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The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review of the adoption of immersive marketing technology (IMT) in terms of strategic planning of its adoption, resource requirements and its implications and challenges.

This study categorizes and contextualizes qualitative approaches to evaluate the literature, with Scopus databases serving as the primary source of 90 selected articles in the areas of information technology, business and marketing strands. Theme analysis was carried out using thematic techniques and grounded approach principles to facilitate thematic coding and generate theme analysis.

The analysis was supported by the three concepts of business flexibility, agility and adaptability, which were drawn as a strategy for IMT adoption. The findings presented three main themes: proactive flexibility, responsive agility and reactive adaptability that enable business owner–managers to craft a strategy for IMT adoption.

The novel contribution of this study is the inclusion of key implications related to IMT as a starting point of the next level of innovative marketing for all academics, practitioners and business owner–managers.

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of various preview modes on tourist attitudes and intentions to visit a destination based on consumers’ level of involvement in travel decision-making.

The study was conducted as a between-subjects one-factor [preview mode: static images vs 360-degree tour vs virtual reality (VR) mode] in a laboratory experiment setup to examine how consumers with different levels of involvement in travel decision-making respond to destination marketing toward three different preview modes.

The findings indicated that VR preview mode highly influences tourist attitudes and visit intentions toward a destination compared to static images and 360-degree tours. This effect is more significant among participants with higher levels of customer involvement. Finally, the results from the study offer empirical evidence of the effectiveness of VR in shaping user behavior compared to traditional preview modes.

The limitations are using a non-probability sampling method, a small sample size and affordable mobile-compatible VR headsets.

This study offers empirical evidence on the effectiveness of VR in shaping tourist behavior compared to traditional preview modes. It helps destination marketers develop appropriate strategies for promoting tourist destinations.

The novelty of this paper lies in understanding the effectiveness of VR in shaping tourist behavior with different levels of customer involvement in travel decision-making.

Based on the key dimensions of the Metaverse environment (immersiveness, fidelity and sociability), this paper aims to develop the concept of sensory word-of-mouth (WOM) in Metaverse – the metaWOM. It attempts to upgrade the Reviewchain model and suggests the utilization of non-transferable tokens (NTTs) in curbing the explosion of fake WOM.

Following Macinnis’ (2011) approach to conceptual contributions, the authors browsed the currently available literature on WOM, Metaverse and NTT to portray the emergence of metaWOM.

By relying on Metaverse’s three building blocks, the authors map out the persuasiveness of metaWOM in the Metaverse-like environment. By incorporating NTT in the Reviewchain model, the authors upgraded it to provide a transparent, safe and trusted review ecosystem. An array of emerging research directions and research questions is presented.

This paper comprehensively analyzes the implications of a Metaverse-like environment on WOM and debates on technologies that can enhance the metaWOM persuasiveness. The proposed model in this paper can assist various stakeholders in understanding the complex nature of virtual information-seeking and giving.

This is the original attempt to delineate the sensory aspect of WOM in the Metaverse based on three crucial aspects of the Metaverse environment: immersiveness, fidelity and sociability. This paper extends the discussion on the issue of fake reviews and offers viable suggestions to curb the ever-growing number of fraudulent WOM.

This paper aims to explore the impact of metaverse technology on the hospitality and tourism industry. The introduction of metaverse technology has revolutionised the way the hospitality and tourism industry works. In the present study, the authors have investigated the role of social media marketing in the adoption of metaverse technology in hotel booking in India.

An extended technology acceptance model was proposed for an empirical investigation in the Indian context. Sample of 344 respondents was collected across India using a purposive sampling technique for the purpose of data analysis. The structural model analysis is used to analyse the data collected from the respondents using the SmartPLS software to check the structural and the measurement fit of the model.

The adoption intentions were largely influenced by the utility, attitude (ATT) and ease of use of the technology, and social media marketing plays a major role in influencing the perceived usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEU). The study finds positive ATTs of the customers for using metaverse technology for booking their hotels. PU and PEU significantly influence the ATT of the consumer indicating the traveller’s perception of the usefulness and ease of metaverse technology influence their ATTs towards adoption.

