Understanding senior citizens’ intentions to use virtual reality for religious tourism in India: a behavioural reasoning theory perspective

Field: Business, Management and Accounting (Social Sciences)

ABSTRACTThe study uses a multi-theoretical approach and the three behavioural theories of Behavioural Reasoning Theory (BRT), Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) to analyze the motivation of senior citizens to use Virtual Reality (VR) technology for religious tourism. The survey was completed by 300 senior citizens, and PLS-SEM was used to evaluate the results. The study examined the moderating influence of place familiarity on senior citizens intentions to use VR technology. The findings show that the attitude and intention to adopt VR technology are influenced by perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and immersion. Also, tradition and image barriers play an influencing role in forming a negative attitude toward adopting VR technology for religious tourism.KEYWORDS: Behavioural reasoning theory (BRT)self-determination theory (SDT)innovation resistance theory (IRT)virtual reality (VR)religious tourismsenior citizens Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsSahil RajSahil Raj, is an Assistant Professor at the School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, India. His main area of interest is the application of information systems in business organisations, big data analytics and sustainability. His research has been published in Tourism Management, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research and many more leading journals.Brinda SampatBrinda Sampat is an Assistant Professor at the NMIMS Global Access School for Continuing Education, NMIMS University, Mumbai, India. Her research interests are at the interface of Information Systems and Marketing Management which primarily focuses on consumer adoption and diffusion of emerging technologies (AI, mobile health, wearable devices, social media) and digital innovations through the lens of emerging economies.Abhishek BehlAbhishek Behl is a researcher in the area of information technology and analytics. He has earned his second Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay where his research is in the area of crowdfunding and gamification. Dr. Behl is a winner of the prestigious 'Naik and Rastogi award for excellence in Ph.D.' from IIT Bombay. He holds rich experience in teaching, research and consultancy. He has taught subjects like Business Analytics; Marketing Analytics; Digital Marketing; Marketing Research. He has also served as a Senior Manager- Research at Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship, IIM Ahmedabad. His research is in the area of business analytics and decision sciences with a focus on gamification, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, and e-commerce start-ups. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Global Information Management; South Asian Journal of Business Studies; Journal of Cases on Information Technology and is an Area Editor (South Asia) of the International Journal of Emergency Services. He features on the editorial board of many national and international journals. He has also been awarded as 'Young Management Researcher' by AIMS International in 2021.Kokil JainKokil Jain is a Professor of Marketing at Fortune Institute of International Business, New Delhi, India. She is a Doctorate with over 18 years of experience in the area of teaching and research. She has a keen interest and expertise in the area of Brand Management and Consumer Behaviour. She has published research articles in Journals of repute including ABDC A & A*. She also has guest-edited special issues with the International Journal of Information Management, Journal of Business Research, Technology Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Global Marketing and Journal Of Promotion Management. She was awarded the prestigious AIM-Sheth Grant in the year 2020. Her present areas of research include Service Transgressions, Brand Anthropomorphism and Online Consumer Brand Relationship.