California Management Review

Kaplan, Andreas; Haenlein, Michael

doi: 10.1177/00081256241259188pmid: N/A

Since their beginnings, virtual worlds have experienced two major media hypes in their short lifetime—the first in 2003 after the launch of Second Life and the second in 2021, with Mark Zuckerberg announcing his strategy for the Metaverse. Most academic research on virtual worlds emerged between these two peaks of interest. This article delves into the enduring relevance of such research, contrasting the two hype cycles. It analyzes the reasons behind current caution expressed by companies and offers insights into the future trajectory of the Metaverse and which crucial developments are needed for sustained traction in virtual worlds.

Tingelhoff, Fabian; Klug, Sebastian; Elshan, Edona

doi: 10.1177/00081256241246123pmid: N/A

The metaverse, although yet to be fully realized, offers a compelling vision: a scalable and interoperable ecosystem of virtual worlds that can be simultaneously accessed by multiple users using continuous, user-generated, and embodied identities (i.e., avatars). Since the metaverse will likely achieve widespread user adoption once innovators and early adopters recognize its values, it must evolve in a direction that appeals to these groups. However, it remains unsure what aspects of the metaverse innovators perceive as opportunities and challenges when engaging with early adopters. This article describes the opinions of users who influence the metaverse’s mass adoption, clarifying their perception of what already works well, holds high potential, and presents challenges. By synthesizing and critically evaluating this information, the article offers guidance for the future development and use of the metaverse and provides insights concerning its diffusion in society.

Benassi, Mario; Rialti, Riccardo

doi: 10.1177/00081256241256997pmid: N/A

Legacy companies are firms that rely on stable business models, established internal processes, and familiar technologies. Existing research acknowledges that legacy companies need to explore new technologies, but scholars largely neglect to analyze how this process unfolds. This knowledge gap is particularly relevant when disruptive technological paradigms are about to modify the business arena, as in the case of the metaverse. This article presents an inductive qualitative approach to understanding why and how legacy companies explore the metaverse. The metaverse exploration process is purpose-driven and largely incremental. Capabilities co-specialization facilitates the use of complementary resources for new purposes, subsequently determining the path toward different strategic fit configurations.

Ritala, Paavo; Ruokonen, Mika; Kostis, Angelos

doi: 10.1177/00081256241252700pmid: N/A

This study presents a metaverse flywheel model providing insights into how the emerging layered modular architecture of the metaverse can enable new types of value-creation opportunities for organizations. Based on interviews with early metaverse adopters and innovators, this article identifies three key metaverse affordances: prospection of future conditions, persistence of editable and evolving virtual spaces, and integration between virtual and physical worlds. The findings enhance the nascent metaverse literature by highlighting that new organizing logics are required for metaverse-specific value creation, which goes beyond the previous generation’s isolated 3D models and other interfaces.

Darvish, Mahdieh; Bick, Markus; Keresztyen, Laura

doi: 10.1177/00081256241258494pmid: N/A

Since the 1970s, telecommuting has generated significant interest among academics and practitioners alike. However, the topic of flexible working arrangements has become more relevant lately, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As digital technologies continuously advance, immersive workplaces facilitated by technologies such as virtual reality (VR) become more appealing. This article examines the phenomenon of virtual immersive workspaces and their impacts on organizations. It provides insights into the emerging trends driving subsequent immersive technologies that not only foster competitive advantages in the Web3 era but also shed light on the challenges that organizations face in this context. The findings emphasize the key advantages and limitations of implementing VR in the workplace as well as the importance of purposefully designing a set of tools for remote workers.

Clough, David R.; Wu, Andy

doi: 10.1177/00081256241247067pmid: N/A

Metaverse architects face challenges akin to urban planners developing a new city: multiple stakeholders must coordinate on technical standards for interoperability and establish social consensus around specific choices. The article presents an analogy between the metaverse and the Las Vegas Strip in the unincorporated town of Paradise, NV, which arose in the mid-twentieth century as a focal destination for immersive entertainment delivered by eclectic interconnected resorts. It integrates this case study of the Las Vegas Strip with theories of technology management to derive practical insights for building the metaverse: focusing social momentum around a new destination and governing cooperation among de facto competitors.