Avatars and metaverse in the professional sphere: experiment to understand user behavior

Galina Kondrateva (), Patricia Baudier () and Chantal Ammi ()
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Galina Kondrateva: EDC - EDC Paris Business School
Patricia Baudier: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Chantal Ammi: LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], IMT-BS - MMS - Département Management, Marketing et Stratégie - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]

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Abstract: Purpose - Virtual worlds have undergone considerable technological advances in recent years, from the personalization of avatars to the enrichment of haptic technologies, enabling a ten-fold increase in the sensory characteristics of the environment in which individuals are immersed. The metaverse is used in various fields, ranging from aerospace and healthcare to employee and student training. This research aimed to analyze the perception of the advantages and limitations of avatars in the professional use of the metaverse. Design/methodology/approach - To address the research objective, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study with thirteen employees. First, non-participant observations were used to identify respondents' behaviors, reactions and emotions as they created their avatars and took their first steps into the metaverse. Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide to analyze emerging emotions and explain the metaverse's acceptability to employees. Findings - The professional usage context defines the limitations of avatar creation; users showed a conservative approach in designing their avatars, expressed in three types: those who approve, those who are reluctant and those who oppose. Originality/value - This study is the first to empirically examine how professionals with no prior metaverse experience create avatars for workplace use, conceptualizing these avatars as professional digital twins shaped by social norms. It introduces a novel typology of avatar behaviors – approver, reluctant and opposer. Methodologically, the study advances experiential research by combining non-participant observation and interviews, while also extending technology acceptance models by identifying context-specific motivations and barriers to professional metaverse adoption.

Keywords: Acceptability; Haptics; Virtual office; Metaverse; Virtual workspace; Avatar; Personalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Published in Journal of Enterprise Information Management, In press, pp.1-29. ⟨10.1108/JEIM-10-2024-0548⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05227542

DOI: 10.1108/JEIM-10-2024-0548

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