Metaverse marketing: A business-to-business analysis of brand strategies and Generation Z engagement in the sports industry

Hussain, Saima; Ahmed, Rizwan Raheem; Štreimikienė, Dalia; Bukhari, Faheem; Streimikis, Justas Article Metaverse marketing: A business-to-business analysis of brand strategies and Generation Z engagement in the sports industry Amfiteatru Economic Provided in Cooperation with: The Bucharest University of Economic Studies Suggested Citation: Hussain, Saima; Ahmed, Rizwan Raheem; Štreimikienė, Dalia; Bukhari, Faheem; Streimikis, Justas (2025) : Metaverse marketing: A business-to-business analysis of brand strategies and Generation Z engagement in the sports industry, Amfiteatru Economic, ISSN 2247-9104, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Vol. 27, Iss. 70, pp. 1091-1108, https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2025/70/1091 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/328037 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Economic Interferences AE Vol. 27 • No. 70 • August 2025 1091 METAVERSE MARKETING: A BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF BRAND STRATEGIES AND GENERATION Z ENGAGEMENT IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY Saima Hussain1, Rizwan Raheem Ahmed2, Dalia Streimikiene3, Faheem Bukhari4 and Justas Streimikis5 1)Karachi School of Business and Leadership, Pakistan 2)Indus University, Karachi, Pakistan 3)Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania 4)Hult International Business School, London, The United Kingdom 5) Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Vilnius, Lithuania and University of Economics and Human Science in Warsaw, Poland Please cite this article as: Hussain, S., Ahmed, R.R., Streimikiene, D., Bukhari, F. and Streimikis, J., 2025. Metaverse Marketing: A Business-ToBusiness Analysis of Brand Strategies and Generation Z Engagement in the Sports Industry. Amfiteatru Economic, 27(70), pp. 1091-1108 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2025/70/1091 Article History Received: 5 March 2025 Revised: 28 April 2025 Accepted: 20 June 2025 Abstract This research explores the interplay between the services the Metaverse industry provides, including brand gamification, Metaverse marketing factors (novelty, interactivity, Influencer), and their impact on brand advocacy and loyalty among Generation Z within the sports industry. Employing a quantitative approach, the researchers collected data from 384 participants. The findings reveal significant positive relationships between brand gamification and Metaverse novelty and interactivity. The outcomes of Metaverse devices exhibited that consumers developed a strong affinity for specific brands due to the influence of social media influencers. In addition, the vibrant and dynamic realm of the Metaverse has generated a wave of positive brand sentiment among individuals. The research examined the efficiency of transforming brand experiences inside the Metaverse into gamified systems, significantly influencing people and increasing their affection for the brands within the sports industry. Metaverse is a critical tool for Generation Z as this group seeks immersive, active, and engaging experiences, and effective branding in Metaverse can provide a solid appeal to this tech-savvy youth. The findings of this research provide significant managerial implications for both the Metaverse market and the sports industry, highlighting the significance of leveraging the Metaverse for enhanced brand engagement and loyalty among Generation Z.  Corresponding author, Dalia Streimikiene – e-mail: [email protected] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2025 The Author(s). AE Metaverse Marketing: A Business-To-Business Analysis of Brand Strategies and Generation Z Engagement in the Sports Industry 1092 Amfiteatru Economic Keywords: metaverse marketing, Business-to-Business Marketing, brand gamification, sports brands, Generation Z, virtual marketing, brand loyalty JEL Classification: L82, M3, O33 Introduction The Metaverse, in business-to-business marketing, represents a digital universe that goes beyond traditional video games, virtual reality frameworks, and digital marketing to provide users with a humanistic and realistic engaging experience (Anwar et al., 2025; Kazmi et al., 2021). The global Metaverse industry has exceeded $83.9 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow 48.0% from 2023 to 2030. The forecasted revenue of the Metaverse industry will reach $1303.4 billion by 2030 (Eyada, 2023). In the digital age, we have a great potential to make meaningful relationships that cross the physical boundaries of race, gender and handicap. The Metaverse enables people to interact with one another without prejudice, fostering digital environments (Radanliev et al., 2023; Duffett et al., 2023). The Metaverse industry provides different components, including hardware (VR, AR