محسن آرمان

In the competitive tourism industry, augmented reality (AR) technology has emerged as a transformative tool for enhancing visitor experiences and promoting cultural identity by blending digital overlays with physical environments, yet prior research often overlooks its role in marketing cultural narratives from industry experts’ perspectives, revealing a theoretical gap in fostering emotional connections and sustainable development. This study aims to explore AR’s role in marketing the cultural identity of tourism destinations, examining how it creates competitive differentiation, strengthens tourist loyalty, and overcomes implementation challenges. Using a qualitative approach with thematic analysis, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 27 industry experts (academics, managers, and technology specialists in tourism and AR), achieving theoretical saturation after 18 interviews, with analyses grounded in frameworks such as Symbolic Interactionism, Experiential Marketing, and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Results revealed six main themes: enhancing cultural experiences (e.g., immersive 3D reconstructions), fostering emotional engagement (e.g., creating a sense of belonging), improving tourists’ understanding (e.g., enriching cultural knowledge and promoting responsible behavior), prerequisites for AR adoption (e.g., technological infrastructure and training), outcomes of AR implementation (e.g., increased trust and decision-making), and practical strategies (e.g., cost reduction via open-source platforms). AR delivers interactive, personalized experiences that bolster loyalty but faces barriers like high costs and the need for authentic content. This research fills the gap by providing a conceptual framework for AR in cultural marketing, offering practical recommendations for managers (e.g., collaborative content creation), developers (e.g., gamified apps), and policymakers (e.g., funding infrastructure), while emphasizing AR’s potential for sustainable tourism and suggesting future quantitative studies to validate these qualitative insights.

Objective: “In the digital age, anthropomorphism—attributing human characteristics to non-human entities in digital environments—plays a pivotal role in improving user experience (UX) and fostering customer loyalty. With the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent interfaces, simulating human interactions such as digital platforms has emerged as a powerful mechanism for creating emotional connections and facilitating interactions. This study seeks to identify the antecedents and consequences of anthropomorphism in digital user environments and assess its impact on user experience and customer loyalty. Methods: Using a qualitative and exploratory approach, this research examines data collected from semi-structured interviews with 16 academic and industry experts using thematic analysis. Sampling was conducted through a snowball technique, and theoretical saturation was considered as the criterion for determining sample size. Results: The findings show that the antecedents of anthropomorphism include six main factors: personalization and optimization of user interactions (including personalized user experiences and emulation of human emotions), human-like interactions and natural communication in digital spaces, social and emotional experiences of users, intelligent responsiveness and optimal interactions, emulation of human and psychological behaviors, and user loyalty and trust enhanced through human-centered interactions. The implications of anthropomorphism include increased social interactions, intelligent responsiveness, personalized experiences, and enhanced customer trust and loyalty. Conclusions: The results indicate that anthropomorphism helps increase user satisfaction and strengthen customer loyalty by personalizing interactions and creating emotional bonds. These insights offer valuable implications for designers and marketers of digital systems who aim to optimize user experiences and develop effective customer retention strategies.

In response to the expansion of green banking and the emergence of the metaverse, this study investigates digital marketing opportunities enabled by non‑fungible tokens (NFTs) and green digital assets. This research addresses a critical gap in the literature concerning the integration of green banking with metaverse environments, blockchain technology, and NFTs. The study aims to develop a conceptual framework for leveraging green NFTs in banking, enhancing customer engagement, fostering trust through blockchain-based transparency, promoting sustainability, and identifying security and regulatory challenges. The central research question is: How can banks utilize green NFTs within the metaverse to design sustainable digital marketing strategies? Adopting an exploratory qualitative approach, the study employs thematic analysis within an interpretive research paradigm. The research population comprises experts in business management, digital marketing, and blockchain— including faculty members from universities such as Mazandaran and Shahid Beheshti—as well as experienced metaverse users active on platforms such as Decentraland. Data were collected through snowball sampling and 23 semi‑structured interviews, conducted until theoretical saturation was achieved. The analysis resulted in 244 initial codes, 30 organizing themes, and six overarching themes: (1) the impact of green NFTs on customer engagement and loyalty, (2) the role of blockchain in trust-building, (3) the influence of NFT design features on environmental perceptions, (4) the promotion of sustainable behaviors through digital campaigns, (5) implementation challenges, and (6) the role of influencers in advancing green initiatives. The findings indicate that green NFTs enhance emotional engagement and customer loyalty, blockchain technology strengthens trust and transparency, and environmentally conscious NFT design positively shapes sustainability perceptions. Practical implications include integrating NFTs into banking loyalty programs, leveraging blockchain for transparent green claims, developing sustainability-oriented interface designs, launching gamified green marketing campaigns, and adopting AI-based security and risk management systems. These insights offer valuable guidance for banking executives and digital marketers, while also highlighting the need for future research to examine the long-term effectiveness and behavioral impacts of green NFT–based marketing strategies.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of emerging technologies on green marketing strategies and brand-driven sustainable innovation in the digital age, alongside analyzing the phenomenon of greenwashing. This qualitative research employed a grounded theory approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews and open, axial, and selective coding for data analysis. The statistical population consisted of experts and marketing managers in the fields of branding and green marketing, from whom in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. The findings revealed that during the data analysis process, initial codes were extracted and ultimately categorized into six main themes: "causal conditions," "contextual conditions," "intervening conditions," "strategies," "consequences," and "enabling factors." These core categories were identified as key components of the study, highlighting the complex interactions between emerging technologies and brand sustainability strategies. Furthermore, the results indicated that greenwashing primarily arises from the mismatch between brands’ environmental claims and their actual practices, leading to reputational damage and a decline in consumer trust. This research emphasizes that brands must prioritize transparency, authenticity, and the legitimacy of their actions, leveraging modern technologies for more accurate reporting and more effective engagement with consumers. The findings also underscore the importance of appropriate governance and the alignment of green marketing strategies with consumers’ real expectations.