User Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Virtual Worlds

Abstract

While prior research have investigated factors, processes and pathways traversed in user innovation and user entrepreneurship within the real world, there is a scant attention on user innovation and user entrepreneurship that take place within the virtual world. We report on an exploratory study of a select group of user innovators-entrepreneurs in Second Life, using virtual participant observation and in-depth interviews. Results suggest that 1) the paths traversed by user innovators and user entrepreneurs in the virtual life resemble those in the real life reported in the literature. Interestingly, the study suggests that 2) the Second Life as a virtual world often breeds opportunities leading to entrepreneurial acts in the ‘real’ world as well as further opportunities in the Second Life world. The study also suggests that 3) the virtual world as a new technological platform such as Second Life will generate a range of opportunities that are not obvious to ‘non-virtual’ user innovators/entrepreneurs and that 4) any given user innovator/entrepreneur will discover opportunities related to his or her prior knowledge but the range and quality of innovation generated will depend on the nature of networks and weak ties. Furthermore, 5) the study shows that virtual infrastructure in Second Life simultaneously facilitate and deter user innovation and entrepreneurship, which will in turn spur more innovative/entrepreneurial acts as residents attempt to solve the technical problems. This study extends the user innovation and entrepreneurship theory, Austrian economics theory of entrepreneurial discovery and creative collective theory into the virtual context. We conclude with implications of these findings for theory and practice of user innovation and entrepreneurship.