IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v83y2025ics0160791x25002271.html

Unpacking dimensions of brand humanization in the Metaverse Era

Author

Listed:
  • Marrone, Teresa
  • Cantone, Giuseppe Fabio
  • Caputo, Francesco
  • Cantone, Luigi
  • Aria, Massimo

Abstract

This study explores the concept of brand humanization in the metaverse, offering a theoretically grounded and empirically validated model based on five latent dimensions: Authenticity and Realism, Experiential Engagement, Universal Culture, Lead Actor, and Identity and Social Interaction. Through a structured literature review and an exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis conducted with a sample of Italian managers, the research identifies key human-like characteristics that brands must adopt to foster emotional resonance and trust in immersive virtual environments. The findings underscore the importance of identity, interaction, and co-creation in shaping consumer-brand relationships within the metaverse. The study contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of marketing, digital sociology, and human-computer interaction, while offering practical insights for designing emotionally engaging and technologically adaptive brand strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Marrone, Teresa & Cantone, Giuseppe Fabio & Caputo, Francesco & Cantone, Luigi & Aria, Massimo, 2025. "Unpacking dimensions of brand humanization in the Metaverse Era," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:83:y:2025:i:c:s0160791x25002271
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103037
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X25002271
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103037?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Park, Sunyoung & Kim, Dongjae & Jeong, Euiseog & Jeong, Dahye & Park, Eunil, 2025. "Reconceptualizing the metaverse: A taxonomy for user experience analysis and insights from real-world platforms," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Piotr Tarka, 2018. "An overview of structural equation modeling: its beginnings, historical development, usefulness and controversies in the social sciences," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 313-354, January.
    3. J.J. Brakus & B.H. Schmitt & L. Zarantonello, 2009. "Brand Experience: What Is It? How Do We Measure It? And Does It Affect Loyalty?," Post-Print hal-00799102, HAL.
    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).
    5. Russell W. Belk, 2013. "Extended Self in a Digital World," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(3), pages 477-500.
    6. 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.
    7. Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Hughes, Laurie & Ismagilova, Elvira & Aarts, Gert & Coombs, Crispin & Crick, Tom & Duan, Yanqing & Dwivedi, Rohita & Edwards, John & Eirug, Aled & Galanos, Vassilis & Ilavarasan, , 2021. "Artificial Intelligence (AI): Multidisciplinary perspectives on emerging challenges, opportunities, and agenda for research, practice and policy," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    8. Y. Dwivedi & E. Ismagilova & L. Hughes & J. Carlson & R. Filieri & J. Jacobson & V. Jain & H. Karjaluoto & H. Kefi & A. S. Krishen & V. Kumar & M. Rahman & R. Raman & P. Rauschnabel & J. Rowley & J. S, 2021. "Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions," Post-Print hal-04713688, HAL.
    9. Aziz, Fazeelat & Li, Cai & Khan, Asad Ullah, 2025. "Immersive learning in virtual worlds: A two-step analysis SEM and NCA for assessing the impact of Metaverse education on knowledge retention and student collaboration," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    10. Fournier, Susan, 1998. "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(4), pages 343-373, March.
    11. Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Ismagilova, Elvira & Hughes, D. Laurie & Carlson, Jamie & Filieri, Raffaele & Jacobson, Jenna & Jain, Varsha & Karjaluoto, Heikki & Kefi, Hajer & Krishen, Anjala S. & Kumar, Vikra, 2021. "Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    12. Chohan, Raeesah & Paschen, Jeannette, 2023. "NFT marketing: How marketers can use nonfungible tokens in their campaigns," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 43-50.
    13. Zhen Liu & Lingfeng Ren & Chang Xiao & Ke Zhang & Peter Demian, 2022. "Virtual Reality Aided Therapy towards Health 4.0: A Two-Decade Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-26, January.
    14. Kaan Varnali, 2019. "Understanding customer journey from the lenses of complexity theory," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(11-12), pages 820-835, September.
    15. Francesco Caputo & Pierpaolo Magliocca & Rossella Canestrino & Erika Rescigno, 2023. "Rethinking the Role of Technology for Citizens’ Engagement and Sustainable Development in Smart Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, July.
    16. L. Plé & R. Chumpitaz, 2010. "Not always co-creation: introducing interactional co-destruction of value in service-dominant logic," Post-Print halshs-00588239, HAL.
    17. 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.
    18. Koufteros, Xenophon & Babbar, Sunil & Kaighobadi, Mehdi, 2009. "A paradigm for examining second-order factor models employing structural equation modeling," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 633-652, August.
    19. Rauschnabel, Philipp A. & Felix, Reto & Hinsch, Chris, 2019. "Augmented reality marketing: How mobile AR-apps can improve brands through inspiration," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 43-53.
    20. Flavián, Carlos & Ibáñez-Sánchez, Sergio & Orús, Carlos, 2019. "The impact of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies on the customer experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 547-560.