and MR devices) and software for commercial, industrial, manufacturing, and consumer services. The platform offers a digital foundation for developing and using decentralized applications. The Metaverse technology enables decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and services, solidifying its presence in the DeFi space (Haider and Ahmed, 2023; Teng et al., 2023; Zalan and Barbesino, 2023). In business-to-business (B2B) marketing, the Metaverse offers sports fans unprecedented means to engage with their favorite teams in ways beyond unparalleled realism and interactivity (Dwivedi et al., 2023). In the virtual environment, through computer-generated settings, fans can interact with each other via virtual sports communities and obtain personalized sports gear and tickets for virtual events (Kazmi et al., 2021). Metaverse is being used by big sports brands and companies like Nike, Adidas and Puma to upgrade their marketing methods, where they open virtual shops and create experiences that people find attractive. This trend will only continue to expand, and with the Metaverse on display, $1303.4 billion presents a market opportunity for 2030. The Metaverse in the B2B space is advised to carefully consider the strategies and goals they select to use in Metaverse marketing. Additionally, it creates a pathway for the increase of virtual sports goods by permitting fans to obtain and trade custom accessories alongside virtual beneficiary tickets in fascinating virtual sporting contests (Anwar et al., 2025). Metaverse B2B marketing provides brands with a unique possibility to interact with their customers innovatively and create emotional ties to the audience through virtual environments (Dwivedi et al., 2023; Eyada, 2023). Through the analysis of the high-reaching implications that Metaverse B2B marketing has for brand engagement, loyalty and advocacy, sports brands can fine-tune their B2B marketing strategies to target their audience economically, creating unshakable consumer loyalty and amplifying brand advocacy (Ahmed et al., 2019; Dwivedi et al., 2023). The fact that Generation Z is the first group of people to have had easy access to technology helps us understand the more significant amount of knowledge an average person in this generation may have regarding behavioral reactions Economic Interferences AE Vol. 27 • No. 70 • August 2025 1093 to technology and other terms for similar concepts, including Metaverse (Eyada, 2023; Ivanova et al., 2023). Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) also significantly changed how younger people think and interact with technology, which differs from the previous generations. Research demonstrates that immersive virtual experiences will likely inspire more vital interpersonal actions, such as interaction and purchasing, among Generation Z (Hadi et al., 2023; Kim and Park, 2023). The young generation, i.e., the next Z generation, also referred to as the cohort of social media-savvy demographics, have a strong proclivity for using varied social platforms and getting highly influenced by their peers regarding shopping decisions (Niu et al., 2023). In the context of B2B marketing, Kim et al. (2022) highlight that Generation Z highly relies on social media platforms and is influenced in their purchase decisions mainly by peers using such means. In B2B marketing, scholarly debate has concentrated on humans who engage in VR and AR abilities (Kazmi et al., 2021). As revealed in the findings of Chiu and Ho (2023), people within Generation Z can be attracted to immersive virtual experiences, which are also a significant factor in influencing such consumers. The Metaverse offers brands engrossing opportunities to form deep emotional affiliations with consumers, which translate into augmented brand involvement, undeterred loyalty, and raving recommendations (Ahmed et al., 2017). In addition, virtual storefronts can also be created using the Metaverse, which supports Influencer B2B marketing programs, loyalty schemes, and even training and education decks for employees, partners, and consumers (Bousba and Arya, 2022). Metaverse influencer marketing, as we understand it today, includes developing partnerships with influencers to promote a brand, forming channels for immersive engagement between brands and consumers, and charting new paths of monetization schemes alongside offering expertise on unfamiliar terrain (Chiu and Ho, 2023). 