Key factors driving metaverse-enabled entrepreneurship: causal relationship and hierarchical structure using the DEMATEL- TAISM method

Research background: Various factors have contributed to the increase in unemployment and underemployment of graduates. In this metaverse era, the government is actively promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. Can college graduates reap the benefits of the metaverse and tap into its exponential business potential? By leveraging technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, the metaverse creates a digital space that bridges the virtual and physical worlds compared to entrepreneurship in physical space. This environment offers diverse opportunities in virtual commerce, real estate, events, training, tourism, social platforms, remote work, and gaming. Purpose: This study attempts to address the issues of transitioning to the metaverse among college graduates in China. As they represent the new breed of metaverse entrepreneurs, we explore the factors that can impact metaverse-enabled entrepreneurship and establish a ranking using a hierarchical deviation model. Methodology and Findings: A myriad of key factors in the complex and interconnected system were screened and summarized from macro-meso-micro level based on literature collection, focus groups interviews, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Delphi method and employing a DEMATEL-TAISM linkage approach to identify and construct an explanatory structural model to reflect the interlinking of key factors and structures affecting the metaverse-enabled entrepreneurship while also determining and examining their inter-relationships. The findings reveal 17 key factors classified into 6-hierarchy typology diagram (Down-type and Up-type adversarial interpretative structural models). Originality: This study marks a pioneering effort in academic research, being the first to meticulously investigate the importance, interrelationships, and hierarchical deviations of influencing factors within metaverse-enabled entrepreneurship in China. Additionally, it introduces the innovative DEMATEL-TAISM method to this burgeoning field, representing a significant contribution to the scholarly discourse on the subject.