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The metaverse is considered an evolution of the Internet, and it engages users with digital content more seamlessly due to its enhanced immersion and diverse applications. The current study examines factors affecting the intention to adopt the metaverse. Existing studies on metaverse were found insufficient in explaining users’ intention to adopt metaverse, for which the companies are investing vast amounts of money for its implementation. The study fills the research gaps in the literature and applies the UTAUT2 (Unified Theory Of Acceptance And Use of Technology) and PAD (Pleasure, Arousal, Dominance) theory in the SOR (Stimulus-Organism-Response) framework. The study proposes a conceptual model by including effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, social influence, security personalization as stimuli, arousal, dominance, pleasure, immersive experience and perceived value as organismic variables and intention to adopt metaverse as the response variable, with gender as a moderator.

The study used purposive non-probability sampling approach and total of 420 responses were collected to examine the model. The partial least squares (PLS) technique is used for data analysis using Smart PLS software.

The study’s findings suggest that social influence and immersive experience have the highest impact on perceived value which affects users’ intention to adopt metaverse. Results indicate that individuals perceive value on using metaverse when it provides enjoyment and fun as well as security. Hence, it is important to ensure not only that individuals feel hedonically motivated but also feel secured and exert less effort to use the metaverse.

The study contributes to the existing literature on metaverse and extends its association with immersive experience and the theories applied. The fundamental qualities of metaverse that contribute to its immersive and enjoyable nature can influence users' behavioral responses. Our research emphasizes the importance of executives acknowledging the development of organismic experience within metaverse.

The insights derived from this study will serve to expand the knowledge of metaverse application developers, offering valuable guidance in incorporating these factors into their development processes. By prominently displaying security measures, metaverse brands can demonstrate their commitment to mitigating risks associated with virtual interactions. This includes clearly communicating the security protocols in place to protect user data and privacy and providing detailed information about security features can build trust and alleviate concerns.

The study highlights how the metaverse features affect individuals toward its adoption intent. Specifically, the study reveals that social influence and security affect the metaverse, further affecting the adoption intent of the metaverse. This has implications for enhancing customer relationships and value cocreation with different stakeholders. The research also recognizes that security measures are necessary for metaverse technology. These reactions could include placing regulations and standards in place to deal with the social and economic effects, making sure that data is collected and used ethically, and giving privacy and security measures priority.

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge as it is the first of its kind to explore and link immersive experience, pleasure and perceived value from the metaverse’s point of view to explore the user’s adoption intention. The study also contributes to the SOR framework with UTAUT2 and PAD theories by applying it to the metaverse context, which is used in limits.

This study examines the roles of retail experience quality dimensions, customers’ in-shop emotion valence and in-shop involvement valence in shaping the holistic retail customer experience.

We conducted a total of 25 interviews with customers who have used services at non-fuel retail stores in Malaysia, commonly known as tuckshops, which are located adjacent to fuel stations. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which led to the identification of key themes and categories that informed the development of our conceptual framework.

This study identifies three dimensions of retail experience quality: physical surroundings experience quality, interaction experience quality and service innovation experience quality. These dimensions, which were previously unexamined, are shown to influence customer evaluations based on their interactions with the retail environment, employees and digital applications. Additionally, the study finds that these dimensions impact customers’ emotions and involvement valence, suggesting that even with negative experiences, high involvement and overall positive perceptions can still occur.

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it identifies key retail antecedents that shape how customers interact with, interpret and evaluate the quality of their retail experiences. Second, it examines the complex nature of customers’ in-store emotions and involvement valence, highlighting the coexistence of positive and negative emotions in certain retail contexts. Third, the study offers practical insights for retail firms, urging them to adopt a holistic approach in addressing customer emotions and involvement across diverse retail service channels.

The study introduces new dimensions of retail experience quality and develops a framework linking these dimensions to customer emotions and involvement valence. Unlike previous research that has focused on either positive or negative aspects in isolation, this study offers a comprehensive view of how mixed emotions and involvement can impact the overall retail experience. It provides both theoretical insights and practical guidance for creating more balanced and engaging retail experiences.

Triggered by the extensive use of social media brand communities (SMBCs) in interactive marketing, this article aims to explore how brand connectedness (BC) affects consumer engagement behavior (CEB) in SMBCs.

The research model was verified with the partial least squares structural equation modeling applied to the actual data collected from the web crawling largest microblogging platform in China (Sina Weibo).

Results indicate that BC may positively influence consumer emotions (CEs), eventually leading to engagement behavior in SMBCs. In addition, gender and duration of membership act as vital moderators in the model. One of the most interesting findings is the differences between posting and commenting, although both are CEBs. BC has a more significant effect on commenting than posting, and the mediating effect of CEs between BC and posting behavior is not significant.

This research contributes to the literature on interactive marketing by examining BC in the context of SMBCs, which is under-researched in the literature but is highly pertinent to social media contexts. Moreover, we measure BC through social network analysis for the first time, which not only supports the empirical work but also expands the social network theory and social capital theory. This research also extends the body of knowledge on consumer engagement by investigating the differences between posting and commenting behaviors.