    21. Cowan, Kirsten & Ketron, Seth, 2019. "A dual model of product involvement for effective virtual reality: The roles of imagination, co-creation, telepresence, and interactivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 483-492.
    22. Rehman, Anisur & Behera, Rajat Kumar & Islam, Md Saiful & Elahi, Yasir Arafat & Abbasi, Faraz Ahmad & Imtiaz, Asma, 2024. "Drivers of metaverse adoption for enhancing marketing capabilities of retail SMEs," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    23. Kim, Jooyoung & Ahn, Sun Joo (Grace) & Kwon, Eun Sook & Reid, Leonard N., 2017. "TV advertising engagement as a state of immersion and presence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 67-76.
    24. Sung, Eunyoung (Christine) & Bae, Sujin & Han, Dai-In Danny & Kwon, Ohbyung, 2021. "Consumer engagement via interactive artificial intelligence and mixed reality," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    25. Arpaci, Ibrahim & Karatas, Kasim & Kusci, Ismail & Al-Emran, Mostafa, 2022. "Understanding the social sustainability of the Metaverse by integrating UTAUT2 and big five personality traits: A hybrid SEM-ANN approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    26. Kozinets, Robert V., 2019. "YouTube utopianism: Social media profanation and the clicktivism of capitalist critique," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 65-81.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bakeshloo, Khashayar Afshar & Agnihotri, Raj & Mohammadzadeh, Mohammad, 2025. "Metaverse and B2B marketing: untapped research opportunities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. Hajdas, Monika & Radomska, Joanna & Szpulak, Aleksandra & Kawa, Arkadiusz, 2025. "The trade-offs of metaverse value creation. Real-Time-Delphi-based scenario analysis by 2040," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Miao, Li & Yang, Fiona X. & Zhang, Qiao & Wang, Kanye Ye, 2025. "Synthetic tourist experience," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    4. Janarthanan Balakrishnan & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & Laurie Hughes & Frederic Boy, 2024. "Enablers and Inhibitors of AI-Powered Voice Assistants: A Dual-Factor Approach by Integrating the Status Quo Bias and Technology Acceptance Model," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 921-942, June.
    5. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Clark, Moira K. & Andreassen, Tor W. & Sigurdsson, Valdimar & Smith, Dale, 2020. "Virtual reality through the customer journey: Framework and propositions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    6. 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.
    7. He, Bei & Alshaghdali, Nourah O. & Ren, Yuheng & Romano, Marco & Cuomo, Maria Teresa, 2025. "Augmenting user experience in the AI-transitioned metaverse: The role of knowledge management in socio-economic inclusion," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Bazi, Saleh & Hajawi, Doa'a, 2025. "Customer inspiration in the metaverse: Antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    9. Jafar, Rana Muhammad Sohail & Ahmad, Wasim & Sun, Yanming, 2023. "Unfolding the impacts of metaverse aspects on telepresence, product knowledge, and purchase intentions in the metaverse stores," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Giang Barrera, Kevin & Shah, Denish, 2023. "Marketing in the Metaverse: Conceptual understanding, framework, and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).
    11. Silvia Biraghi & Rossella Chiara Gambetti & Angela Antonia Beccanulli, 2020. "Achieving cultural relevance in technomediated platforms: instant cultural branding and controversial clicktivism," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2020(2), pages 163-187, September.
    12. Totok Haryanto & Budhi Haryanto, 2025. "How Do YouTube Ads Shape Consumer Decisions? (Empirical Study on Gen-Z)," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 87-106.
    13. Lara Stocchi & Naser Pourazad & Nina Michaelidou & Arry Tanusondjaja & Paul Harrigan, 2022. "Marketing research on Mobile apps: past, present and future," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 195-225, March.
    14. Alexandra RADU & Mihaela HERCIU, 2025. "Data Analytics, Decision-Making Process And Business Performance: A Bibliometric Analysis," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 20(2), pages 292-313, August.
    15. Rahman, Muhammad Sabbir & Bag, Surajit & Hossain, Md Afnan & Abdel Fattah, Fadi Abdel Muniem & Gani, Mohammad Osman & Rana, Nripendra P., 2023. "The new wave of AI-powered luxury brands online shopping experience: The role of digital multisensory cues and customers’ engagement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Damien Chaney & Renaud Lunardo & Rémi Mencarelli, 2018. "Consumption experience: past, present and future," Post-Print hal-01951670, HAL.
    17. Chapman, Alexis & Dilmperi, Athina, 2022. "Luxury brand value co-creation with online brand communities in the service encounter," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 902-921.
    18. Park, Keeyeon Ki-cheon & Kim, Jong Min & Mariani, Marcello, 2025. "The dual role of video-based eWOM in an online digital environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    19. Li, Wenjie & Corral de Zubielqui, Graciela & Rao Hill, Sally, 2025. "Unlocking the potential of NFTs in branding: An exploration of NFT-based brand experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    20. Keegan, Brendan James & McCarthy, Ian P. & Kietzmann, Jan & Canhoto, Ana Isabel, 2024. "On your marks, headset, go! Understanding the building blocks of metaverse realms," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 107-119.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:83:y:2025:i:c:s0160791x25002271. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.