Vikki Schaffer
Senior Lecturer in Tourism, School of Business and Creative Industries
Member, Sustainability Research Cluster
Member, K'gari Research Cluster
Associate Member, Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research
Email: vschaffe@usc.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 5459 4705
Biography
Vikki Schaffer is a proud UniSC graduate who completed an undergraduate degree in Sustainable Tourism, BA Honours (Class 1) and Doctorate in Philosophy who has received an Australian Award for Teaching (2019), two UniSC Teaching Awards (2018) and is a Higher Education Academy (HEA) Senior Fellow.
Vikki has a strong interest in the cognitive responses (emotional) to immersive experiences (real and virtual) and the impact on pro-environmentalism; adventure, accessibility, citizen science and conservation with a particular passion for the marine environment.
In keeping with the premise that it takes a village, Vikki uses innovative approaches, enthusiasm, commitment and active engagement in the business and wider community to inform research that supports industry and community development.
Vikki is a multi-disciplinary researcher (e.g. linking business, tourism, animal ecology, psychology, human geography).
Expert media commentary
Dr Vikki Schaffer's specialist areas of knowledge include marine tourism, immersive experience design, immersive visualisation, cognitive appraisal (emotional elicitation; awe and wonder), sustainable tourism, leisure and event management, technology and innovation, design thinking and destination management.
Research
Publications
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Development and validation of the Awe Short Measure (Awe-SM) ↗
by Lee Kannis-Dymand, Vikki Schaffer and Andrew Allen
2025
Motivation and Emotion
This research addresses the gap regarding the need for a brief, state measure of awe by developing and validating the Awe Short Measure (Awe-SM). Study 1 (N = 246) utilized exploratory factor analysis, resulting in a nine-item, three-factor solution with high factor loadings and adequate internal consistency. Study 2 (N = 576) validated the Awe-SM through confirmatory factor analysis, reaffirming internal consistency and establishing convergent and divergent validity against existing measures. The Awe-SM's three-factor solution encompasses connectedness, absorption, and perception, reflecting key aspects of awe concordant with existing theoretical and empirical findings. The Awe-SM demonstrated strong correlations with subscales of the existing Awe Experience Scale, supporting its validity in capturing awe experiences. While awe is multifaceted and can contain elements of fear or threat, its predominantly positive nature was mirrored in the Awe-SM's correlations with positive and negative affect measures. The Awe-SM provides a valid, succinct measure of state awe.
Book chapter | Peer reviewed
Immersive STEM Education ↗
by Adrian McCallum, Vikki Schaffer and Brendon Munge
2025
Transformative Approaches to Career-Ready Education
What key attributes make a graduate career-ready? This chapter delves into immersive learning as a critical methodology for supporting career readiness. Immersive learning is characterized by direct workplace, laboratory, or field engagement. It is an effective approach to cultivate these attributes. Through practical examples, we illustrate how immersive experiences can bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, thereby enhancing the readiness of graduates for professional challenges. Examining recent practices and educational doctrines to envisage the future of STEM education, the focus is on reimagining STEM learning pathways to better align with industry needs and support graduates' adaptation to the rapidly changing professional landscape. Significant shifts in educational strategies are essential to achieve this goal. These shifts should prioritize experiential learning, adaptability, and deeper industry-academia collaboration. Concluding, we posit that to meet the dynamic demands of the modern workforce, a re-evaluation of current educational practices is imperative. We advocate for large-scale changes in preparing graduates, emphasizing the importance of immersive learning experiences and a forward-thinking approach to STEM education. This will ensure that future graduates are well-equipped to navigate and thrive in an ever-evolving industry environment.
