Making real money in virtual worlds: MMORPGs and emerging business opportunities, challenges and ethical implications in metaverses

Today, millions of people from around the globe play online role playing games (MMORPG), in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world, either using their existing identities in the physical world, or more often than not, through new virtual identities that might not even be remotely linked to the identities of the players in the physical world. The number of users is growing at an exponential rate and we are probably on the verge of a new development that is going to be as significant as the Internet itself. This positioning paper will discuss the business opportunities and challenges of such a virtual world, that of Second Life, and will examine the resultant corporate social responsibility implications focusing on the ethical and policy-related ones. This will help to identify important research questions that need to be systematically addressed.     

Entrepreneurial networks: A Triple Helix approach for brokering human and social capital

Through utilising currently available Internet technologies, academic and governmental organisations can provide seedling companies in their incubators with additional competitive advantage through efficient access to markets, partners, knowledge and services both locally and globally. This paper proposes a Triple Helix approach for brokering social and human capital based on the skills brokerage business model. The skills brokerage business model is primarily suited for individuals and firms operating in localised settings. However, by using information and communication technologies, it is also possible to apply the model internationally for firms that need strategic partnerships in countries or regions other than their own. Coupled with the Triple Helix of university–government–industry interactions, it can propel innovation and the commercialisation of it beyond traditional boundaries of geography, such as the region and nation state. The paper also presents an Internet-based service that could be used to facilitate the brokerage process among the firms and people with relevant expertise and resources, and it discusses the implications this would have for a number of stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, established businesses, service providers and business support organisations. This is still an emerging area and several themes for future research will be highlighted.     

Comparative study of cognitive styles in Egypt,Greece, Hong Kong and the UK

Cognitive style has been described as consistent individual differences in the organising and processing of information. It is has been argued that it is an important factor in managerial learning and cognition. A number of authors have suggested that groups from different national cultures are likely to exhibit style differences and that this has important implications for management training and development. In the present study, which employed closely matched samples of business and management undergraduates from Egypt, Greece and the UK, there were no statistically significant differences in style. However, in post‐graduate samples from Egypt, Hong Kong and the UK that were less closely matched, statistically significant differences were observed. Comparison of these data with those from other studies suggests that amongst under‐graduates from a variety of national cultures there do not appear to be significant differences in style. Among post‐graduates and managers the picture that emerges was more equivocal and the extent to which any observed differences are artefacts of sampling and method remains unclear. The implications of the findings for style theory and management education, training and development are discussed.     

Well beyond streaming video: IPv6 and the next generation television

The Internet has provided a plethora of commercial opportunities, the majority of them arising from advances in software and networking. As the technology evolves in an ever increasing pace, new opportunities are bound to be created. This paper examines how one of these technologies, the 6th version of the Internet Protocol, may affect the Internet and the opportunities associated with it, by looking at one specific emerging application: Internet Television (IPTv). In particular, the paper examines the possible impact and implications of multicasting on television broadcasts. Television and cable broadcasters have looked for ways to exploit the potential of narrowcast for a long time, but conventional narrowcast business models have been hampered by the geographic and technological limitations in reaching audiences big enough to be economically viable. The Internet, however, is naturally disposed toward one-to-one communications and high levels of interactivity thus providing a significant platform from which to broadcast.The television industry has been selected in order to highlight that emerging Internet technologies can significantly affect well-established industries and markets and create new opportunities when carefully exploited. More specifically by reducing entry barriers it can allow SMEs to enter markets that traditionally required large investments. The paper discusses the implications for policy makers and regulatory bodies, entrepreneurs wishing to start new channels, established television broadcasters and finally the viewers themselves.     

EU Labour Markets and Monetary Union

How can European labour markets cope with a single currency? The single currency success story is the US, which has maintained low unemployment rates both in the country as a whole and in individual regions. But Richard Jackman and Savvas Savouri argue this has been achieved by massive migration of workers from depressed to prosperous areas. In Europe migration within countries is quite low and between countries essentially non-existent. Thus in Europe, unlike in the US, the adjustment to national or regional labour market shocks will depend on wage flexibility. Unhappily wages in Europe are not very flexible, particularly in conditions of low inflation, and the single currency may make them even less so. The prospect for depressed areas is thus bleak.     

User experience on mobile video appreciation: How to engross users and to enhance their enjoyment in watching mobile video clips

In the past few years consumers have enjoyed consuming video content on a growing number of devices including the traditional television, personal computers, mobile phone and tablets. Each device has its own technical attributes and associated consumption characteristics. This research examines the differential effects of user experience on engagement during video consumption in the mobile and desktop environments. We have experimented with different situations related to the genre, the sequence of playing, the extent of interruption, the timing of the interruption, and length of the video clips. Our model was quantitatively tested, with 270 users taking part in a between subject experiment.In the mobile environment, our results provide evidence that sensory experience is a significant factor for enjoyment and engagement with the video, while emotional response is not. The reverse is true for the desktop environment. Learning curve factors work differently in the two environments. User enjoyment and engagement are significantly moderated by learning curve factors in the mobile environment only. The result is robust as it is true for both previous learning (usage experience with the device), and on-the-go experience (sequencing of video clips). Attention span only affects engagement and enjoyment in the desktop environment. Outside interruption only affects engagement and enjoyment in the mobile environment.Our findings can inform commercial practices on the video design and user interface, and also enhance our understanding of the contextual dependency of the theoretical concept of engagement in mobile entertainment.     

Play online,work better? Examining the spillover of active learning and transformational leadership

In this 1-month, longitudinal study we examined how participating in massively multiplayer online role-playing games affects users’ real-life employment. For 79 employees, we tested spillover effects from gaming to work in relation to active learning and transformational leadership. Furthermore, we investigated the moderating role of game performance in these spillover effects. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that active learning spills over from game to work only under conditions of enhanced game performance, while bad performance reduces this effect. Furthermore, results supported the direct spillover of transformational leadership, as well as the boosting effect of high game performance in this spillover effect. These results provide further insights with regard to spillover processes, and suggest that virtual games may be of relevance for the development of new organizational training techniques.