1. ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages Ellis Urquhart
Faculty Research Conference 2015
The Role of Interactive Technology in the Co-creation of Experience in Scottish Visitor Attractions
Ellis Urquhart
First Year PhD Candidate
School of Marketing, Tourism & Languages
Supervisory Team: Professor Anna Leask (DoS), Dr Ivana Rihova & Dr Shuna Marr
Introduce
Title of research
Run-through of what we’re going to cover:
Bit of context to the research area
Theoretical framework that has been developed
The gaps that has been identified
Aims and objectives of the study
Brief overview of the methodology and
Indicate the contributions to knowledge and practice
Also time for questions and any feedback at the end.

2. Theoretical Context and Framework
ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
Theoretical Context and Framework
THE PROCESS
THE CONTEXT
THE MECHANISM
‘CO-CREATION OF EXPERIENCE’
Individualised experiences
Producer – Consumer relationship
Co-creative mechanisms
‘THE EXPERIENCESCAPE’
Importance of service environment
Landscapes of experience
Parallels with co-creation
INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY IN ATTRACTIONS
Under researched area
Interpretative media
Criticisms over authenticity and appropriateness
Co-creation of Experience – new way of looking at the service relationship ; traditional staging ; now acknowledges the individuality of the consumer;
Once viewed as passive recipients of orchestrated experiences ; now seen as active co-creators;
‘It is the level of interaction and involvement between parties that both shapes the experience and the value that is derived from it’
Organisation plays a vital role in mediating the relationship ; does through co-creative mechanisms ; physical or virtual touch-points that can support consumers in creating their own individual experiences
Experiencescapes - importance of the service environment in the creation of memorable experiences ; particularly relevant to the engineered environments of VAs
Refers not only to the physical space, but also the sensory, ambient and relational environment that is constructed
Can create the space for experience and not the experience itself => cues and environmental stimuli (link to co-creative mechanisms)
Interactive Technology - technology is a major growth area for the VA industry but has received very little academic research ; previous studies marketing, operations most visible application is within interpretation
The process by which the VA tells its story to the visitor ; the media refers to how they convey that ; IT has become a common touch point at the exhibition level ; engage with visitor ; examples (touch screen, audio, 3D/4D experiences, augmented reality & mobile platforms)
Criticisms – ambiguity / dilution of core messages / binary / appropriate?
Fit this framework together – co-creation of experience = process / the experiencescape = the context and the interactive technology = the mechanisms
Prahalad & Ramaswamy (2003); Ramaswamy (2011); Tussyadiah (2014); Vargo & Lusch (2004)
Calver & Page (2013); Mossberg (2007); O’Dell (2005); Pullman & Gross (2004)
Benckendorff et al. (2006); Benett (1999); Buhalis & Law (2008); Moscardo & Ballantyne (2008)

3. Study Aim and Objectives
ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
Study Aim and Objectives
Objectives:
Aim:
To examine the role and application of interactive technology in the co-creation of visitor experiences in Scottish visitor attractions
1. To critically review the literature surrounding the co-creation of tourism experiences and consider its applicability to VAs
2. To examine the role and application of interactive technology within VA exhibition spaces
3. To evaluate the impacts of interactive technology on the visitor experience in various VA settings
4. To contribute to the development of knowledge in VA research by debating how interactive technology can be further developed as a co-creative mechanism in Scottish VAs
EXPAND AIM – what role interactive technology plays in the visitor experience, how it is applied at an exhibition level and how does it act to foster co-creative relationship?
O1 – hopes to draw together the literature from separate fields. Tourism experience research has often drawn upon dated theory and there seems to have been some hesitation toward exploring wider concepts from service management.
How does co-creation apply to the VA product?
O2 – How is IT currently being used at a VA exhibition level?
How is IT being embedded in the visitor journey
What types of emerging technology are being used?
O3 – evaluates the impact of interactive technology on the visitor experience. Looks at how IT can support or enrich the visitor encounter.
Also looks at these impacts in various VA settings.
O4 – what is the next stage? As VA tech develops how can is be used to foster co-created experiences?
Evaluates the role of interactive technology as a co-creation mechanism in a VA context.
This research aims to examine the issues with a view to suggesting ways in which IT could be further developed as a co-creative mechanism.

