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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the metaverse platform in a social context to better understand the future of this tool in tourism cities and how this can help to improve the well-being of residents in both digital and physical scenarios.

In this paper, the current and probable developments in the metaverse, and its use in tourism cities and companies have been investigated. Moreover, this study develops, collects and examines the main metaverse definitions by expert authors and organizations as a methodology to ensure the transparency and credibility of the metaverse analysis.

Findings suggest that the fusion of the metaverse and tourism cities must create residents’ services and experiences in the new MetaTourPolis to help interact and connect citizens with the city’s institutions and companies, as well as make tourism cities more attractive, innovative, environmentally friendly and healthier places to live. Metaverse will bring new changes for residents and tourists, in fact, this virtual platform is already changing and improving the residents’ quality of life and people with disabilities in tourism cities. For instance, the metaverse platform has been implemented in Seoul, Santa Monica and Dubai MetaTourPolis to interact with their residents, including people with disabilities, to resolve bureaucratic and administrative problems, avoiding this group and the rest of the residents travelling by bus or car to the city’s institutions. In addition, several metaverse applications based on softbot tutors or metaverse virtual social centres have been developed to improve blind and impaired people, and elderly people’ quality of life, respectively.

A new concept called “MetaTourPolis” has been included to stage the relationship between tourism cities and the metaverse platform, where the fusion of metaverse and the new tourism polis of the 21st century will be at the service of citizens, tourists and companies, to create more sustainable, efficient, quantitative and environmental tourism cities.

This paper aims to use Bayesian network (BN) methodology complemented by machine learning (ML) and what-if analysis to investigate the impact of digital technologies (DT) on logistics service quality (LSQ), employing the service quality (SERVQUAL) framework.

Using a sample of 244 Italian firms, this study estimates the probability distributions associated with both DT and SERVQUAL logistics, as well as their interrelationships. Additionally, BN technique enables the application of ML techniques to uncover hidden relationships, as well as a series of what-if analyses to extract more knowledge.

This study was funded by the European Union—NextGenerationEU, in the framework of the GRINS-Growing Resilient, INclusive and Sustainable project (GRINS PE00000018—CUP B43C22000760006). The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, nor can the European Union be held responsible for them.

This research delves into the influence of DTIE and DTA on SERVQUAL logistics, thereby filling a gap in the existing literature in which no study has explored the intricate relationships between these technologies and SERVQUAL dimensions. Methodologically, we pioneer the integration of BN with ML techniques and what-if analysis, thus exploring innovative techniques to be used in logistics and supply-chain studies.

In this article, we reflect on how smart technology is transforming service research discourses about service innovation and value co-creation. We adopt the concept of technology smartness’ to refer to the ability of technology to sense, adapt and learn from interactions. Accordingly, we seek to address how smart technologies (i.e. cognitive and distributed technology) can be powerful resources, capable of innovating in relation to actors’ agency, the structure of the service ecosystem and value co-creation practices.

This conceptual article integrates evidence from the existing theories with illustrative examples to advance research on service innovation and value co-creation.

Through the performative utterances of new tech words, such as onlife and materiality, this article identifies the emergence of innovative forms of agency and structure. Onlife agency entails automated, relational and performative forms, which provide for new decision-making capabilities and expanded opportunities to co-create value. Phygital materiality pertains to new structural features, comprised of new resources and contexts that have distinctive intelligence, autonomy and performativity. The dialectic between onlife agency and phygital materiality (structure) lies in the agencement of smart tech–enabled value co-creation practices based on the notion of becoming that involves not only resources but also actors and contexts.

This paper proposes a novel conceptual framework that advances a tech-based ecology for service ecosystems, in which value co-creation is enacted by the smartness of technology, which emerges through systemic and performative intra-actions between actors (onlife agency), resources and contexts (phygital materiality and structure).

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of immersive gaming on brand coolness and brand equity, with particular emphasis on fashion gaming collaborations. We used game theory as a theoretical framework to analyse immersive branding strategies and gain a deeper understanding of fashion consumers’ decision-making process in gaming environments. Gender, as a significant factor affecting gamers, has been studied as a moderator that impacts the overall proposed framework.

A quantitative method was used to assess the significance of relationships within the proposed model empirically. The partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was implemented to assess the relationships of the framework with a sample size of 160 active Malaysian gamers.

