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Embracing falsity through the metaverse: The case of synthetic customer experiences

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  • Golf-Papez, Maja
  • Heller, Jonas
  • Hilken, Tim
  • Chylinski, Mathew
  • de Ruyter, Ko
  • Keeling, Debbie I.
  • Mahr, Dominik

Abstract

The metaverse has been heralded as a next frontier for fueling strategic business opportunities. At the same time, recent months have witnessed explosive volatility in the market potential of proposed metaverse offerings. As a result, businesses are struggling to set a meaningful strategic course through an uncharted and rapidly changing landscape. We argue that the success of developing and scaling the metaverse as a vibrant new business ecosystem is largely dependent on the understanding that it is a unified and immersive reality where the physical and synthetic customer experiences seamlessly converge. For this to work, businesses and their customers need to be able to suspend their disbelief that synthetic elements are inherently false. We therefore consider the metaverse as a differentiated experience by exploring the promise and perils of falsity. We discuss how businesses can strategically embrace falsity by harnessing its intended—as well as mitigating its unintended—consequences, as they maneuver through major technological challenges in capturing customer value. We offer a diverse set of examples that illustrate how these strategies translate into managerial actions to competitively succeed in this new reality.

Suggested Citation

  • Golf-Papez, Maja & Heller, Jonas & Hilken, Tim & Chylinski, Mathew & de Ruyter, Ko & Keeling, Debbie I. & Mahr, Dominik, 2022. "Embracing falsity through the metaverse: The case of synthetic customer experiences," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(6), pages 739-749.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:65:y:2022:i:6:p:739-749
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2022.07.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Javornik, Ana & Marder, Ben & Pizzetti, Marta & Warlop, Luk, 2021. "Augmented self - The effects of virtual face augmentation on consumers' self-concept," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 170-187.
    2. Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael, 2009. "The fairyland of Second Life: Virtual social worlds and how to use them," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 52(6), pages 563-572, November.
    3. Heller, Jonas & Chylinski, Mathew & de Ruyter, Ko & Mahr, Dominik & Keeling, Debbie I., 2019. "Touching the Untouchable: Exploring Multi-Sensory Augmented Reality in the Context of Online Retailing," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 219-234.
    4. Carrozzi, Amelia & Chylinski, Mathew & Heller, Jonas & Hilken, Tim & Keeling, Debbie I. & de Ruyter, Ko, 2019. "What's Mine Is a Hologram? How Shared Augmented Reality Augments Psychological Ownership," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 71-88.
    5. Tim Hilken & Ko de Ruyter & Mathew Chylinski & Dominik Mahr & Debbie I. Keeling, 2017. "Augmenting the eye of the beholder: exploring the strategic potential of augmented reality to enhance online service experiences," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 884-905, November.
    6. Heller, Jonas & Chylinski, Mathew & de Ruyter, Ko & Mahr, Dominik & Keeling, Debbie I., 2019. "Let Me Imagine That for You: Transforming the Retail Frontline Through Augmenting Customer Mental Imagery Ability," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 94-114.
    7. Mike Molesworth & Rebecca Watkins & Janice Denegri-Knott, 2016. "Possession Work on Hosted Digital Consumption Objects as Consumer Ensnarement," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(2), pages 246-261.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Nir Kshetri & Laurie Hughes & Nripendra P. Rana & Abdullah M. Baabdullah & Arpan Kumar Kar & Alex Koohang & Samuel Ribeiro-Navarrete & Nina Belei & Janarthanan Balakrishnan & Sripa, 2023. "Exploring the Darkverse: A Multi-Perspective Analysis of the Negative Societal Impacts of the Metaverse," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 2071-2114, October.
    2. Brij B. Gupta & Akshat Gaurav & Aiiad A. Albeshri & Dheyaaldin Alsalman, 2023. "New paradigms of sustainable entrepreneurship in metaverse: a micro-level perspective," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1449-1465, September.
    3. Mr. Vivek Dubey, 2022. "Metaverse and Banking Industry – 2023 The Year of Metaverse Adoption," Technium, Technium Science, vol. 4(1), pages 62-73.
    4. Giang Barrera, Kevin & Shah, Denish, 2023. "Marketing in the Metaverse: Conceptual understanding, framework, and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).

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