Exploring the Potential of the Metaverse in Operations Management: Towards Sustainable Practices

Abstract: Problem statement - While reading earlier conducted research on how the Metaverse can be adopted into organizations' operations, a knowledge gap was identified. It was observed that despite the hype around the Metaverse, there is no empirical research on how organizations can adopt the Metaverse into their operations and how this can influence sustainable development.  Purpose - This study aims to explore what values the Metaverse can bring to organizations in the context of sustainable operations management. The goal is to develop a framework that can guide organizations to develop their use of the Metaverse within operations management in a sustainable way. Method - In order to answer the purpose of this study, qualitative research with inductive reasoning was conducted. Empirical data was collected by interviewing eight people in five different companies. The data was later coded through the grounded theory coding.  Result - From the empirical data eight categories were identified. The interviewees expressed their views of the Metaverse today and in the future. It was stated that the Metaverse can be applied to organizational processes, the development of products and/or services,  marketing and sales, human encounters, and competence development. Limitations - This study includes eight participants from five different companies in the technology sector which decreases the generalizability. Two of the included participants, namely, the experts, can be viewed as biased as they have an interest in spreading a positive picture of the Metaverse. Furthermore, one of the experts provided this research with five participants who also can be seen as biased. Implications - This study has both theoretical and practical implications. By exploring the potential of the Metaverse within operations management and how it consequently impacts sustainable development, the researchers of this study filled the knowledge gap in the traditional literature of operations management and expanded it, adding new aspects, which is the theoretical implication. As regards practical implications, this study highlights findings that can guide companies on the way to reduce their negative environmental impact, contribute to social sustainability and enhance economic growth. Conclusion - The Metaverse can be seen as a universal tool that can be applied almost anywhere in organizations' operations. Organizations can use it for experimentation, testing and construction in a virtual environment. Scenario simulations can help forecast breakdown, measure energy consumption, and track emissions. Organizations can establish showrooms, apartment shows, test groups, meetings, and social hangouts. The Metaverse can change the way people interact and acquire knowledge. Therefore, it can change the way how we think of and perform operations management.