The findings indicate that brand equity is positively associated with perceived brand coolness. Furthermore, of the three core values of online games, perceived enjoyment is most strongly associated with perceived brand coolness, ahead of the values of self-expression and perceived emotional challenge. The results of the multigroup analysis further suggest that in the fashion industry, building brand equity through online games is strongly related to perceived brand coolness among female respondents, the role of perceived brand coolness being weaker among male respondents.

The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a deeper understanding of the impact of immersive gaming branding practices on the overall equity of the fashion brand. The results provide insight for fashion brand managers into the significant effect on consumer behaviour outcomes of fashion-gaming collaborations.

本研究擬探討身歷其境的遊戲體驗在品牌酷感和品牌資產上所扮演的角色; 研究特別強調裝扮遊戲的合作。研究人員以博弈論作為研究的理論框架,來分析沉浸品牌策略、和對時裝消費者在遊戲的環境中如何作出決策取得更深入的瞭解。研究人員探討了性別作為影響遊戲參與者的重要因素,這因素被視為為整個被提出的框架帶來調節的影響和作用。

研究人員採用定量方法進行研究,目的為於被提出的模型內之各種關聯的意義進行以經驗為依據的評估。研究人員採用了基於偏最小平方法的結構方程模型研究法,來對一個包含160名活躍的馬來西亞遊戲參與者的樣本進行框架的各個聯繫的評估研究。

研究結果顯示,品牌資產與品牌酷感成正相關; 而且,在網絡遊戲的三個核心價值中,感知享受與品牌酷感之間的聯繫最為強烈和密切,超過自我表現和感知情感挑戰兩者的價值; 多群組的分析結果更暗示了在時裝產業裡,透過網絡遊戲去建立品牌資產在女性回應者中是與品牌酷感有強烈密切的關係; 而在男性回應者中,品牌酷感所扮演的角色則較弱。

本研究使我們能更深入認識沉浸遊戲品牌的慣常做法如何影響時裝品牌的整體資產。研究結果為時裝品牌經理提供了啟示,使他們明瞭時裝遊戲的合作會給消費者行為產生重要的影響。

The metaverse is a virtual world where users can communicate with each other in a computer-generated environment. The use of metaverse technology has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses operate, interact with customers, and collaborate with employees. However, several obstacles must be addressed and overcome to ensure the successful implementation of metaverse technology. This study aims to examine the implementation of metaverse technology in the management of an organization's supply chain, with a focus on predicting potential barriers to provide suitable strategies.

Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was used to test the model. In addition, artificial neural network modeling (ANN) was also performed.

The CB-SEM results revealed that a firm's technological limitations are among the most significant barriers to implementing metaverse technology in the supply chain management (SCM). The ANN results further highlighted that the firm's technological limitations are the most crucial input factors, followed by a lack of governance and standardization, integration challenges, poor diffusion through the network, traditional organizational culture, lack of stakeholder commitment, lack of collaboration and low perception of value by customers.

Because metaverse technology has the potential to provide organizations with a competitive advantage, increase productivity, improve customer experience and stimulate creativity, it is crucial to discuss and develop solutions to implementation challenges in the business world. Companies can position themselves for success in this fascinating and quickly changing technological landscape by conquering these challenges.

This study provides insights to metaverse technology developers and supply chain practitioners for successful implementation in SCM, as well as theoretical contributions for supply chain managers aiming to implement such environments.

This paper aims to review the existing literature about consumers’ evaluation of products in virtual reality (VR), provide an accurate overview of this field, systematise the knowledge developed so far, identify the research gaps and propose a future research agenda.

A systematic literature review was performed on Scopus and Web of Science, resulting in a final pool of 31 articles.

Four main themes were identified, and a detailed research agenda is proposed based on the findings and following the theory, context, characteristics, methodology framework.

The provision of formal inclusion and exclusion criteria may have resulted in additional potentially relevant articles not indexed in the data set under consideration.

The paper highlights how products are perceived in VR, the consumers’ responses, the peculiarities of VR compared to other conditions and VR as a product test environment. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper seems to represent the first systemic review that focusses solely on how consumers assess products in VR. The results lead to a broad proposal of directions for future research that can expand knowledge on VR in marketing. Practical implications concern the use of VR to design product strategies and as a testing and prototyping environment.

