Why and Who Will Adopt Extended Reality Technology? Literature Review, Synthesis, and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

The advent of extended reality is revamping the way people experience the physical and the virtual environments, from observation to immersion. XR is an umbrella term that encompasses both augmented reality and virtual reality. Microsoft HoloLens is one example of AR smart glass that superimposes digital information onto a user’s field of view, while Oculus Rift is a type of virtual reality headset that allows users to experience and interact with a 3D world that does not actually exist. Despite the promising outlook, this nascent technology has been shrouded by uncertain possibilities, making the adoption of XR technology much slower than expected. Moreover, the interdisciplinary applications of XR technology have led to scattered scholarly works and fragmentary insights to be translated into practice. Thus, there is a pressing need for a critical review and synthesis of prior XR research in order to strengthen this emerging field in IS. To accomplish this, the current study identifies and analyzes a total of 45 articles through an extensive literature search. As a result, this study identifies the major antecedents and factors significant to XR adoption, classifies and map them onto the reference models. A review of relevant literature also uncovers those areas where research is lacking – and subsequently details future research directions with specific agenda to fill these gaps.