Metaverse beyond the hype
Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy
Yogesh K. Dwivedi (Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune)
Laurie Hughes
Abdullah M. Baabdullah (King Abdulaziz University)
Samuel Ribeiro-Navarrete (ESIC Business & Marketing School)
Mihalis Giannakis (Audencia)
Mutaz M. Al-Debei (The University of Jordan, Al-Ahliyya Amman University)
Denis Dennehy
Bhimaraya Metri (Indian Institute of Management Nagpur)
Dimitrios Buhalis (Bournemouth University Business School UK and Visiting Professor)
Christy M.K. Cheung (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Kieran Conboy (National University of Ireland Galway)
Ronan Doyle (Lero – The Irish Software Research Centre & National University of Ireland)
Rameshwar Dubey (Liverpool Business School, Montpellier Research in Management)
Vincent Dutot (IPAG Business School,)
Reto Felix (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley)
D. P. Goyal (Indian Institute of Management Shillong)
Anders Gustafsson (BI Norwegian Business School )
Chris Hinsch (Grand Valley State University)
Ikram Jebabli (Université Internationale de Rabat)
Marijn Janssen (TU Delft - Information and Communication Technology)
Young Gab Kim (Sejong University)
Jooyoung Kim (University of Georgia)
Stefan Koos (University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich)
David Kreps (NUI Galway)
Nir Kshetri (Bryan School of Business and Economics)
Vikram Kumar (Student TU Delft)
Keng Boon Ooi (Nanchang Institute of Technology, UCSI University, Chang Jung Christian University)
Savvas Papagiannidis (Newcastle University)
Ilias O. Pappas (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Agder)
Ariana Polyviou (University of Nicosia)
Sang Min Park (Korea University)
Neeraj Pandey (National Institute of Industrial Engineering)
Maciel M. Queiroz (FGV EAESP)
Ramakrishnan Raman (Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune)
Philipp A. Rauschnabel (University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich)
Anuragini Shirish (Université Paris-Saclay)
Marianna Sigala (University of Piraeus, Curtin University)
Konstantina Spanaki (Audencia)
Garry Wei-Han Tan (Nanchang Institute of Technology, UCSI University)
Manoj Kumar Tiwari (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, National Institute of Industrial Engineering)
Giampaolo Viglia (University of Aosta Valley, University of Portsmouth)
Samuel Fosso Wamba (TBS Business School)
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Abstract
The metaverse has the potential to extend the physical world using augmented and virtual reality technologies allowing users to seamlessly interact within real and simulated environments using avatars and holograms. Virtual environments and immersive games (such as, Second Life, Fortnite, Roblox and VRChat) have been described as antecedents of the metaverse and offer some insight to the potential socio-economic impact of a fully functional persistent cross platform metaverse. Separating the hype and “meta…” rebranding from current reality is difficult, as “big tech” paints a picture of the transformative nature of the metaverse and how it will positively impact people in their work, leisure, and social interaction. The potential impact on the way we conduct business, interact with brands and others, and develop shared experiences is likely to be transformational as the distinct lines between physical and digital are likely to be somewhat blurred from current perceptions. However, although the technology and infrastructure does not yet exist to allow the development of new immersive virtual worlds at scale - one that our avatars could transcend across platforms, researchers are increasingly examining the transformative impact of the metaverse. Impacted sectors include marketing, education, healthcare as well as societal effects relating to social interaction factors from widespread adoption, and issues relating to trust, privacy, bias, disinformation, application of law as well as psychological aspects linked to addiction and impact on vulnerable people. This study examines these topics in detail by combining the informed narrative and multi-perspective approach from experts with varied disciplinary backgrounds on many aspects of the metaverse and its transformational impact. The paper concludes by proposing a future research agenda that is valuable for researchers, professionals and policy makers alike.
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