V-business in the 3D Internet : The Future Outlook for Business Activities in Virtual Worlds

Abstract: Information technology is rapidly changing and companies are amending to the inevitable changes. Recently, the traditional Internet has started to evolve into a 3D Internet, thereby challenging companies into becoming more active in virtual worlds in order to keep up with the latest technology. In this thesis, the virtual world environment is highlighted from a v-business perspective to emphasize on potential opportunities and problems businesses face when entering virtual worlds. Moreover, the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds is discussed, based on interviews with companies that are active in virtual worlds jointly with observed phenomenon identified in the literature study. Since Second Life is one of the largest and most recognized virtual worlds up to present, having a resemblance with the real world, this virtual world has been selected to pose as an example in this thesis. Taking this into consideration, the aim of this research is to answer the following research questions: ' What kind of value has v-business added to companies operating in virtual worlds and what kind of impact has it had? ' What kind of complexities and restrictions have companies experienced with v-business in virtual worlds, and why have these occurred? ' What does the future look like for v-business in virtual worlds considering opportunities and problems related to such a business approach? Consequently, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds, by investigating what opportunities and problems companies face in such a virtual setting, along with their predictions about its future development. Based on these findings an outline of the prospects of v-business will be developed. Given that the area of this particular study is not yet broad in terms of research, the research has been conducted through an inductive approach using a qualitative method. Seven companies have been interviewed for this research and a majority of the company respondents have been interviewed through real-time communication using Skype. The outcome of this research implies that there is great potential for v-business in virtual worlds, hence adding additional value to companies’ positioning on a yet unique environment. A number of possibilities have been identified where communication was identified as a major opportunity. In contrast, there are also current problems where technical restraints and comprehension problems were especially emphasized. However, in spite of some problems, companies report that they are in general very positive about the future outlook for v-business in virtual worlds, which is one of the reasons as to why we conclude that there is definitely a future awaiting for doing business in virtual worlds.