This paper investigates the emerging potential of metaverse technology and the diverse opportunities it presents for companies across industries. Although the metaverse remains in its nascent stages, its swift evolution has introduced a broad spectrum of use cases that hold significant promise for businesses. However, despite the evident potential, there remains a limited understanding of how metaverse technology can be effectively applied to benefit business operations and strategy. To address this gap, this study employs a scoping review methodology, systematically collecting and analyzing data from academic literature, publicly available sources, and company websites. The comprehensive review identified 101 distinct use cases of metaverse technology, which were subsequently categorized into three primary application fields: developing new product and service offerings, enhancing customer experience, and optimizing internal business processes. These findings not only provide a compelling rationale for companies contemplating the adoption of metaverse technology but also represent the first extensive exploration of its applications across diverse fields and industries. The study offers valuable insights that are crucial for both academic researchers and business practitioners who are keen to understand and leverage the transformative potential of the metaverse. By mapping out the current landscape of metaverse applications, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of how companies can harness this technology to drive innovation, improve operational efficiency, and create new value propositions in an increasingly immersive and interconnected world.

There is a lack of understanding about early-stage entrepreneurial actions, as existing research focuses on later stages and overlooks how experience impacts entrepreneurial actions. However, entrepreneurial experience has a pivotal role in shaping entrepreneurial actions, serving as a distinguishing factor within the scope of this study. Therefore, we employ a grounded theory research approach building on 112 in-depth interviews in which we differentiate between novice and experienced entrepreneurs. We analyzed the extensive data set following the methodology of Gioia et al. Our findings include the identification of three dimensions of entrepreneurial activities, namely Entrepreneurial Alignment, Resource Enhancement, and Value Generation, that are relevant for both novice and experienced entrepreneurs. In addition, we are able to identify 27 specific entrepreneurial actions distributed between the three dimensions but differing depending on whether the entrepreneur is a novice or experienced. Examining these results, we outlined differences and commonalities in the activities of the two groups: novice entrepreneurs follow a sequential, unconnected, and perfectionist-driven process, while experienced entrepreneurs adopt a parallel, interconnected, and iterative process across the three dimensions. Practitioners and researchers can benefit from the study’s results for entrepreneurship education and resource theories in the early-stage venture creation.

Purpose In a move characterized by ambiguity, Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021, announcing a new era of social interaction, enabled by the metaverse technology that appears poised to become the future center of gravity for online social interactions. At first glance, the communicated change signals a radically new business model (BM) based on an unprecedented configuration of the three following components: value creation, value proposition and value capture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Facebook’s announced changes in its BM to clarify whether the change is as radical as communicated or rather represents an incremental transformation of the current BM. Design/methodology/approach This investigation adopted an in-depth case study research method. The process included using a structured approach to collect 153 data points, including academic studies and publicly available information, followed by qualitative content analysis. Findings The results of our analysis of Facebook’s entrepreneurial journey indicate that the communicated strategic refocusing does not correspond to a radical BM innovation pattern. Even though Facebook’s BM might evolve into the innovation phase, as the current changes appear very futuristic, the authors estimate that the core elements of the BM will change incrementally. The investigation indicates that the underlying logic of the straightforward communicative efforts primarily serves two purposes: to improve the external perception of the company and to disseminate an internal change signal within the organization. Originality/value This paper is the first study that takes an entrepreneurship and BM perspective in analyzing Facebook’s approach in rebranding to Meta and refocusing its strategy on building the metaverse. The academic and practical relevance, as well as the potential future impact on business and society, makes the investigation of this case an intriguing prospect. Additionally, the study illuminates the difference between the communicated vision and the real impact on the business, suggesting critical questions about future large-scale rebranding efforts and their effects.