Conceptual framing of virtuality and virtual consumption research

Abstract

As virtual worlds and virtual consumption have evolved, so have the schools of thought on virtuality. Most prior literature on virtuality and virtual consumption has focused on the perspective of virtuality as “place”. More recently, researchers have examined virtuality and virtual consumption from the perspective of virtuality as practice or process. Rarely, however, both perspectives have been considered concurrently. This paper first provides a comprehensive overview of the different perspectives of the virtuality, followed by discussion of such theoretical perspectives in the context of studies of virtual consumption, identity, and social relationships. The last section proposes an integrated conceptual frame for study of virtual consumption: (1) the disjuncture and convergence between two places – virtual world versus real world; (2) the practices in which consumers manage to maintain and cross the cultural boundary of virtual world and real world via virtual consumption, and (3) the marketing efforts and process that develop around those places and practices.