Assessing engagement decisions in NFT Metaverse based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Abstract

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have reached enormous levels of interest all over the world; The attraction was huge besides buying or creating an NFT. However, the actual use requires consideration of many aspects and sources to make decisions and engage in the NFT market. Moving forward and selecting what to create or where to buy, it is necessary to assess the NFT and whether it is worth investing in or not. On the other hand, Metaverse has become a trending topic and market interest has increased dramatically. However, NFT is crucial to enable the Metaverse; NFT approved its essential to the success of Metaverse adoption. In conclusion, this choice is complicated, especially when it involves extensive knowledge and information from different sources and perspectives (Engineering and Social Science). Some aspects are related to the customer experience and trust, and others are more likely to be asset-related. As we look at the blockchain market, we distinguish a variety of platforms and applications that can be used conveniently, presenting numerous options and possibilities. That brings to mind some ideas and asks some questions to assist the engagement in the NFT metaverse; When is the best moment to engage in the NFT metaverse? Is trading or engaging in the NFT metaverse trustworthy? Is it legal to use and trade NFTs, is there any need for governments to get involved? What NFT piece should create or what price to buy? What is the best and most secure platform to use? Assessing the NFTs requires deep research into different sources of controversial information and data. However, no such reference or study covers these considerations in detail; the lack of trusted resources and knowledge impacts the user experience and engagement. This paper contributes to social science studies by performing a multi-factor (comprehensive) analysis that includes the NFT Metaverse engagement decision and user behavior. We are using an extended model of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), proposing a model which includes external factors to help identify the variables that influence the engagement with NFTs in the metaverse. This comprehensive study has a multi-perspective approach; customer perspective, social perspective, technology perspective, legal perspective, and market perspective. We present extensive knowledge and information to be a helpful piece of awareness for everyone who intends to buy, invest, or create an NFT. This study uses a quantitative analysis method and provides meaningful results explaining this dilemma and the reasons behind the massive adoption of NFT and its fluctuation worldwide. This work helps the decision-makers, creators, and investors consider new development perspectives in the NFT metaverse. The methodology used primary survey data and analyzed with Smart-PLS 4 to determine variance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) using the partial least squares path modeling (PLS) method.