Fabian Tingelhoff, thank you for taking the time. Please tell us about your research.

A the heart of this paper, which I developed with researchers Edona Elshan and Sebastian Klug, we focus on how YouTube influencers are driving the adoption of the metaverse. The metaverse is a virtual world where people can interact, work, and play using digital avatars. As in many online environments, it is especially appealing to a younger generation, which, in turn, is very dependent on the opinions of YouTube influencers. My study looks at what aspects of the metaverse these influencers find appealing and what features they are critical of. 

What is your background, why are you interested in this topic?

I am fascinated by how new technologies, like the metaverse, can change our daily lives. Being one of the first customers of the original Oculus Quest VR headset, I always enjoyed garnering new experiences and pushing the boundaries of digitally mediated games and work contexts. As a relatively young doctoral student, I am also quite engaged in the YouTube platform, using it as a learning environment, but also as a research tool for my own tech purchases. 

YouTube influencers have a huge impact on public opinion, especially on younger generations and understanding their role as ambassadors can help us predict how quickly and widely the metaverse will be adopted – and how it might look like in the future.

What are you hoping to discover?

I aim to understand what motivates early adopters and influencers to engage with the metaverse (or not). By learning about their perceptions, we can better shape the development of the metaverse to meet users' needs and overcome potential hurdles.

What were the findings?

The study revealed that YouTube influencers see great potential in the metaverse's ability to offer new and immersive experiences. They value the metaverse's ability to facilitate social interactions, provide educational opportunities, and create new ways to monetize activities. However, they also highlight challenges such as the technological limitations and the need for more realistic and seamless integration of virtual and real worlds. Most notably, we can see that users come to the metaverse for a different reason than for why they stay: Initially, users come to the metaverse for new experiences that affect their emotions, but they continuously use it for social interactions and functional benefits (like educational applications).

Were you surprised by any of the findings? 

The most surprising finding was the high value placed on decentralized finance (DeFi) applications within the metaverse. Influencers are excited about how blockchain technology enables new forms of earning and the trading of digital assets, which adds a layer of financial incentive to their engagement. We also realized that the metaverse's success heavily relies on its ability to offer unique, engaging experiences that go beyond what current digital platforms provide. Moreover, users understand the motives behind organizations in the metaverse and wish they would take it more seriously and not use it as a pure marketing stunt. The insights from influencers can guide developers in creating features that resonate with early users and drive wider adoption.

What is the next step? Has this study led you to another topic in the future?

The next step is to explore how the audiences of the YouTubers react and interact with the content. The videos that were analyzed in this study were quite lengthy and exhaustive. I am interested in studying which specific takes and features resonate with the wider population and where users might disagree. To answer this question, me and my co-authors are currently analyzing hundreds-of-thousands of comments under these influential videos.

The paper “The Diffusion of the Metaverse: How YouTube Influencers Shape Mass Adoption” has been recently published in California Management Review.

Fabian Tingelhoff is a research associate at the Institute of Information Systems and Digital Business at the HSG Institute of Information Management (IWI-HSG). 

Edona Elshan is an assistant professor at the KIN Center for Digital Innovation at the Vrije Uni-versiteit Amsterdam. She completed the Doctor in Management and the Master in Business Innovation at the University of St.Gallen.

Sebastian Klug is an associate manager at Julius Bär specialized in Investment and Wealth Management Solutions who completed his master’s degree in the Master in Strategy and Inter-national Management at the University of St.Gallen. 

Image: Adobe Stock / DanRentea