Virtual Worlds

Abstract

Virtual Worlds have emerged as important socio-technical artifacts with the potential to impact many important facets of contemporary society and to enable unique, novel business models in the digital economy. The authors present a rich account of the ways in which virtual worlds interact with modern society, their present heuristics, and future promise, with examples of successes and failures. The present and projected impact of virtual worlds on corporate business models, on the academic sphere, on cutting-edge healthcare, and on society in general are examined based upon existing literature, and legal issues arising from virtual worlds are summarized. This is done to develop a broad understanding of this emerging and serviceable new artifact, its numerous applications, and possible consequences. Based on this extensive review, the authors propose a research agenda for the information systems discipline vis-à-vis virtual worlds and identify critical issues connected with virtual world technologies and strategic management practices. The objective of this review is to establish a foundation for future research on virtual worlds.