Influence of metaverse technology is at a nascent stage in India specifically for hotel booking and tourism. The authors have used discriminant validity by using the criteria for both the square root of the average variance extracted and heterotrait–monotrait ratio tests, and the results suggest that the constructs in the research are distinct from other.

Although virtual worlds, such as the Metaverse, can disrupt the hospitality sector, few empirical investigations have critically evaluated the scope and scale of this disruption from an industry perspective. This study aims to rectify this knowledge gap by exploring the opportunities and challenges of the Metaverse as seen by hospitality professionals.

This is a Delphi study conducted with UK-based senior hospitality industry practitioners experienced in designing and implementing digital innovations within their organisations.

The Metaverse is most likely to be adopted by hospitality organisations willing and able to take risks, such as large and/or chain-affiliated enterprises. The Metaverse will not replace traditional hospitality services but supplement and enhance them with new layers of service. The main applications are in the context of events and experiences. The Metaverse will also provide the “try before you buy” option, revealing the opportunities to design digital twins of physical businesses. Young and technology-savvy individuals are most likely to first adopt the Metaverse. The key challenges of the adoption are attributed to the technological unpreparedness of hospitality organisations; market immaturity; inflated customer expectations; a skills gap among hospitality employees; and regulatory issues. These challenges require the engagement of various stakeholders to create an operational and monitoring framework for hospitality organisations to embrace the Metaverse.

This study highlights how the Metaverse can disrupt the hospitality industry at the level of strategic planning and business operations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical investigations of the potential of the Metaverse from the viewpoint of hospitality industry practitioners.

The increasing popularity of immersive activities (e.g. immersive performing art (IPA) at tourism destinations calls for the need to understand customers’ immersive experiences and its impact on their attitudes and behavioral intentions. This study aims to conceptualize customers’ interactive experience in IPA and systematically examine how interaction in IPA experience shapes customers’ word-of-mouth (WOM) intention and thus generates business values for destination managers.

A two-step mixed-methods approach was used. The qualitative study was adopted to identify the salient dimensions of interaction in IPA experience and develop a context-specific measurement scale. Structural equation modeling approach was applied to test the theoretical model using partial least squares 3.3.0.

The results indicated that the three dimensions of interaction in IPA experience (i.e. parasocial interaction, narrative interaction and environmental interaction) are positively related to customers’ experiences of narrative transportation and self-expansion related to the IPA, which further influence their WOM intention.

This study considers IPA as an emerging form of immersive tourism activities and conceptualizes its interactive nature, and contributes to the understanding of how customers’ interactive experience helps them construct meanings through narrative transportation, and offers valuable guidance for IPA designers and destination management organizations.

The study aims to delve into the “phygital customer journey” (PCJ), which merges physical and digital interactions in customer experiences, using a practice-based lens to reveal the underlying dynamics of these blended encounters.

Feedback from 60 individuals established the groundwork for a qualitative analysis. They chronicled customer journeys through diaries and used UXPressia software for journey mapping. This strategy enabled a detailed exploration of the PCJ, focusing on customers’ lived experiences and perceptions.

The study presents an integrative framework for the PCJ, identifying four key elements: hybrid artefacts (the melding of digital and physical tools/interfaces), blended contexts (the seamless integration of digital and physical spaces), circular actions (the non-linear paths of customer engagement) and intertwined emotions (the complex emotional responses to phygital experiences). These elements underscore the intricate and interconnected nature of the PCJ.

This study advances the field by applying a practice-based approach to unravel the complexities of the PCJ, illuminating the nuanced interplay between digital and physical realms. This innovative lens foregrounds the significance of practices in consumer experiences, thereby contributing to a deeper academic and practical understanding of phygital integration.

The use of augmented reality (AR) and experiential learning go hand in hand. Although AR learning opportunities have been well discussed, there is limited empirical research on the use of AR within higher education settings. Drawing from the uses and gratifications theory (U&GT), this study aims to explore the use of AR for learning satisfaction and student engagement, while also examining differences in learning styles.