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Exploring the impacts of the soundscape, awe and knowledge on pro-environmental intent ↗
by L. Kannis-Dymand, Chloe L. Kjaer, V. Schaffer and J. Campton
2025
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Natural soundscapes evoke awe and play a pivotal role in shaping visitor experiences, potentially leading to transformational outcomes. This study, grounded in the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, examined the effects of natural soundscapes and pre-recorded whale vocalizations on inducing awe and influencing Pro-Environmental Intent (PEI) among whale watchers. Additionally, the study explored how increased whale knowledge impacts PEI. Findings reveal that awe significantly predicts heightened PEI, particularly in fostering connectedness with nature. Interestingly, no significant difference in awe levels emerged between participants exposed to natural soundscapes versus pre-recorded whale vocalizations. However, participants' whale knowledge substantially increased post-tour, contributing significantly to PEI. The influence of soundscapes on PEI was partially supported, with significant differences noted on the “recycle and reuse” subscale. Overall, the study highlights experiences of awe, the acquisition of knowledge, and exposure to natural soundscapes can collectively enhance environmental consciousness and strongly impact pro-environmental behaviours. These insights provide valuable guidance for designing tourism experiences that promote sustainable behaviour.
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Nature Relatedness May Play a Protective Role and Contribute to Eco-Distress ↗
by Lee Kannis-Dymand, Crystal Smith, Andrew Allen and Vikki Schaffer
2024
Ecopsychology
Climate change and environmental degradation are critical health challenges facing society, with eco-distress increasingly and more widely reported. Previous research indicates that nature relatedness (NR) may be implicated in eco-distress. The current cross-sectional, online study expands research on eco-distress. It was hypothesized that different types of NR would lead to different manifestations of eco-distress. Participants (N = 415) completed measures of NR (nature relatedness scale, pro-environmental self-identity scale, and connectedness to nature scale) and measures of eco-distress (climate change anxiety scale, solastalgia subscale of the environmental distress scale, and climate change worry scale). Results indicated that NR-perspective, pro-environmental self-identity, and connectedness to nature may influence the occurrence of eco-distress, whereas NR-self may be protective against eco-distress. Solastalgia accounted for 29% of the variance in eco-distress, suggesting that solastalgia, not climate change anxiety was the dominant emotional response implicated in eco-distress for those with high NR. Further research is required to develop robust measures of eco-distress and determine the reciprocal nature of eco-distress to environmental degradation and the bearing this has on individual, community, and global actions to advance nature and human wellbeing.
Journal article | Peer reviewed
Awe: A Systematic Review within a Cognitive Behavioural Framework and Proposed Cognitive Behavioural Model of Awe ↗
by Lee Kannis-Dymand, Vikki Schaffer and Tyrone Huckstepp
2024
International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology
Awe is considered a transformational and multifaceted emotion. Vastness is the core cognitive appraisal associated with awe, which activates a need for cognitive accommodation. Increasingly, studies are evaluating awe’s dimensions including triggers, cognitive and emotional characteristics, and primarily beneficial outcomes. Additionally, numerous emotions have been conceptualised within a cognitive behavioural framework and cognitive behavioural models may be utilised to promote positive human qualities and experiences. Therefore, this paper outlines the results of a systematic review of the literature on awe from a cognitive behavioural perspective to propose a cognitive behavioural model. Databases searched included Psych Net, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCO, SAGE, JSTOR, Springer LINK, Taylor and Francis, and Wiley with the inclusion of peer reviewed articles. A total of 57 studies were identified. Triggers of awe were primarily related to nature and cognitive processes centred on vastness and the need for accommodation. A range of outcomes associated with awe were identified including increased well-being, spiritual growth, and pro-environmental intent. The key findings from this review informed a cognitive behavioural model of awe. Such a cognitive behavioural model may inform the cultivation of awe for individual, community, or environmental well-being and experience design. Future research is required to validate the proposed model, proposed pathways, and utility.
Explore all Vikki Schaffer's publications in UniSC Research Bank
Grants
2 January 2026
ReVISIRR: Reusable Virtual Infrastructure for Scalable Image Recognition Research
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Grant no. 0980031013.
