Economy. Sustainability 2023, 15, 9153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129153

AMA Style

Wang M, Liu S, Hu L, Lee J-Y. A Study of Metaverse Exhibition Sustainability on the Perspective of the Experience Economy. Sustainability. 2023; 15(12):9153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129153

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Minglu, Shanshan Liu, Lingling Hu, and Jong-Yoon Lee. 2023. "A Study of Metaverse Exhibition Sustainability on the Perspective of the Experience Economy" Sustainability 15, no. 12: 9153. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129153

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