Articles

Special issue SJM-ESIC “Mixed reality and machine intelligence in marketing and society”.

The increasing impact of immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) virtual reality (VR) or the different technologies included in what is known as extended reality (XR) create challenges that need full attention from both academics and practitioners (Loureiro et al., 2019; 2020a; tom Dieck, et al., 2018; Japutra et al, 2020). Without a doubt, the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has stimulated the implementation and use of real-and-virtual combined environments, as well as changing nature of human-machine interactions. Several developments, including the forced physical contact lessness between coworkers, vendors, and ultimately consumers, have pressed companies to implement innovative tactics, which provide an acceleration to the digital transformation (Kudyba, 2020).

The impact of new technologies on customer experience is also noteworthy (Kabadayi et al., 2019; Loureiro et al., 2021). For example, XR technologies can support consumers’ activities, either directly in the real environment or indirectly through digital overlaying on the real environment; they can create new experiences that empower consumers along the journey; or they can even create experiences that divert or distract the consumer from their current experiences (Flavián et al., 2019; Loureiro et al., 2020b). Despite the limited number of previous studies to understand how consumers experience, engage and accept immersive/XR technologies (e.g., Flavián et al., 2020; Tussyadiah, et al., 2018) and how human-machine interaction develops (Loureiro et al., 2020a), more research is needed to allow managers and society as a whole to better understand these phenomena, especially in the current situation where these technologies are developing in leaps and bounds.

The degree of integration between technological devices and the human body has the potential to immerse users into multisensory virtual experiences (Flavián et al., 2021). In fact, XR technologies may soon allow people to extend their selves through the use of neuro-stimulators and neural implants (Belk, 2013), which may create a much more immersive augmentation of reality and may even transform the human being into a homo sapiens technologicus with the power to switch from a real environment to a deeply immersive environment without the need for any external devices (Loureiro et al., 2020a). A fully connected human that may use its immersive skills (AR and VR technologies) to interact with the world may allow new applications to be developed in many industries and fields. Although such perspective of a transhumanist society (Bostrom, 2005a; 2005b, Loureiro & Guerreiro, 2018) is still far from becoming a reality, researchers need to address the social and business implications of such future changes for the sake of ethics and consumers’ well-being. The way artificial intelligent (AI) algorithms evolve, the interaction between humans-non-humans and XR interaction will also be of paramount interest (Chung et al., 2016; Huang & Rust, 2018). As Huang et al. (2019) claim, the era of the feeling economy is knocking on our door.

In this vein, the current special issue should consider (but not be limited to) areas such as:

• Digital innovation and transformation through XR
• XR adoption behavior
• XR business models and XR for societal good
• Impacts of XR on value co-creation and customer engagement
• XR and its use for crisis management (e.g. health crisis, Covid-19 recovery)
• Enhancing customer experience via XR
• Legal, ethical, and regulatory issues of XR
• New methodological approaches for XR
• Combining XR and AI in service settings
• Negative impacts of XR in service settings
• Ethical issues with regards to usage of XR in service settings
• Compulsive use of XR in service settings

The topics could cover a range of different fields such as marketing, hospitality, tourism, retailing, entertainment, events, education, cultural heritage, architecture and so forth.

More information: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/sjme/mixed-reality-and-machine-intelligence-marketing-and-society

Submissions dates: 1 September 2021 to 1 March 2022 (early submissions are appreciated).

Guest Editors:

• Sandra M.C. Loureiro, ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Portugal) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Faizan Ali, University of South Florida (USA) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Arnold Japutra, The University of Western Australia (Australia) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.