Relationships of Tangibles and AR Content Quality with Heritage Conservation Intention at AR-Enhanced Archaeological Heritage Sites: The Mediating Roles of Experiential Authenticity and Place Attachment

Cultural heritage preservation is essential to sustainable development, yet fragmentary remains at archaeological sites limit visitors’ understanding of their significance. Augmented reality (AR) can enrich heritage interpretation and visitor experience. However, the psychological pathways linking visitors’ evaluations of the physical environment and AR content to heritage conservation intention remain insufficiently understood. Based on stimulus–organism–response theory, Tangibles and AR content quality are modeled as external stimuli in this study, with experiential authenticity and place attachment as mediators and heritage conservation intention as the outcome. Survey data from 635 visitors who used the Mojiaoshan Pilgrimage Route AR Experience at Liangzhu Ancient City Ruins Park were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Tangibles and AR content quality were positively associated with experiential authenticity. In the baseline model, Tangibles also showed a weak direct association with place attachment, whereas AR content quality showed no significant direct association with attachment and was related to it mainly through experiential authenticity. Both stimuli showed significant indirect associations with heritage conservation intention through experiential authenticity and place attachment, consistent with the proposed theoretical pathway. Place attachment showed a stronger direct association with heritage conservation intention than experiential authenticity. The hypothesized moderating effect of Tangibles on the relationship between AR content quality and experiential authenticity was nonsignificant. These findings highlight the positive associations of both physical and digital quality evaluations with experiential authenticity, underscoring the roles of experiential authenticity and place attachment in understanding heritage conservation intention. The findings also inform site maintenance and AR content design; whether these associations translate into actual conservation behavior remains to be validated.