Delineating the role of mood maintenance in augmenting reality (AR) service experiences: An application in tourism

Consumers in a good mood seek positive experiences to maintain a good mood. In contactless digital service journeys, such as augmented reality (AR) mirror, maintaining consumers' positive mood throughout the purchase decision process is a highly desired outcome. Despite its importance, our understanding of the phenomenon in AR service experiences is limited. To close the void in the literature, we draw from mood maintenance theory to develop a research model including the antecedents and consequences of mood maintenance in an AR service context (tourism). Using a scenario-based survey, we collected data from 320 consumers via a quasi-experiment to validate the research model using AMOS 20. The study results reveal the pivotal role of AR body representation and AR selfie-sharing activities of mood maintenance in inducing consumer virtual purchase behavior and future purchase intentions (e.g., visit intentions to a tourism destination). The findings of our study unlock the psychological mechanisms of mood maintenance in an AR-mediated service context, enriching the extant literature on the topic. Furthermore, our findings can benefit managers in designing contactless service journeys using AR mirror applications to maintain a positive mood and influence consumers' current and future behavioral intentions.