Development and psychometric evaluation of an experiential technology acceptance model instrument for virtual reality-based dark tourism in Malaysia
Robert Abraham Mojolou & Santhi A/P Govindan
Abstract
Virtual Reality (VR) provides new opportunities for tourism and heritage interpretation by enabling users to encounter digitally represented places, historical environments, and narratives through immersive interfaces. Evaluating the acceptance of VR in dark tourism, however, requires consideration of both functional technology perceptions and experiential responses appropriate to historically sensitive settings. This study developed and psychometrically evaluated a context specific instrument based on an experiential extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), referred to in this study as the Experiential Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM), for examining prospective acceptance of VR-based dark tourism among Malaysian domestic tourists. The framework integrates Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Enjoyment (PE), Perceived Immersion (PI), and Behavioral Intention (BI). To maintain conceptual sensitivity to dark tourism, PE was operationalized as reflective satisfaction rather than entertainment derived from tragedy. The 20-item instrument was subjected to expert review and pilot testing involving 30 respondents before the main survey was administered. Following data screening, 272 valid responses were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM). The measurement model demonstrated strong indicator reliability, internal consistency, and convergent validity. However, elevated Heterotrait Monotrait Ratio values between PEOU and PE and particularly between PE and PI indicated that discriminant validity was not fully established across all construct pairs. The structural model explained 88.6% of the variance in PI and 78.1% of the variance in BI. PU significantly predicted BI, PEOU strongly predicted PU, and PE significantly predicted PI. The findings provide preliminary psychometric support for the instrument while identifying the need for further refinement, particularly in strengthening the empirical distinction between enjoyment and immersion.
Keywords
experiential technology acceptance model, psychometric evaluation, perceived immersion, behavioral intention
Author information & Contribution
Robert Abraham Mojolou. Corresponding author. Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidate at Open University Malaysia (OUM). Email: robert007@oum.edu.my
Santhi A/P Govindan. PhD in Strategic Marketing. Senior Lecturer & Programme Director for the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Faculty of Business and Management, Open University Malaysia (OUM).
"All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This study involved adult respondents aged 18 years and above who voluntarily participated in a questionnaire survey examining their perceptions and behavioral intentions toward virtual reality-based dark tourism in Malaysia. Informed consent was obtained from all participants before data collection, and participation was entirely voluntary. Respondents' anonymity and confidentiality were maintained throughout the research process. The collected data were used exclusively for academic research purposes, with appropriate measures taken to safeguard participants' privacy and ensure responsible research conduct.
Data and Materials Availability
The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
AI Declaration
The author declares the use of ChatGPT (OpenAI) as an artificial intelligence-assisted tool during the preparation of this manuscript. The tool was utilized to support academic language refinement, grammatical correction, sentence restructuring, organization, and overall clarity and readability. All research concepts, methodological procedures, data collection, statistical analyses, interpretation of findings, and conclusions remain the intellectual responsibility of the author. All AI-assisted content was critically reviewed, verified, and revised by the author to ensure academic integrity, originality, and accuracy. The author assumes full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.
Notes
Acknowledgement
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Cite this article:
Mojolou, R.A. (2026). Development and psychometric evaluation of an experiential technology acceptance model instrument for virtual reality-based dark tourism in Malaysia. Journal of Hospitality, Tourism & Cultural Research, 2(4), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.53378/jhtcr.353387
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