Rania Shibl, Vikki Schaffer, Mark Brown, Peter Embleton, Geoffrey Will, Sam Van Holsbeeck, Alexandra Campbell, Madaline Healey and Kathy Townsend
1 July 2023 - 30 June 2024
Diverse participation in citizen science by people with disabilities
Queensland Government (Australia, Brisbane)
Grant no. 0980028161.
Vikki Schaffer
6 March 2022 - 31 December 2022
Communication for conservation: Evaluation of Sunshine Coast Councils Regional Flying-fox Management Plan
Sunshine Coast Council (Australia)
Grant no. 0980027341.
Vikki Schaffer
1 September 2022 - 31 December 2022
Youth engagement in citizen science
Queensland Department of Environment and Science (Australia, Brisbane)
Grant no. 0980027730.
Vikki Schaffer and Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers
1 September 2022 - 31 December 2022
Youth, tourism and the 2032 Olympics
Queensland Department of Environment and Science (Australia, Brisbane)
Grant no. 0980027734.
Vikki Schaffer, Robyn Fox and Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers
1 September 2022 - 31 December 2022
Evaluating youth engagement in social entrepreneurship and research team experiences
Queensland Department of Environment and Science (Australia, Brisbane)
Grant no. 0980027756.
Vikki Schaffer, Lee Kannis-Dymand and Margarietha de Villiers Scheepers
1 July 2020 - 30 September 2021
Evaluation of visitors' cognitive appraisal and emotional responses associated with immersive tourism and leisure experiences: real and virtual.
Sunshine Coast Council (Australia)
Grant no. 0980026621.
Lee Kannis-Dymand and Vikki Schaffer
3 January 2021 - 29 June 2021
Understanding the impact of community-based citizen science programs: The volunteer experience in Clean-up for Hatchlings
Sunshine Coast Council (Australia)
Grant no. 0980026819.
Vikki Schaffer
29 January 2020 - 30 June 2020
An exploratory study examining initiatives, barriers and opportunities to achieving sustainable tourism on the Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast Council (Australia)
Grant no. 0980026352.
Vikki Schaffer
1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019
Advance Award - Advancing the Student Experience (ASE) - team
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Grant no. 0980025951.
Lee Kannis-Dymand, Kate Mulgrew and Vikki Schaffer
Explore all Vikki Schaffer's grants in UniSC Research Bank
Teaching and supervision
Supervision
Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Completed
Are we on the same page? Developing a Business-to-Business Customer Experience scale for professional services ↗
Students: Riarna Hellyer
Associated Researchers: Rory Mulcahy, Jacqui Blake and Vikki Schaffer
2021 - 2025
Customer experience (CX) is an area of interest to both academics and industry professionals, particularly within the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector. However, as will be discussed in this thesis, despite the extensive body of B2C focused CX research, exploration regarding CX in the business-to-business (B2B) sector is limited, particularly in relation to how CX is measured. This thesis addresses this gap in CX and B2B literature through the development of a theoretically supported B2B CX measurement scale, contributing a shift beyond the current trend of atheoretical scale development in the field. In addressing this gap, this thesis inquiry is guided by the following research question: How should B2B CX be measured in professional services? It also seeks to address four related research objectives, including: i) Identify theories used in the study of B2B customer experience, ii) Identify customer experience dimensions present within a B2B context, iii) Identify the outcomes of B2B customer experience, and iv) Identify factors that impact B2B customer experience. Prior to undertaking empirical exploration to address the research question and objectives, this thesis presents a narrative and systematic literature review (SLR). The narrative literature review identifies the key concepts and theories of this thesis, introducing agency theory, CX, and the B2B sector, inclusive of the professional services industry. Following this, the SLR, explores what is currently known and not yet understood about B2B CX, identifying 23 articles which met the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocol (PRISMA). Of particular interest, analysis revealed identified B2B CX literature was strongly influenced by B2C definitions and characterisations, potentially impacting the relevance and applicability of findings to the B2B sector. Additionally, identified B2B CX scale development studies were atheoretical in nature, counter arguments of the need for theory from both B2B and CX literature. Results of the SLR supported the research question and objectives of the thesis, supporting the need for a theoretically guided B2B CX measurement scale grounded in the B2B sector, which the thesis then undertook through an agency theory lens. To address the research