Worlds for Study: Invitation - Virtual Worlds for Studying Real-World Business (and Law, and Politics, and Sociology, and....)

Abstract:     
Virtual worlds promise to be an excellent venue for research and education in business and related disciplines. This document provides an introduction to virtual worlds, discusses why virtual worlds are so well-suited to the study of real-world business, and describes how a platform could weave together various types of virtual worlds and virtual spaces to achieve a variety of research and educational goals. I close by inviting instructors, students, researchers, textbook authors, publishers, game developers and others to join in a collaboration to make this vision a (virtual) reality.

Keywords: virtual worlds, experimental economics, business education, accounting, behavioral finance, Second Life, serious games

JEL Classifications: A10, A20, C88, C90, D00, E00, G00, M00, P00

Working Paper Series