4. Overview of Proposed Methodology
ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
Overview of Proposed Methodology
Multiple Case Study Approach
(Yin, 2014)
FOR EACH CASE STUDY
Phase 1
Semi-structured interviews with VA management
Intensity Sampling Strategy
(Patton, 1990)
Phase 2
Participant observation of IT enhanced exhibition spaces
Phase 3
Semi-structured interviews with visitors leaving the spaces
Range of VA categories
Conform to the working VA definition
Multiple case study – chosen to examine the research phenomena in a set of defined contexts
Intensity sampling – information rich cases selected that demonstrate the issue intensely but not extremely. Seeking strong examples that have comparative value across VA categories.
Criteria – broad criteria to start with, although flexible at this time, more a way to structure my thinking.
For each case – nature of co-creation means that both the visitor perspective and the organisational perspective needs to acknowledged. Therefore interviews with the VA management will shed light on their approach to co-creation and the role of technology at their individual site.
(Phase 2) observation important to see patterns in visitor engagement. Who is interacting with the technology and how are they interacting? Equally important to observe those who are not interacting with the tech.
(Phase 3) speak to consumers about their views on the IT use. How has it impacted their experience? Do they feel that they have actively co-created their experience?
Focus groups – could be an option as a centralised method to further investigate the issues identified in the fieldwork stages. Any thoughts on this would be welcomed.
Use of technology at an exhibition level
Geographic bounding
Focus Group(s)
To further examine the issues drawn from the case studies
Criteria

5. Contributions to Knowledge & Understanding
ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
Contributions to Knowledge & Understanding
The application of co-creation of experience principles to a VA context
The relationship between the VA and the visitor with interactive technology as an intermediary
The impact of interactive technology in various VA environments
The extent to which interactive technologies can act as co-creative mechanisms and how these can be further developed in a VA context
The application of co-creation of experience principles to a VA context
Which is a fairly new area in the VA literature despite becoming prominent in other fields.
Examining the relationship between the VA and the visitor, with interactive technology as an intermediary
The impact of interactive technology in various VA environments:
Address some of the criticisms made in the early VA literature, bringing them up-to-date and with more holistic research from consumers and VA managers.
The extent to which interactive technologies can act as co-creative mechanisms and how these can be further developed in a VA context:
Will add to the emerging literature that considers technology as a co-creative force, and apply this into a new and diverse context

6. ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
Summary
Role of interactive technology as a co-creative mechanism in VAs yet to be fully explored
Rapidly developing attraction industry in Scotland
Technological developments that are changing consumer capabilities and expectations
Research that blends together literature from a range of fields to extend knowledge
NEXT STEPS: literature refinement and preparation for fieldwork

7. ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
References (1)
Benckendorff, P.J., Moscardo, G. and Murphy, L. (2006) “Visitor perceptions of technology use in tourist attraction experiences”, Proceedings from Cutting Edge Research in Tourism - New Directions, Challenges and Applications, School of Management, University of Surrey, UK, 6th-9th June, Guildford, pp. 1–17 Bennett, M. (1999) “The Role of Technology”, in Leask, A. and Yeoman, I. (eds.), Heritage Visitor Attractions: An Operations Management Perspective, London, Cassell, pp. 83–93 Buhalis, D. and Law, R. (2008) “Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research”, Tourism Management, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 609–623 Calver, S.J. and Page, S.J. (2013) “Enlightened hedonism: Exploring the relationship of service value, visitor knowledge and interest, to visitor enjoyment at heritage attractions”, Tourism Management, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 23–36 Hu, W. and Wall, G. (2005) “Environmental Management, Environmental Image and the Competitive Tourist Attraction”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 617–635 Moscardo, G. and Ballantyne, R. (2008) “Interpretation and attractions”, in Fyall, A., Garrod, B., Leask, A. and Wanhill, S.R.C. (eds.), Managing Visitor Attractions: New Directions, 2nd ed., Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd, pp. 237–252 Mossberg, L. (2007) “A Marketing Approach to the Tourist Experience”, Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 59–74 O’Dell, T. (2005) “Experiencescapes: Blurring Borders and Testing Connections”, in O’Dell, T. and Billing, P. (eds.), Experiencescapes: Tourism, Culture and Economy, Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School Press, pp. 11–33 Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 2nd ed., London, Sage Publications Ltd. Prahalad, C.K. and Ramaswamy, V. (2003) “The new frontier of experience innovation”, MIT Sloan Management Review, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 12–18

8. ENUBS Conference Slides: Notes Pages
References (2)
Pullman, M.E. and Gross, M.A. (2004) “Ability of Experience Design Elements to Elicit Emotions and Loyalty Behaviors”, Decision Sciences, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 551–578 Ramaswamy, V. (2011) “It’s about human experiences… and beyond, to co-creation”, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 195–196 Tussyadiah, I.P. (2014) “Toward a Theoretical Foundation for Experience Design in Tourism”, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 543–564 Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. (2004) “Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 1–17 Walter, E. (2008) Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 3rd ed., Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Yin, R. (2014) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 5th ed., London, Sage Publications Ltd.