Increasing donation intentions toward endangered species : An empirical study on the mediating role of psychological and technological elements of VR

Virtual reality (VR) as a communication tool is increasingly gaining attention in various contexts, including the promotion of fundraising and donation-based activities. Recent academic literature tends to focus on VR as a valuable tool for human-human donation, with little consideration of the human-animal donation context. Furthermore, the use of key flagship species can encourage donations for the specific animal and provide broader conservation and economic benefits, including encouraging tourism and visitor spending. However, work needs to explore VR as a tool for flagship species donation versus other forms of communication tools and the impact this could have on broader conservation goals. Two studies were conducted to investigate VR in a human-animal donation context using two modalities (VR and static advertisement). Study 1 investigates the mediating role of psychological elements: empathy and enjoyment, while Study 2 examines the mediating role of technological elements of VR: usability and telepresence. We found that VR increases enjoyment and engagement with the flagship species, increasing the likelihood of donating. VR also increases telepresence, and the usability of the VR tool positively affects donors' likelihood to donate. Our findings inform a future research agenda to consider VR in a donation context further.