Cooperative vs. Non-Cooperative Metaverse Investment Strategies: A Bargaining Power Perspective

This study investigates metaverse technology investment strategies in tourism supply chains, focusing on the interplay between Travel Service Providers (TSPs) and Online Travel Platforms (OTPs) under cooperative and non-cooperative frameworks. Using a game-theoretic approach, we analyze four investment models: non-cooperative TSP-led, non-cooperative OTP-led, cooperative TSP-led, and cooperative OTP-led. Key factors such as bargaining power, cost-sharing ratios, and consumer sensitivity to metaverse experiences are integrated to evaluate their impact on equilibrium decisions, profits, and social welfare.Our findings reveal that non-cooperative investment consistently outperforms cooperative strategies in profitability, as cost-sharing in cooperative models amplifies total costs despite higher investment intensity. Bargaining power critically shapes leadership roles, with stronger bargaining power incentivizing firms to lead investments. However, social welfare is maximized when the supply chain member with greater bargaining power leads non-cooperative investments, whereas cooperative models achieve higher welfare when the leading investor bears a larger cost share.The study contributes to operations management by elucidating how metaverse adoption reshapes tourism supply chain dynamics, offering actionable insights for optimizing investment governance, negotiation mechanisms, and cost allocation. These results provide strategic guidance for tourism enterprises navigating metaverse integration, balancing competitive positioning with collaborative innovation.