Este artículo revisa la literatura existente sobre la evaluación de los consumidores de productos en Realidad Virtual, proporciona una visión precisa de este campo, sistematiza el conocimiento desarrollado hasta el momento, identifica las lagunas en la investigación y propone una agenda de investigación futura.

Se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura en Scopus y Web of Science, que dio como resultado un conjunto final de 31 artículos.

Se identificaron cuatro temas principales y se propone una agenda de investigación detallada basada en las conclusiones y siguiendo el marco Teoría, Contexto, Características, Metodología.

La provisión de criterios formales de inclusión y exclusión puede haber dado lugar a artículos adicionales potencialmente relevantes no indexados en el conjunto de datos considerado.

El artículo destaca cómo se perciben los productos en la Realidad Virtual, las respuestas de los consumidores, las peculiaridades de la Realidad Virtual en comparación con otras condiciones y la Realidad Virtual como entorno de prueba de productos. Esta parece representar la primera revisión sistémica que se centra exclusivamente en cómo los consumidores evalúan los productos en la Realidad Virtual. Los resultados conducen a una amplia propuesta de direcciones para futuras investigaciones que puedan ampliar los conocimientos sobre la Realidad Virtual en el marketing. Las implicaciones prácticas se refieren al uso de la Realidad Virtual para diseñar estrategias de producto y como entorno de prueba y creación de prototipos.

本文回顾了现有的关于消费者对虚拟现实产品评价的文献, 提供了这个领域的准确概述, 系统化了迄今为止的知识, 确定了研究差距, 并提出了一个未来的研究议程。

在Scopus和Web of Science上进行了系统的文献综述, 最终形成了31篇文章的资料库。

确定了四个主要的主题, 并根据研究结果, 按照理论、背景、特征、方法框架提出了详细的研究议程。

提供正式的纳入和排除标准可能会导致更多潜在的相关文章没有被收录到所考虑的数据集中。

文章强调了产品在虚拟现实中是如何被感知的, 消费者的反应, 与其他条件相比虚拟现实的特殊性, 以及虚拟现实作为产品测试环境。这似乎代表了第一个只关注消费者如何在虚拟现实中评估产品的系统性评论。研究结果为未来的研究方向提出了一个广泛的建议, 可以扩展营销中的虚拟现实知识。实际意义在于使用虚拟现实技术来设计产品策略, 并作为测试和原型设计环境。

Virtual goods consumption has risen dramatically in recent years. Recognizing the benefits of virtual goods in generating revenue for online game companies, marketers strive to understand the motives behind virtual goods purchases. We investigated the direct and indirect effects of functional, emotional, and social values through player satisfaction on purchase intention toward virtual goods among online players.

In total, we surveyed 332 online game players utilizing a structured questionnaire. We employed a multi-analytic approach combining partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) to examine the proposed relationships.

The findings show that all dimensions of value and player satisfaction significantly affect the intention to acquire virtual goods. However, social value does not exert a significant effect on player satisfaction. Moreover, we confirmed that player satisfaction mediates the relationships between functional value, emotional value, and purchase intention. Furthermore, NCA results indicated that all predictors in the model are necessary conditions of purchase intention for virtual goods.

These findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of purchase intentions among online game players from a symmetric (PLS-SEM) and asymmetric (NCA) perspective by proposing a multi-analytic approach.

This paper aims to address the novel phenomenon of tourism in the metaverse and analyse possible scenarios that could influence the resilience of a sustainable tourism paradigm in response to this new phenomenon.

Based on Kuhn’s paradigmatic framework, this paper offers an innovative perspective for the integration of new theories and practise-relevant phenomena. It emphasises the relevance and commensurability of different paradigmatic dimensions and outlines the scenarios for the integration of metaversal sustainability.

The phenomenon of tourism in the metaverse of the 21st century poses a new challenge to the existing paradigm of sustainable tourism, which traditionally focuses on the economic and ecological sustainability of planet Earth’s physical environment. The adoption of a metaversal sustainability scenario for the virtual and mixed reality is key to a responsible implementation of the paradigm of sustainable tourism development that considers all its environments, whether fantastic or realistic.

