Influencing Factors of User Experience in Digital Twin-Based Academic Publishing Knowledge Services

To address the strategic demands of digital transformation and the cultivation of new quality productive forces in academic publishing, this study explores scenario-based knowledge services using digital twin technology. By investigating the key factors influencing user experience in such services, it aims to provide theoretical and practical guidance for system optimization. Integrating the Information System Success Model (ISSM), embodied cognition theory, and knowledge creation theory, this study constructs a user experience-oriented theoretical model. Six latent variables are identified: system quality, knowledge presentation fidelity, immersive experience, behavioral intention, cognitive empowerment, and knowledge service effectiveness. A dual-experiment repeated-measures design was implemented across universities and enterprises in five Chinese provinces. Experiment 1 used a neutral immersive geography knowledge service based on digital twin principles, with high-definition real-captured scenes and real-time interaction. This neutral content isolated the basic effects of core digital twin features on user experience without interference from professional knowledge. Experiment 2 used a self-developed digital twin academic publishing system presenting professional academic papers through 3D modeling and real-time rendering. All participants completed both experiments in sequence and filled out identical seven-point Likert questionnaires after each session. A total of 656 questionnaires were collected, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The path analysis and mediation tests revealed several key findings. First, contrary to classic ISSM expectations, system quality did not directly enhance immersive experience or behavioral intention in the neutral context; its influence was fully mediated by knowledge presentation fidelity. Only in the professional context did system quality show a direct effect on behavioral intention. Second, knowledge presentation fidelity emerged as the central driver, directly and positively affecting both immersive experience and behavioral intention across both experiments. Third, immersive experience significantly influenced behavioral intention and directly contributed to knowledge service effectiveness, while behavioral intention strongly predicted cognitive empowerment. Most importantly, cognitive empowerment was identified as the strongest direct predictor of knowledge service effectiveness, surpassing the direct effect of immersive experience. Mediation analyses confirmed that the effect of system quality on behavioral intention was transmitted through immersive experience, and the effect of immersive experience on cognitive empowerment was transmitted through behavioral intention. Based on these findings, this study extends the ISSM and proposes a digital twin-based academic publishing knowledge service system model including five functional modules: content production, virtual mapping, immersive interaction, intelligent service, and real time feedback. Practically, the study offers actionable strategies from three dimensions: technology research and application, content production, and system design. Publishers are advised to prioritize high-fidelity knowledge presentation and cognitive engagement, collaborate with professional design firms for 3D modeling, develop reusable discipline-specific templates, and embed cognitive guidance tools such as knowledge tags, structural highlighting, and path navigation. These findings provide theoretical and practical guidance for developing effective digital twin-based knowledge services in academic publishing, supporting the industry's digital transformation and the cultivation of new quality productive forces.