How Does Digital Experience of Cultural Heritage Transform into Sustained Behavioral Intention? Assessing Perceived Value and Place Attachment Mechanisms Based on Value Adoption Model

The rapid development and deep integration of digital technology into cultural heritage have created new experiential paradigms for tourists. However, to transform from technological application to behavioral retention, the internal mechanisms through which digital experiences are internalized into stable, sustained behavioral intentions must be elucidated. The influence of perceived value on tourists’ long-term behavioral intentions via place attachment remains largely unexplored. Using the value adoption model (VAM), this study constructs a sequential mediation model of “digital experience–perceived value–place attachment–sustained behavioral intentions” and employs structural equation modeling to examine cross-sectional survey responses from 618 tourists visiting Shandong Museum, China. Findings reveal that the functional dimensions of interactive experience and perceived ease of use significantly enhance perceived value, whereas the sensory dimensions of immersive and hedonic experiences have no significant impact on perceived value—possibly because tourists in cultural heritage contexts prioritize knowledge acquisition over sensory stimulation. Perceived value significantly and positively predicts place attachment and sustained behavioral intentions, and place attachment strongly predicts sustained behavioral intentions (including word-of-mouth recommendation, revisit intention, and sharing). This study extends the VAM to offline cultural heritage digital experience contexts, demonstrates that functional utility is more critical than sensory stimulation in driving value perception, and validates the value attachment–behavior transformation pathway, providing theoretical foundations and practical implications for cultural heritage digitalization management.