Conducting Phenomenon-Driven Research Using Virtual Reality and the Metaverse
Timothy David Hubbard, Herman Aguinis · Academy of Management Discoveries · 2023
We argue and provide evidence that virtual reality (VR) is particularly suited to conduct phenomenon-driven empirical research that theories of management and organizations neither adequately predict nor explain. We focus on four areas. First, we demonstrate the capabilities and accessibility of VR technology. Second, we show how VR can be used as a platform to expand our ability to study poorly understood phenomena in new ways. This includes improving our ability to study phenomena that are either difficult or impossible to examine using more traditional methodological approaches. Third, we discuss opportunities for using VR to conduct research in several illustrative management subfields (i.e., organizational behavior, strategy, entrepreneurship). Further, we discuss how the metaverse opens up almost limitless opportunities for future research. Finally, we provide recommendations and also discuss pitfalls to avoid when using VR as a research platform.