question and objectives and supported gaps in knowledge identified in the narrative and SLRs, this thesis adopts a mixed methods scale development approach. The scale development consists of three studies aimed at developing a B2B CX measurement scale through the use of qualitative and quantitative data. Consistent with the scale development process, Study One specified the domain of the B2B CX construct, utilising data from 20 semi-structured interviews with Australian B2B customers and service providers, as well as drawing upon insights from both the systematic and narrative literature review. Results from Study One establish an initial understanding of key B2B CX dimensions, which were then carried forward into Study Two for further analysis. Building on these results, Study Two develops an initial item pool to measure B2B CX, consisting of 65 items across four dimension (name them in brackets here) and two facilitators and modifiers (name them in brackets here). In Study Two the validity of the item pool was assessed by an expert panel of 10 participants, including both practitioners and academics. Further, an exploratory factor analysis was undertaken with the 65 items, using survey data collected from 308 B2B customers. Resulted reaffirmed the previously mentioned B2B CX dimensions and facilitators and modifiers identified in Study One. Further, the item pool was reduced from 65 to 56 items. Study Three continued the refinement process from Study One and Two, using survey data collected from an additional 308 B2B customers to confirm and validate the B2B CX scale via confirmatory factor analysis but also to assess antecedents, potential moderators and outcomes. In assessing the measurement model, both convergent and discriminate validity were satisfied, resulting in a further refined 45-item B2B CX measurement scale. Additionally, the structural model was assessed, proposing 11 hypotheses grounded in agency theory and the findings of the previous studies, of which five were supported, confirming a hierarchical structure of the B2B CX scale, inclusive of three antecedents (name them here), and two outcomes (name them here). Further, the B2B CX scale is shown to function as a mediator. In summary, the results of the three-stage scale development process, led to the development of a multidimension, 45-item B2B CX measurement scale. Moreover, this thesis identified and defined two higher-order dimensions of B2B CX, shared knowledge and personal connection. In particularly, the latter, “shared knowledge”, which was shown to be critical to positive B2B CX dimension, and hence the title of the thesis “Are we on the same page?”, indicating a need for shared knowledge between customer and service provider. Results also positioned customer education and relationship style, two novel factors in this thesis, and performance ambiguity, as antecedents of B2B CX. Additionally, customer loyalty and perceived switching costs were identified as outcomes of the B2B CX scale. Overall, this thesis provides three significant theoretical contributions to the B2B and CX literature. First, this thesis addresses the current trend in athoertical scale development through the introduction and use of agency theory as a guiding theoretical lens. It also demonstrates along with this how agency theory helped identify appropriate antecedents and outcomes, whilst then also explaining the network of relationships inclusive of B2B CX. Second, this thesis offers an alternative and more in-depth perspective to understanding the cognitive dimension, introducing the higher order dimension of sharded knowledge and antecedent of customer education. Finally, this thesis provides new methodological considerations to improve rigour in future scale development studies in B2B literature. It does so by using a mixed method design guided by agency theory, showing how B2B literature can move beyond premature confirmatory scale development approaches and how theory can guide both the development and testing of B2B scales inclusive of consideration of antecedents and outcomes. This thesis also offers three practical contributions for scholars and marketing practitioners. First, this thesis offers a valid and reliable measurement instrument, that can be used either in full or in part to measure the B2B CX phenomena. Second, this thesis emphasises the value of customer education beyond core services, conceptualising customer-led and service provider-led education activities and showing its importance in enhancing B2B CX. Finally, the findings of the B2B CX scale, highlight the impact of CX on customer loyalty and perceived switching costs within a B2B context with the thesis offering some considerations of how this insight can be actioned by managers. Through the findings presented in this thesis, scholars and practitioners are provided with greater understanding of the multidimensionality of B2B CX and offered a practical tool for its measurement.
Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Completed
Does sustainable tourism development enhance the prosperity of a destination? Evidence from stakeholder perceptions ↗
Students: Elham Falatoonitoosi
Associated Researchers: Vikki Schaffer
2015 - 2020
This research examines stakeholders’ perceptions of the role of sustainable tourism development in enhancing the prosperity of a destination. Prosperity is gaining increasing attention as a factor within sustainability and as one of the five critical areas in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Prosperity is defined through five key dimensions: quality of life, sociocultural empowerment, environmental quality, economic growth, tourist satisfaction, and attractiveness of the destination. To analyse the impacts of sustainability on these key dimensions of prosperity, a set of 18 sustainability indicators were identified based on a developed hybrid model that combines results from a systematic literature search (SLS) and four-stage convergent interviews. From there, causality relationships (interdependencies) among sustainability issues were analysed to identify the influential sustainability issues in regional sustainable tourism development. Analysing the causality relationship between sustainability indicators identified ten influential sustainability issues associated with a target destination. According to the results, Sustainability education and training, followed by Government support for sustainability planning and programs, Sociocultural effects of tourism, Limiting the impacts of tourists’ activities, and Ecological conservation have the highest influence in regional sustainable tourism development within the contextual destination (Sunshine Coast, Australia). Identification of the influential sustainability issues through quantifying the relationships and interdependencies among the issues contributes to the theory of knowledge and practice. First, it reduces the impractical information for sustainability assessment while representing the effectiveness of each sustainability issue. Second, identifying the issues having a high impact on system development assists decision-makers to enhance the effectiveness of tourism planning. The hybrid model for indicator selection can assist researchers in the early design and construction phase of regional sustainable tourism development. The results also reveal that sustainable tourism development enhances destination prosperity in general and is a medium to strong predictor of key prosperity dimensions, particularly environmental quality and sociocultural empowerment. The results indicate a moderate positive relationship between sustainability and Tourist satisfaction. There was, however, no significant relationship between sustainability and Destination attractiveness. Investigating stakeholder attitudes towards sustainable tourism development, resulting in an increased understanding of how they perceive the impacts of sustainability on overall prosperity, can contribute to greater support for sustainable tourism development. Identifying stakeholder priorities regarding tourism and sustainable development suggests stakeholders perceive environmental and sociocultural issues to be of greater importance than economic issues. Understanding stakeholders’ awareness of sustainable tourism development as a desirable prerequisite for enhancing the prosperity of the region is another important outcome of this research. This finding contributes to the need for the re-evaluation of current approaches to tourism development planning and process.
Doctoral Thesis Supervision - Completed
Novelty in Memorable Tourism Experiences
Students: Liubov Skavronskaya
Associated Researchers: Vikki Schaffer
2018 - 2020
Masters Thesis Supervision - Completed
Preparing university graduates for a career in marketing communications: examining the roles of universities and practice
Students: Anne Llewellynn
Associated Researchers: Roderick McCulloch and Vikki Schaffer
2014 - 2017
Masters Thesis Supervision - Completed
Optimising Markets for Moreton Bay Fresh Prawns Through Supply Chain Management
Students: David Byrom
Associated Researchers: Meredith Lawley and Vikki Schaffer
2012 - 2015
Professional
Awards and memberships
2019
Senior Fellow
Higher Education Academy (United Kingdom, York)
2019
Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Learning - Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT)
University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
Projects
Projects
Research
Diverse participation in citizen science by people with disability
Belinda Harris, David Dixon, Vikki Schaffer and Pablo Fuenzalida Miralles
School of Business and Creative Industries