How AR-Enabled Consumer Participation Drives Consumer Intentions: Co-Creation or Self-Determination?

Many firms are increasingly using augmented reality (AR) not only to assist shopping but also to involve consumers in firms’ activities and value creation. This study compares co-creation and self-determination theory as two perspectives explaining consumer intentions in two forms of AR-enabled consumer participation. Study 1 used a video-based scenario survey with 154 consumers who imagined designing athletic shoes through an AR service. Study 2 used a laboratory-based AR experience study with 50 consumers who created a dance video with a virtual K-pop performer. The results of Study 1 showed that the self-determination model explained AR-assisted purchase intention, AR recommendation intention, and continued AR usage intention better than the co-production model based on AIC, BIC, and cross-validated R². Knowledge also showed positive associations with all three behavioral intentions. In Study 2, the results differed depending on the behavioral outcome. Self-determination showed better model performance for AR-assisted purchase intention, whereas the value-in-use model showed better performance for recommendation and continued usage intentions. Relationship was an important variable in the value-in-use model, while Relatedness was especially important for continued usage in the self-determination model. These findings suggest that co-creation and self-determination provide different but partly overlapping explanations of AR-enabled consumer participation. Because Study 2 has a small sample and several constructs showed high overlap, its results should be interpreted cautiously.