Search results

Retailers are increasingly considering the introduction of service robots in their stores to support or even replace service staff. Service robots can execute service scripts during the service encounter that can influence customer interactions and the overall experience. While the role of service agents is well documented, more research is needed to understand customer responses to a technology-infused servicescape and to investigate the value of service robots as interaction partners. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of customer immersion in human-human or human-robot interactions across different stages of the service experience and to understand how immersion affects store visit duration under each condition.

An experimental field study was developed to test the research hypotheses. The study was conducted in a retail store selling premium Italian leather goods with 50 respondents randomly allocated to one of two experimental conditions, interaction with a service robot or interaction with a human sales associate. Participants’ biometrics were collected to measure their immersion in the service encounter and to assess its impact on store visit duration.

The interaction with a service robot increases the level of customer immersion during the service encounter’s welcome and surprise moments. Immersion positively affects visit duration. However, participants exposed to a robot sales associate reported a shorter visit duration as compared to those who interacted with a human sales associate.

This study contributes to the emerging service and retail marketing literature on service robot applications applying a neuroscientific approach to the study of human–robot interactions across different moments of the service encounter. For managers, this study shows the conditions under which service robots can be successfully implemented in retail stores in accordance with the type of task performed and the degree of immersion generated in customers.

This paper aims to provide a longitudinal study of a five-day tourist stay in a mountain resort, where flow and immersion are analysed to understand how consumers experience and construct their holiday stay. The need to process to a longitudinal study is motivated by the lack of research looking at what actually happens during the experience. More precisely, the long encounter of a holiday is often disregarded, and the tourist experience is studied afterwards through single and comprehensive satisfaction surveys. How consumers evolve across a holiday stay and construct their experience is an understanding that needs further investigations. Among the variety of concepts developed to study the experience, flow and immersion are particularly interesting foundations, as they bring a detailed analysis of the processes at the very heart of the experience. This study aims to identify how both these concepts develop within a holiday context and what strategic knowledge might be gained from their analysis. A qualitative study conducted on a sample of ten individuals interviewed every day of their stay provides curves showing the occurrences of flow episodes. More importantly, the study looks at the evolution of flow and immersion across each day of a holiday stay: it identifies the conditions of their emergence, their recurrence and how they influence each other. Managerial implications call for a more strategic analysis of the specific components that conduct to the emergence of flow and immersion.

The paper conducts a longitudinal study of a tourist stay over five days. Ten participants were interviewed while on holiday and upon their return with a semi-structured interview guide aiming to investigate the peaks of their day, the elements associated to those events and the meaning associated to them. Immersion was also investigated. Forty-eight interviews were conducted in the resort. Data were transcribed and content analysed to identify the main components of both flow and immersion concepts specifically in the case of a tourist holiday.

The findings identified that both flow and immersion co-exist and feed each other during the holiday. Episodes of flow could be identified, although they did not necessarily match all the characteristics previously identified by Csikszentmihalyi. The events associated to flow were to be found in sport activities (skiing and snow shoeing), but social cohesion and landscape beauty equally provided strong flow episodes. Immersion is a more longitudinal state that reinforces itself throughout the stay, and with flow occurrences. Immersion is strongly related to the feeling of detachment and “getting away from it all”.

The mountain resort setting is unique, but the results show some commonalities with previous research. If the ski experience is specific, it does share commonalities with other sport activities that could be provided in other holiday settings. However, transferability to more mundane holiday settings requires further testing. The data collection process is particularly heavy: interviewing the same customer every day is necessarily time-consuming. The sample is composed of senior students and would need to be validated on a wider sample of tourists.

The results identify some of the components that contribute to the emergence of both flow and immersion. The elements identified, whether they are associated to the skiing activity, to the social network or the natural resources of the resort, can all be encouraged and monitored by the resort. The results give pointers to the different elements that tourism actors can act upon to boost their consumers experience.

Skiing is a sport practice that is mostly represented in middle to higher social classes. The cost of skiing equipment and ski passes, but also the need to acquire competences for this activity are all limitations factors to a wider spread of skiing practice in the general population. By showing the impact of a ski stay, notably by its incredible capacity to create a feeling of detachment and restoration from every day life, the results point to the general well-being impact that mountain holiday stays can create. It is also an information that interests local authorities who are witnessing a maturity of the ski market and are looking for new communication arguments to boost the attraction of ski holidays. The role of previous experience as a booster to immersion also demonstrates the usefulness of childhood skiing practice. This can be encouraged and subsidised by regional authorities, especially through schools.

