IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05345849.html

The virtue-value spectrum: Managing ethical and pragmatic tensions in virtual reality retail for consumer wellbeing

Author

Listed:
  • Gajendra Liyanaarachchi

    (University of Portsmouth)

  • Fidan Kurtaliqi

    (Audencia Business School)

  • Giampaolo Viglia

    (University of Portsmouth)

  • Moreno Frau

    (Corvinus University of Budapest)

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) retail is transforming consumer experiences, offering personalization while raising ethical and privacy concerns. This study examines how consumers navigate these tensions and their effects on wellbeing. Using Virtue Ethics and integrating psychological dissonance and privacy cynicism theories, we uncover two perspectives: (i) an ethical view centered on moral responsibility and data integrity, and (ii) a pragmatic view emphasizing convenience and experiential value. Study 1 involves 32 interviews with Generation Z VR users in the UK, while Study 2 analyzes Trustpilot reviews and over 35,000 Instagram comments from four global retailers. We propose two models: the virtue-value spectrum, illustrating how consumers balance moral ideals with practical benefits, and the dissonance-cynicism paradox, highlighting the psychological conflict when ethical values clash with data practices in VR. These models expand Virtue Ethics in digital retail, providing insights to foster ethical engagement, rebuild trust, and enhance wellbeing in immersive retail environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Gajendra Liyanaarachchi & Fidan Kurtaliqi & Giampaolo Viglia & Moreno Frau, 2026. "The virtue-value spectrum: Managing ethical and pragmatic tensions in virtual reality retail for consumer wellbeing," Post-Print hal-05345849, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05345849
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115810
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05345849v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-05345849v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115810?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin, Kirsten, 2020. "Breaking the Privacy Paradox: The Value of Privacy and Associated Duty of Firms," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(1), pages 65-96, January.
    2. Zeng, Fue & Ye, Qing & Li, Jing & Yang, Zhilin, 2021. "Does self-disclosure matter? A dynamic two-stage perspective for the personalization-privacy paradox," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 667-675.
    3. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    4. Hennink, Monique & Kaiser, Bonnie N., 2022. "Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    5. Kelly D. Martin & Patrick E. Murphy, 2017. "The role of data privacy in marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 135-155, March.
    6. Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Mifsud, Matthieu & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2024. "Virtual influencers and data privacy: Introducing the multi-privacy paradox," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    7. 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.
    8. Xi, Nannan & Hamari, Juho, 2021. "Shopping in virtual reality: A literature review and future agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 37-58.
    9. Yulan Fan & Aliana Man Wai Leong & IpKin Anthony Wong & Jingwen (Daisy) Huang, 2024. "The perils of smart technology in museums," Information Technology & Tourism, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 587-609, December.
    10. Stephen C. Slota & Kenneth R. Fleischmann & Sherri Greenberg & Nitin Verma & Brenna Cummings & Lan Li & Chris Shenefiel, 2023. "Locating the work of artificial intelligence ethics," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 74(3), pages 311-322, March.
    11. Giampaolo Viglia & Rebecca Pera & Shynar Dyussembayeva & Matthieu Mifsud & Linda Hollebeek, 2023. "Engagement and value cocreation within a multi-stakeholder service ecosystem," Post-Print hal-03915459, HAL.
    12. Viglia, Giampaolo & Pera, Rebecca & Dyussembayeva, Shynar & Mifsud, Matthieu & Hollebeek, Linda D., 2023. "Engagement and value cocreation within a multi-stakeholder service ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    13. A. Koohang & J.H. Nord & K.-B. Ooi & G.W.-H. Tan & M. Al-Emran & E.C.-X. Aw & A.M. Baabdullah & D. Buhalis & T.-H. Cham & C. Dennis & Vincent Dutot & Yogesh K. Dwivedi & L. Hughes & E. Mogaji & N. Pan, 2023. "Shaping the Metaverse into Reality: A Holistic Multidisciplinary Understanding of Opportunities, Challenges, and Avenues for Future Investigation," Post-Print hal-04292613, HAL.
    14. Magnani, Giovanna & Gioia, Denny, 2023. "Using the Gioia Methodology in international business and entrepreneurship research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    15. Xiaowei Fan & Jiyao Xun & Les Dolega & Lin Xiong, 2025. "The Role of Augmented and Virtual Reality in Shaping Retail Marketing: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-37, January.