This study has its limitations, as metaversal tourism is still in the experimental phase. A more comprehensive understanding of the metaverse and its terminology is still evolving. There is potential to adapt the sustainable tourism paradigm to new technological environments if the metaverse is recognized as one in the future.

There are practical implications for tourism policy and practise. Tourism stakeholders need to adapt to the changing tourism landscape by recognising the metaverse as a viable environment committed to sustainable development. This will enable innovative strategies to govern, lead, promote and manage metaversal tourism and ensure that it is in line with the long-term goal of sustainability.

The metaverse holds considerable potential for transforming social perception and behaviour. Integrating the metaverse into the sustainability pillars of the sustainable development paradigm implies a forward-looking approach that takes into account the dynamics of people’s evolving desires and preferences. This inclusion advocates for sustainable development in all environments in which people live and explore.

This research stands out for its pioneering role in advancing a sustainable tourism paradigm that goes beyond the traditional planetary dimensions. By examining the impact of tourism in the metaverse, it proposes a path towards a more holistic and future-oriented paradigm of sustainable tourism in both the physical and virtual worlds. The coining of the term “metaversal sustainability” contributes to the lexicon of paradigms for both tourism and societal sustainable development.

本文阐述了旅游在元宇宙中的新现象, 并分析了可能影响可持续旅游范式应对这一新现象的弹性的可能情景。

传统的可持续旅游范式侧重于地球物理环境的经济和生态可持续性, 而21世纪的旅游现象对现有的可持续旅游范式提出了新的挑战。采用虚拟和混合现实的元宇宙可持续性情景是负责任地实施可持续旅游发展范式的关键, 该范式考虑了所有环境, 无论是梦幻还是现实环境。

由于跨时空旅游还处于实验阶段, 本研究存在一定的局限性。对元宇宙及其术语的更全面的理解仍在不断发展。如果未来的元宇宙环境被视为一种新的技术环境, 那么就有可能发现新的创新的、意想不到的实际解决方案, 使可持续旅游模式适应新的技术环境。

这对旅游政策和实践具有实际启发。旅游利益相关者需要通过认识到元宇宙是一个致力于可持续发展的可行环境, 以适应不断变化的旅游景观。这将使治理、领导、促进和管理元宇宙旅游的创新战略成为可能, 并确保元宇宙旅游符合可持续发展的长期目标。

元宇宙在改变社会认知和行为方面具有相当大的潜力。将元宇宙纳入可持续发展范式的可持续性支柱意味着一种考虑到人们不断变化的欲望和偏好的动态的前瞻性方法。这种包容提倡在人们生活和探索的所有环境中实现可持续发展。

独创性：这项研究在推动超越传统地球维度的可持续旅游范式方面发挥了开创性的作用。通过探究旅游在虚拟世界中的影响, 它提出了一条在现实世界和虚拟世界中实现更全面和面向未来的可持续旅游范式的途径。“元宇宙可持续性”一词的创造有助于增加旅游业和社会可持续发展的范式词典。

Basado en el marco paradigmático de Kuhn, este artículo ofrece una perspectiva innovadora sobre la integración de nuevas teorías y fenómenos relevantes para la práctica. Se destaca la relevancia y conmensurabilidad de las diferentes dimensiones paradigmáticas y esboza escenarios para la integración de la sostenibilidad del metaverso. Esta conceptualización se presenta visualmente en una ilustración que combina entornos de sostenibilidad virtuales y físicos. La visualización se complementa con una imagen que muestra a un turista en el metaverso, creada con el generador de imágenes DALL-E OpenAI.

Este trabajo de perspectiva aborda el novedoso fenómeno del turismo en el metaverso y analiza posibles escenarios que podrían influir en la resiliencia de un paradigma de turismo sostenible en respuesta a este nuevo fenómeno.

El fenómeno del turismo en el metaverso del siglo XXI plantea un nuevo reto al paradigma existente del turismo sostenible, que tradicionalmente se centra en la sostenibilidad económica y ecológica del entorno físico del planeta Tierra. La adopción de un escenario de sostenibilidad metaversal para la realidad virtual y mixta es clave para una aplicación responsable del paradigma de desarrollo turístico sostenible que tenga en cuenta todos sus entornos, ya sean ficticios o realistas.

