Navigating the enterprise metaverse: How virtual reality affects business agility and meeting outcomes

Aliman, Dorothea Nilusha; Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten; Henke, André

Abstract

Team meetings have been at the heart of businesses worldwide for a long time, regardless of industry and region. While precedent research has pointed at advantages and challenges of using virtual reality (VR) for team meetings, such as higher closeness and increased exhaustion, it is largely unclear which effects dominate in real-world conditions. With a focus on business agility, as an organization’s ability to adapt and respond quickly to developments and market conditions, but also studying other meeting outcomes, this research reports two studies in which managers of a public German organization use either videoconferencing or VR headsets for agile meetings. The findings suggest that in terms of business agility and other outcomes of interest, entering the enterprise metaverse with VR headsets can be worthwhile for suitable meetings. Based on these insights, the authors offer a six-step process which guides managers’ decision when and how to make the most out of metaverse meetings.

Keywords
Enterprise metaverse; Virtual reality; Business agility; Team meetings