The originality of the paper is tied in with its data collection. The researchers opted for a longitudinal study of real-time experience by not only interviewing participants in situ but also every day of their experience. Those data provide a longitudinal analysis of the experience, with richer results than what traditional satisfaction surveys usually measure. The study is also original through the concepts used: flow has been used extensively by researchers but rarely to study a whole holiday experience. Moreover, the concept of immersion is a newer concept that has not yet been used to investigate the tourist experience. The results of the study show that this concept is different from flow and is particularly pertinent to study the holiday experience.

In today’s competitive environments, a growing number of firms are establishing their presence through the Web sites. Based on Steuer’s (1992) and Rheingold’s (1993) arguments on perceptual experience in the virtual space, this paper provides a theoretical framework that highlights the effects of interactivity, immersion, and association for customers. The paper argues that though interactivity, immersion, and association are critical for attracting customers on a Web site, these characteristics may also lead to social, ethical and privacy concerns among customers that many unscrupulous firms tend to exploit for their advantages. Interactivity has been measured through speed, range, and significance of interactivity. Immersion has been measured through breadth and depth of immersion. Association has been categorized into one‐to‐one or many‐to‐many relationships. Four Web sites, amazon.com, eBay.com, schwab.com, and victoriasecret.com, are analyzed with respect to interactivity, immersion, and association. The implications of the use and abuse of interactivity, immersion, and association are discussed.

This study investigates the role of an augmented reality (AR)-based tool in customers' shopping processes.

Using the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) and consumer decision-making models, this study builds a comprehensive theoretical model that investigates the mechanism sequentially connected AR-enabled shopping tool and customer responses. Décor Matters was chosen as the AR-enabled mobile application for this study. Qualtrics, which conducted the survey, collected 150 responses in the USA. The authors used structural equation model to test the hypotheses.

This study enriches the retail-related AR theory by offering a holistic and structural view of the factors that connect customers' cognitive and affective internal processes with customers' shopping task. However, having used only one type of AR-enabled app in the study, the findings remain limited.

This research advances the understanding of AR's role in the customer shopping process by validating the positive effect of immersion on purchase intention, as well as revealing the mediating effect of decision-making quality and the moderating effect of privacy concerns. However, as only one type of AR-enabled app was used in the study, the findings are still limited.

The findings can help retailers to understand why and how firms can benefit from investing in AR-enabled apps (i.e. by focussing on customer perceived immersion and decision-making quality with AR).

This study's originality lies in the SOR model's extension, which integrates the customer decision-making model, allowing for connecting customers' cognitive and affective internal experiences with their shopping task. The findings can help retail managers to understand more clearly and in-depth why and how AR works in customers' shopping process.

The purpose of this paper is to study the electrochemical behavior of 690 alloy with corrosion products in simulated pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary water environment.

This paper opted for a laboratory study using simulation of high temperature and high pressure environment immersion testing. The electrochemical behavior was studied by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKP). Moreover, the corrosion products were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

The results demonstrated that the particle majority in the 690 alloy corrosion products subsequent to high temperature and high pressure immersion testing were mainly oxides of Fe and Ni, which protected the matrix. As the immersion testing duration increased, the corrosion potential of the 690 alloy apparently increased, and the corrosion current density de'creased, while the corrosion resistance R_f increased gradually along with the density. The SKP demonstrated that the E_KP increased by nearly 400 mV from −0.42 to −0.03 V following the immersion testing, indicating that the corrosion product film played an apparent protective role on the substrate.

This paper provides a theoretical basis for the corrosion behavior and inhibition mechanism of 690 alloy in PWR primary water environment.

Live streaming commerce has grown rapidly in recent years. Although the way streamers communicate with viewers is the key to influencing users' purchase behaviors, little is known about the influence of streamers' communication style on purchase intention. Drawing on parasocial interaction theory and flow theory, this study examines the influence of streamers' interaction orientation on viewers' immersion and parasocial interactions, and its effect on viewers' purchase intentions. The moderating effect of streamers' expertise and attractiveness is also examined.

The authors conducted an empirical study using a structural equation modeling approach based on 407 responses to a questionnaire completed by live streaming audiences.

Results indicate that streamers' interaction orientation has a positive effect on viewers' immersion and parasocial interactions, in turn positively affecting viewers' willingness to purchase. Streamers' expertise positively moderates the effect of their interaction orientation on viewers' immersion and parasocial interactions.

This research is among the first to explore the effect of streamers' communication style and provides a framework for how their communication style affects viewers' purchase intention by enhancing immersion and parasocial interaction in live streaming commerce.