Este estudio presenta limitaciones dado que el turismo metaversal se encuentra todavía en fase experimental. Una comprensión más completa del metaverso y su terminología está aún en evolución. Existe potencial para descubrir nuevas soluciones prácticas innovadoras e imprevistas para adaptar el paradigma del turismo sostenible a los nuevos entornos tecnológicos, si es que el entorno del metaverso se considera como tal en el futuro.

Existen implicaciones prácticas para la política y la práctica del turismo. Los agentes del turismo deben adaptarse al cambiante panorama turístico reconociendo el metaverso como un entorno viable y comprometido con el desarrollo sostenible. Esto permitirá aplicar estrategias innovadoras para gobernar, liderar, promover y gestionar el turismo del metaverso, así como garantizar que esté en consonancia con el objetivo a largo plazo de la sostenibilidad.

El metaverso encierra un potencial considerable para transformar la percepción y el comportamiento social. La integración del metaverso en los pilares de sostenibilidad del paradigma del desarrollo sostenible implica un enfoque prospectivo que tenga en cuenta la dinámica de los deseos y preferencias cambiantes de las personas. Esta inclusión aboga por el desarrollo sostenible en todos los entornos en los que viven y exploran las personas.

Esta investigación destaca por su papel pionero en el avance de un paradigma de turismo sostenible que va más allá de las dimensiones planetarias tradicionales. Al examinar el impacto del turismo en el metaverso, se propone un camino hacia un paradigma de turismo sostenible más holístico y orientado al futuro, tanto en el mundo físico como en el virtual. La acuñación del término “sostenibilidad metaversal” contribuye al léxico del paradigma tanto del turismo como del desarrollo sostenible de la sociedad.

Drawing on the contemporary literature and the theory of employer attractiveness, the authors aimed to examine key antecedents and consequences of employer attractiveness by proposing functional hypotheses and relationships between some endogenous variables.

Using the quota-cum-purposive sampling method, the unit of analysis selected for this study was millennials aged 18–35 years and working in the hospitality, travel, tourism and leisure (HTTL) sectors for the last two years. A total of 218 responses were collected in three months (June–August 2022). The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

For young employees, company recruitment behaviour, company image and source credibility are significantly and directly related to company attractiveness. The relationship between company image and employee word of mouth (WOM) was significantly positive. Company recruitment behaviour was found to significantly influence employee commitment. Company attractiveness was found to be directly related to young employees' WOM about the company and commitment to it.

The study establishes the significance of company attractiveness because a company's success largely depends on the company's ability to attract and retain a talented and skilled workforce. Moreover, the present study provides much-needed insights to policymakers and regulators that can help the policymakers define and implement favourable policies to promote and protect the country's job market and offer directions to youth employment.

Amazon Explore is a new online experience product from Amazon, which offers live stream sightseeing of destinations around the world. This paper aims to provide a first insight into how exactly Amazon Explore enters the virtual experience (VE) industry, and discuss the possible implications of its business model for the future of virtual and offline travel experiences.

Qualitative and quantitative methods of content analysis methods were employed in this study. The sample of this research consisted of 175 Amazon Explore products. Firstly, the authors analysed the content of each product, and then quantitative method were used to present the data. With this analysis, the authors presented how Amazon Explore is testing the foundations for new business models, and discuss the possible implications for the future of tourism. One year later, those same Amazon Explore products were reviewed again to check development progress. The following were the main questions regarding VE: How interactive are Amazon Explore products? How does Amazon Explore aim to ensure the monetisation of these products in an economically sustainable way in order to go beyond the “freemium” business model, often associated with VE as just another destination marketing tool?

This article presents the discussions of VE and virtual reality (VR). The authors determined the level of interactivity of the diverse VE offered themes with a model of four levels of interactivity. The results show that the analysed products achieve mostly only low levels of interaction. Regarding monetisation, Amazon Explore shows three possible future directions in the development of VE: as a marketing tool, as an extension of the offline experience and as potentially someday replacing real travel as part of the future monetisation scenario.

The article offers the first insights into Amazon's extension into the realm of VE in two time periods in 2020 and 2021, and, based on these preliminary results, discusses four possible scenarios for the future development of VE monetisation.