The results of these studies suggest that QR code technologies
offer great potential to transform physical spaces into museum-like
spaces for delivering engaging, personalized and social experiences.
However, although the adoption of QR codes has been
studied in museum-like environments for supporting certain
learning practices, there is yet to be a consensus as to their effects
on visitor engagement. Furthermore, the way in which technology
is used is key to its effectiveness (Hokanson & Hooper, 2000).
Despite this, there is a lack of comparative studies to analyze the
potential provided by QR codes for engaging visitors when
compared to more traditional and usually more expensive alternatives,
such as screens or tablets located next to the artifacts in an
exhibition.
The use of smartphones and QR codes and their effect on visitor
engagement therefore needs to be explored in greater depth. This
will help guide decision makers with a low budget for activating
their spaces when looking for ways to achieve the greatest possible
impact using these technologies. The aim of this paper is to provide
insights into the effects on visitor engagement when using QR codes as
a cost-effective means for delivering digital content in museum-like
spaces. In order to do so, we ran two controlled experiments
structured in two research cycles and following a Design-Based
Research (DBR) methodology.
Overall, the results of this study enhance the understanding of
how QR code technology should be used as an alternative to other,
more expensive technologies in museum-like spaces. This is done
by achieving the greatest possible impact on visitor engagement.
These results can help administrators, decision makers or curators
of public and open spaces increase the interactivity of their spaces
on a low budget, as well as providing a more engaging experience
to their visitors.
The rest of the paper continues as follows. In Section 2, we
provide details of the methodological process that was followed.
We also provide details of the data gathering techniques and statistical
analyses that were used to analyze engagement during the
two research cycles. Sections 3 and 4 report the experimental
design, as well as the main results from the first and second
research cycles, respectively. In Section 5, we discuss the main results
of both research cycles in order to gain a better understanding
of (1) the effects of using traditional QR codes on visitor engagement
when compared with traditional display screens, and (2) the
uses of QR codes that have the greatest impact on visitor engagement.
The conclusions in Section 6 summarize the lessons learned
about how QR code technology should be employed as an alternative
to other, more expensive technologies by achieving the
greatest impact on visitor engagement.