1. Theoretical review and hypotheses development The current literature review on the present brands aims to assess gamification (Hussain et al., 2018) alterations in Metaverse novelty, vividness, interactivity, and Influencer B2B marketing toward letting the respondents become advocates of a particular brand and achieve brand loyalty. The Metaverse is a kind of universe that simulates real life – only it is virtual. Through this interface, users can interact with one another and virtual objects in the digital realm. In the realm of B2B marketing, Mittal and Bansal (2023) claimed that leveraging novelty identification in Metaverse has proved viable in increasing B2B customer engagement and elevating brand recall. This is due to Metaverse's unique and immersive nature, which differentiates it from traditional marketing strategies. Additionally, it has been established that the novelty of Metaverse leads to excessive brand involvement, which translates into a spike in brand advocacy and loyalty (Gursoy et al., 2023). The Metaverse correctly gives new things an essential element, capturing customers’ attention and creating interest in the brand. In line with Barhorst et al. (2021), the research showed that the chances of B2B customers interacting with a brand rise when exposed to a unique and different virtual experience. Brand gamification and Metaverse novelty have a convoluted affinity. Gamification of brand experiences enhances novelty by engaging users in interactive and rewarding settings, incorporating aspects such as challenges and accomplishments that alter standard interactions (Mittal and Bansal, 2023; Satar et al., 2023). AE Metaverse Marketing: A Business-To-Business Analysis of Brand Strategies and Generation Z Engagement in the Sports Industry 1094 Amfiteatru Economic H1: Incorporating gamified elements into brand experiences within the Metaverse enhances novelty perceptions among users, leading to increased brand advocacy and brand loyalty ( Hussain et al., 2018; Arya et al., 2023). H2: A positive relationship exists between novelty brand advocacy and brand loyalty (Ahmed et al., 2017; Mittal and Bansal, 2023). The degree of perceptual richness the Metaverse exhibits is crucial in fostering B2B customer engagement and augmenting brand recognition (Mittal and Bansal, 2023). Vividness pertains to the intricacy, chromaticity, and tactility of rendering the simulated setting (Wongkitrungrueng and Suprawan, 2023). From the perspective of empirical relevance, Bousba and Arya (2022) state that an intense vividness of the Metaverse positively impacts engagement towards a brand. Amongst the many attributes one can point to, vividness is a critical valued meta side, as it enables one to feel a member of highly committed and sincere exchanges. According to Pizzi et al. (2020), those respondents who again saw the high level of immersive and vividness of their brand experience were more likely to remember the brand name and develop a more favorable attitude towards it. The Vividness of Metaverse is highly associated with brand gamification, which is a critical factor in producing and maintaining an immersive virtual environment (Dwivedi et al., 2023). Added to this is the vividness; also, as with gamified factors, the emotional involvement is affected due to apparent stimuli and incentives, the outcomes of which are the user's experience intensity-wise and emotional responses (Wongkitrungrueng and Suprawan, 2023). H3: Incorporating gamified elements within brand experiences in the Metaverse positively influences Metaverse’s vividness and leads to increased brand advocacy and brand loyalty (Hussain et al., 2018; Gursoy et al., 2023). H4: There is a positive relationship between vividness brand advocacy and brand loyalty (Ahmed et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2024). In B2B marketing, interaction within a Metaverse is essential to its effectiveness. As per Dwivedi et al. (2023), empirical evidence points to the level of interactivity in the Metaverse that contributes significantly to the quality of user experience. Further to Mittal and Bansal (2023), empirical findings indicate that higher interactivity within the Metaverse positively correlates with B2B consumer engagement, leading to further brand advocacy and loyalty. What makes interactivity important in the Metaverse is that it helps drive the customer’s active involvement in the brand and its product. In the same manner, Wongkitrungrueng and Suprawan (2023) researched that customers who were more active while interacting with the brand were more likely to have a more positive attitude toward the brand and buy from it in the future. Metaverse’s interactivities, however, are slightly contradictory to the influence of gamification. An exciting level of engagement is facilitated by motivating users with interactive challenges and quests (Satar et al., 2023). Second, gamification elements stimulate interactive play, making users actively participate in the Metaverse, thereby creating lasting engagement (Stylos and Vassiliadis, 2025). Third, gamification encourages community by fostering social networking and collaboration within virtual communities; Bogicevic et al. (2021) submitted that it invigorates user engagement in online communities. H5: Integrating gamified elements into brand experiences within the Metaverse positively influences Metaverse interactivity, which leads to