Clustering potential metaverse users with the use of a value-based framework: Exploiting perceptions and attitudes on the use and adoption of metaverse for bold propositions

Metaverse is a new emerging platform that enables users to interact with each other and engage in many activities inside a collective virtual shared space. The metaverse is rapidly evolving, and it is essential to understand the perception and attitude of its potential users. Therefore, this research aims to study the users of the metaverse and obtain their opinions on some of the key variables of the metaverse. These variables include the core metaverse concept, readiness, ease of use, intention to belong to metaverse, intention to adopt, and value realization. We designed an online questionnaire that aims to measure these variables. Then, a deep analysis of the collected data was conducted using various exploratory descriptive statistics on all participants. Subsequently, we performed further descriptive and correlation analysis on the participants from Saudi Arabia, which resulted in clustering participants into three groups. The result of this work can help in understanding the current and potential users of the metaverse, especially the users from Saudi Arabia. This study will consequently help in developing the metaverse space, enhancing its features, and providing users with the best experiences. Our research contributes to the theory of the metaverse by justifying a bold value-based framework for metaverse adoption. This study also introduces three clusters, Skeptical, Unaware, and Optimists, of potential users of metaverse platforms, providing a clear description of each group.