Identified key “value recipes” and affordance combinations drive successful customer-metaverse interactions, offering valuable insights for retailers.
Authors
Gaganpreet Singh, Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Sanjit K. Roy, School of Business & Law, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
Chrysostomos Apostolidis, Durham University Business School, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
Mohammed Quaddus, School of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Law, Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Australia
Saalem Sadeque, School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, 6027, WA, Australia
Summary
Following the increasing interest of retailers in engaging with their consumers using digital channels and platforms, this study uses affordance theory and Leroi-Werelds’ value typologies as a theoretical lens to identify recipes (i.e., combinations) of positive and negative affordances that facilitate or impede their interactions with the metaverse in the retail context.
More specifically, the study aims to unveil the complex interplay between different value dimensions influencing customer engagement in the metaverse and their impact on customers’ well-being. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to analyse data from Australian consumers. This research deviates from earlier studies that have focused on the identification of positive drivers of customer engagement, considering instead the trade-offs between positive and negative factors and investigating their impact on customer engagement and subjective well-being in a technology-centric context.
The study reveals numerous pertinent ‘value recipes’ that contribute to our existing knowledge regarding the factors that affect customer engagement and subjective well-being in the metaverse. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the development of several affordance combinations that can explain engagement and well-being in customer-metaverse interactions. From a practical standpoint, the findings suggest guidelines for successfully infusing the metaverse into the retail landscape.
Published in: Technological Forecasting and Social Changing
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