This study used experiments with higher education students in the UK to explore the use of AR as part of the learning experience. Data from 173 students who experienced AR as part of their learning experience were analysed using partial least square analysis.

The authors found that hedonic, utilitarian, sensual and modality gratifications influence AR learning satisfaction and student engagement. Furthermore, the authors found differences between active and passive learners with regards to utilitarian (information seeking, personalisation) and sensual gratifications (immersion, presence) and effects on learning satisfaction.

This study developed and validated a U&GT framework incorporating different learning styles rooted in Kolb’s learning cycle. Findings provide important implications for the use of commercial AR applications as part of the learning experience within higher education settings.

This study aims to explore the application scenarios of metaverse offices in organizations, including immersive work experiences, weak social networks and virtual meetings. Based on the exploration of this application scenario, this study discusses four levels of organizational change that will be brought about by the future metaverse office, such as the inter-enterprise ecological collaboration model, distributed autonomous organization, flexible leadership and individual belongingness. The metaverse office has some special advantages over traditional office models, but the metaverse office still raises some issues, such as privacy, security, addiction, equity and usability. These issues brake the widespread adoption of metaverse technologies. The study recommends that researchers take these issues into account in future metaverse research and development.

This study surveys the relevant literature by means of a literature review in order to analyze how metaverse technology can be applied to teleworking. Two databases including Web of Science (https://www.webofscience.com/) and Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com) were selected for this study. Keywords such as “teleworking and metaverse” were used, and 18 publications were found to be relevant to the study. After excluding duplicates, less relevant and older literature, only 14 articles could be used as references for this study. Based on the exploration of this application scenario, this study discusses four levels of organizational change and issues that will be brought about by the metaverse office of the future.

It presents the application scenarios of the metaverse office in organizations, including immersive work experience, weak social networking and virtual meetings.

The pandemic triggers a desire for contactless working. The three main applications of the metaverse office also have a practical value which has been proven in some high-tech companies. It is foreseeable that an efficient, electronic and personalized office model will be enthusiastically adopted by society. Metaverse office will gradually step into people's view in the future.

The concept of the metaverse office has rarely been touched upon by theoretical research, although the technology is gradually becoming known. Even its application to teleworking has only recently been reached by some organizations.

Many educators are increasingly acquainting themselves and becoming adept with interactive technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality. Some of them are also looking forward to using Metaverse applications, as they want to benefit from its immersive three-dimensional capabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to critically review the extant literature to investigate how, why, where and when the Metaverse can be used for educational purposes. This study also discusses opportunities, challenges and risks related to this disruptive technology.

A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses rigorous protocol is used to search, extract, scrutinize and synthesize content from high-impact articles focused on the use of the Metaverse technology in the realms of education. Afterwards, this study theorizes on the costs and benefits of using this interactive technology with students.

A number of researchers are already experimenting with virtual technologies that are very similar to the Metaverse, in different contexts. This research indicates that most students are lured by immersive multi-sensory three-dimensional environments as well as by virtual reality applications that could simulate real-life situations and provide engaging experiences with virtual representations of people, places and objects. On the other hand, this study reveals that educators ought to consider the potential pitfalls of the Metaverse, including privacy breaches and security risks, as well as possible addictions and the development of mental health issues, among others.

Students and educators can use the Metaverse to catapult themselves in a simulated digital universe that could reconfigure their sensory inputs, definitions of space, time and points of access to information. This research calls for the development of regulatory instruments, including sound principles, guidelines and procedures that are intended to safeguard and protect Metaverse users.

This contribution implies that there is scope for educators to continue developing the Metaverse’s virtual spaces to improve their students’ motivations, aptitudes and learning outcomes. This study clarifies that the use of the Metaverse in education can create infinite possibilities to enhance their knowledge, competences and abilities through its immersive applications. Yet this paper also raises awareness about possible challenges in the short term as well on other risks associated to the prolonged use of this captivating technology.