XR-Enabled Multimodal Interaction for Sustainable Transmission of Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Study on Public Emotional Engagement and Pro-Protection Behavioral Intentions

Abstract

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) serves as an irreplaceable repository of cultural genes, historical memories, and national identities, underscoring its significance in fostering cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. However, rapid globalization, digital transformation, and shifting societal lifestyles pose formidable challenges to ICH, including intergenerational discontinuity, limited public participation, and geographical/temporal constraints on dissemination. Extended Reality (XR), integrating Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), offers innovative solutions via its immersive, interactive, and multi-sensory capabilities. This study explores how XR-enabled multimodal interaction influences public pro-protection behavioral intentions toward ICH, focusing on the mediating role of emotional engagement and moderating effects of perceived authenticity and place attachment. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and affective affordances, a theoretical model was tested using a mixed-methods design.Results reveal XR multimodal interaction significantly predicts emotional engagement but has no direct effect on pro-protection intentions. Emotional engagement fully mediates this relationship, with cultural identity exerting a stronger effect than emotional resonance. Perceived authenticity and place attachment positively moderate the emotional engagement-intention link. This study enriches digital heritage research and provides actionable insights for cultural heritage management, technology development, and policy formulation.