This study aims to examine how metaverse technology capabilities predict virtual team members' behaviors and outcomes, focusing on team coordination and performance. It does so by integrating the metaverse and SOBC frameworks through the lens of intellectual capital.
Survey research is conducted to investigate the predictability of a metaverse-SOBC framework through an intellectual capital lens. This theoretical framework explains that metaverse capabilities stimulate virtual team members' organismic responses (immersion and trust), which drive coordination and ultimately enhance the team's collective performance (member support and teamwork efficacy). A PLS-SEM approach is used to examine these sequential relationships.
The results reveal the efficacy and predictability of an integrative metaverse-SOBC framework through an intellectual capital lens. Specifically, rendering and interaction capabilities (structural capital) significantly boost immersion and trust (human and relational capital), which are essential for effective coordination (relational capital). Moreover, coordination and member support (relational capital) enhance teamwork efficiency (structural capital), underscoring the foundational role of metaverse technology in fostering productive virtual collaboration and collective performance.
The findings suggest actionable insights for leveraging metaverse capabilities in organizational settings. They accentuate their potential as an effective platform for hybrid team project execution and emphasize the importance of dynamic team psychological states for building coordination and interaction holistically through human, relational, and structural capital components.
This study is one of the few theory-driven empirical studies of the metaverse, integrating the metaverse research framework and the SOBC framework with intellectual capital components. It is also one of the few studies to address the current research gaps in the fields of the metaverse, organizational behavior, and intellectual capital simultaneously.