    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. Gamage, Thilini Chathurika & Tajeddini, Kayhan & Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Gnanapala, Athula, 2025. "The personal paradox matrix: understanding and mitigating customer tensions in phygital marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    2. Fehrenbach, David & Herrando, Carolina, 2021. "The effect of customer-perceived value when paying for a product with personal data: A real-life experimental study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 222-232.
    3. Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Mifsud, Matthieu & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2024. "Virtual influencers and data privacy: Introducing the multi-privacy paradox," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. Vecchietti, Giuseppe & Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Viglia, Giampaolo, 2025. "Managing deepfakes with artificial intelligence: Introducing the business privacy calculus," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    5. Liyanaarachchi, Gajendra & Gamage, Thilini Chathurika & Viglia, Giampaolo & Charton-Vachet, Florence, 2025. "Overcoming reactance to climate change: The business-ecology nexus," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    6. Butori, Raphaëlle & Lancelot Miltgen, Caroline, 2023. "A construal level theory approach to privacy protection: The conjoint impact of benefits and risks of information disclosure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Soni, Sigma & Arora, Parvinder & Kasilingam, Dharun & Jain, Varsha, 2025. "Digital daydreams: Exploring consumer motivations for engaging with the metaverse," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Pillai, Rajasshrie & Sivathanu, Brijesh & Rana, Nripendra P., 2025. "Unveiling virtual interactive marketplaces: Shopping motivations in the Metaverse through the lens of uses and gratifications theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    9. Maiss Ahmad & Stephen Wilkins, 2025. "Purposive sampling in qualitative research: a framework for the entire journey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 1461-1479, April.
    10. Nura Abdel-Rahman & Orly Manor & Liora Valinsky & Ofri Mosenzon & Ronit Calderon-Margalit & Sveta Roberman, 2022. "What is important for people with type 2 diabetes? A focus group study to identify relevant aspects for Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in diabetes care," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Gong, Taeshik & Park, JungKun, 2023. "Effects of augmented reality technology characteristics on customer citizenship behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    12. Petersen, Daniel Agerbech & Goodall, Keith, 2025. "Leadership development in the cross-cultural context of China: Who really cares?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(3).
    13. Izudi, Jonathan & Cattamanchi, Adithya & Castelnuovo, Barbara & King, Rachel, 2024. "Barriers and facilitators to viral load suppression among people living with HIV following intensive adherence counseling in Kampala, Uganda: A qualitative study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    14. Nannan Xi & Juan Chen & Filipe Gama & Marc Riar & Juho Hamari, 2023. "The challenges of entering the metaverse: An experiment on the effect of extended reality on workload," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 659-680, April.
    15. D. Mladenovic & E. Ismagilova & R. Filieri & Y. Dwivedi, 2024. "MetaWOM – toward a sensory word-of-mouth (WOM) in the metaverse," Post-Print hal-04582457, HAL.
    16. Flaig, Alexander & Guyader, Hugo & Ottosson, Mikael, 2025. "Design-Oriented stakeholder engagement in service ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    17. Haoyu Dong & Jun Zhang & Tang Tang, 2025. "Promoting Youth Mental Health in Spiritual Tourism Through Service Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-23, January.
    18. Kelvin Mwita, 2022. "Factors influencing data saturation in qualitative studies," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(4), pages 414-420, June.
    19. Hahn, Christoffer & Lindkvist, Emma & Magnusson, Dick & Johansson, Maria, 2025. "The role of agriculture in a sustainable energy system – The farmers’ perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    20. Lim, Weng Marc & Kumar, Satish & Donthu, Naveen, 2024. "How to combine and clean bibliometric data and use bibliometric tools synergistically: Guidelines using metaverse research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    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:hal:journl:hal-05345849. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.