This paper describes the different thickness measurement techniques that enable reliable thickness assessments, and the determination of the recommended immersion tin thickness for lead‐free soldering.

Immersion tin layers were prepared with systematically varying layer thicknesses. The samples were annealed at different reflow profiles, used in assembly for tin/silver/copper (SAC‐alloy) soldering. The layers were characterized with X‐ray fluorescence, electrochemical stripping coulometry, and by examining the cross sections using a scanning electron microscope. The solderability of the samples was determined with a solder balance (Solderability Tester Menisco ST60) using a SAC‐alloy (melting point 217°C) with T(max) at ΔT=28°C and ΔT=43°C above melting.

If all pure tin is converted into the Sn/Cu IMC, so that no pure tin is left as solderable layer, the wetting behaviour will decrease dramatically. Especially for multiple soldering processes, two times reflow followed by wave soldering, it is essential to have a pure tin layer covering the Sn/Cu IMC before going to the final soldering process. The required amount of residual pure tin over the Sn/Cu IMC is detailed in several papers. It is stated that a minimum of 0.2 μm of pure tin over the Sn/Cu IMC is absolutely necessary to ensure reliable wetting and solder joint formation. With the current immersion tin thickness recommendation of 1 μm, based on the needs of lead containing solder pastes, a residual pure tin layer will not be evident or thick enough to ensure reliable assembly for multiple soldering with lead‐free temperature profiles.

Helps to enable reliable thickness assessments, and the determination of the recommended immersion tin thickness for lead‐free soldering.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the oxidation behaviour of an immersion tin final finish after multiple reflow ageing under air and nitrogen atmospheres and to study their influence on the wetting behaviour with lead‐free solder. To design a model that describes the degradation of wetting behaviour after reflow‐cycling of the immersion tin final finish.

A special printed circuit boards (PCB) demonstrator was created to investigate the immersion tin final finish with surface analysis methods and wetting tests. The PCB samples were aged by multiple reflow‐cycling under air and nitrogen atmospheres. The tin oxide formation behaviour of immersion tin was characterised using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and SERA analysis.

The native oxide layer of the investigated immersion tin final finishes was approximately 7 nm on average. The TEM and XPS investigations indicated an amorphous structure of SnO and SnO₂. The solder spread test showed significantly different results for PCBs in “as received” condition compared to those after one and two times reflow ageing under a nitrogen solder atmosphere. The analysis methods revealed a slight increase in the tin oxide layer thickness and small areas with semi‐crystalline structure. Reflow ageing under an ambient solder atmosphere induced considerably thicker oxide layers, which could be observed by a yellow discoloration of the surface.

Measures to improve the wetting behaviour can be derived from the described model (i.e. use of higher tin layer thickness or protective films to reduce the tin oxidation).

A functional model for the solderability process of lead‐free solder on immersion tin PCB final finishes was derived and verified. By this, interactions between the state of the final finish and the solder can be described and potential solderability failures can be predicted.

This paper describes a state‐of‐the‐art process for immersion tin plating of PCBs which is used to preserve solderability prior to assembly. The process sequence is described and preventive measures for handling the final surface finish is documented. A solderability test method and basic requirements for fluxes and soldering parameters are also described. Quantitative results on the formation of intermetallic tin‐copper phases are shown and their influence on the formation of tin whiskers explained. A problem in production is the precise measurement of the tin thickness, therefore different measuring methods are also detailed. Finally, the mechanism of tin deposition and the formation of tetravalent tin and the relationship with bath age and deposit quality are discussed.

This paper aim to investigate the influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel with blast cleaned or pre-rusted treatments, and interpret the inhibition mechanism of PA on the steel with different surface treatments.

The influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of blast cleaned or rusty steel was investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The EIS data were analyzed using the @ZsimpWin commercial software. The morphology and component of steel after immersion were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD).

EIS analysis results indicated that PA had good corrosion inhibition for blast cleaned or rusty steel. SEM, EDS, FTIR and XRD further indicated that PA had two main corrosion inhibition processes for the corrosion inhibition of blast cleaned or rusty steel: corrosion dissolution and formation of protective barrier layers.

Most published works focus the attention only toward the effect of corrosion inhibitor for the clean metal surfaces. However, the surface condition of metal sometimes is unsatisfactory in the practical application of corrosion inhibitor, such as existing residual rust. Some studies also have shown that several corrosion inhibitors could be applied on partially rusted substrates. These inhibitors mainly include tannins and phosphoric acid, but not PA. Therefore, the authors investigated the influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel with blast cleaned or pre-rusted treatments in this paper.