AI and metaverse as transformative tools for knowledge management: behavioral reasoning and its implications for organizational performance

Metaverse empowers companies and consumers with the transformative digital experience that has disrupted social interactions, commerce, and digital interactions. Although the user experience was improved, and the number of business opportunities increased, the metaverse is still not widely accepted, and the causes of this phenomenon should be further investigated. The aim of the present study is to explain why the metaverse has not enjoyed high acceptance even with its business benefits. It examines the relationship between the perceived value of the metaverse and other factors that facilitate or inhibit adoption, knowledge management, sustainable competitive advantage, and organizational performance and their relationship with metaverse adoption. The conceptual model was created and tested based on behavioral reasoning theory with the responses of 289 employees that are working in different industries. The data was gathered and examined with a structural equation model through IBM AMOS 26. The research established that the perceived value of metaverse, adoption intentions, and knowledge management show a significant relationship with sustainable competitive advantage and organizational performance. On the other hand, the perceived value of metaverse, the reasons not to adopt it, and knowledge management did not have a significant relationship with each other. These connections explain that certain variables in the metaverse ecosystem affect the overall outcomes in an organization; knowledge management was not found to be significantly related to the others. These connections explain the role played by certain aspects in the metaverse ecosystem in organizational performance, which highlights the role of positive perceptions and active knowledge management to produce business gains. The paper has demonstrated the strategic value of the control of perceptions associated with the metaverse and the value of the knowledge processes in enhancing overall performance and long-term competitiveness.