increased brand advocacy and brand loyalty (Dwivedi et al., 2023). Economic Interferences AE Vol. 27 • No. 70 • August 2025 1095 H6: There is a direct positive relationship between interactivity, brand advocacy, and brand loyalty (Ahmed et al., 2019; Samarah et al., 2022). In recent B2B marketing practices, influencer marketing has developed as one of the common trends. Influencer marketing involves utilizing influential people’s expertise to advertise a brand or product, primarily through social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter (Haikel-Elsabeh, 2023). Considering influencer marketing on Instagram, Gross and von Wangenheim's (2022) empirical evidence shows that influencer marketing is a feasible strategy for increasing brand awareness and interaction levels. This further has possible brand advocacy and loyalty creation. Hence, applying influencer marketing is a significant component that is preferable in the Metaverse, which may use the power of social proof to increase brand awareness and validation. As was revealed in a recent study by Kim and Park (2023), virtual influencer campaigns have been proven effective in increasing brand awareness and stimulating users’ engagement. This proposition implies that virtual influencer marketing in the Metaverse can be a practical approach through which brands can advertise their products and foster brand loyalty. H7: There is a positive relationship between influencer marketing, brand advocacy, and brand loyalty ( Ahmed et al., 2017; Chiu and Ho, 2023; Haikel-Elsabeh, 2023). In B2B marketing, Metaverse marketing, and brand gamification have evolved into a strategic tool that revolutionizes a brand’s relationship with its audience in virtual settings (Hussain et al., 2021). Brand gamification in Metaverse marketing focuses on the potential to improve user experiences, build loyal brands, and create memorable interactions (Arya et al., 2023). Brand gamification within the Metaverse, where user interaction and immersion are fundamental, exploits aspects such as challenges, rewards, and competition to create strong connections (Hussain et al., 2018). Brand gamification scores in increasing engagement because it provides engaging experiences driven by the fundamental needs of individuals for accomplishment and recognition (Tsou and Putra, 2023). Gamified interactions engage the users, meaning they participate in implementing brand narratives and experiences. Gamified brand encounters lead to accomplishment and satisfaction, reinforcing loyalty. Gamified experiences make the users emotionally invest in them, making them closer to the brand (Stylos and Vassiliadis, 2025). H8: Gamification indirectly impacts brand loyalty and brand advocacy through the mediation of the Metaverse dimensions of interactivity, novelty and vividness ( Hussain et al., 2018; Merhabi et al., 2021). A positive mode of word-of-mouth transmission using customers’ recommendations, which increases the brand’s reputation and sales, has become increasingly important for B2B marketing (Bousba and Arya, 2022). In the past three years, several studies have been on brand advocacy and emerging technologies such as Metaverse marketing. In the same address, consumer happiness, trust, and loyalty lead to brand advocacy, as Quaye et al. (2022) established. B2B suggests that relations between customers and their preferred personal communication would increase brand advocacy (Choi et al., 2021). Moreover, such as the relationship between brand personality and brand advocacy, and brand value was net positively correlated to brand advocacy, and brand trust partially mediated the effect. This implies that consumers value unique brands (Ahmadi and Ataei, 2024). The conceptual review paper by Arya et al. (2023) focused on the Metaverse marketing gamified brand advocacy. This outlines that customers can be brand advocates when their relationships with AE Metaverse Marketing: A Business-To-Business Analysis of Brand Strategies and Generation Z Engagement in the Sports Industry 1096 Amfiteatru Economic a brand are strong and a personalized communication effort is created and developed. Gamification and influencer marketing in the Metaverse enhance customer engagement and brand advocacy (Mittal and Bansal, 2023). Brand loyalty is a traditional subject in B2B marketing. Within three years, several researchers explored the issues surrounding brand loyalty and the impact of emergent technologies in Metaverse marketing. Samarah et al. (2022) focused on brand loyalty and social media. The social media involvement of brand loyalty positively correlated with experiences beyond expectations. The research by Mostafa and Kasamani (2021) was aimed at exposing the relationship between brand authenticity, experience and loyalty. Brand loyalty was positively correlated with brand experience and authenticity, mediated by emotional relationships (Ahmed et al., 2017). One of the main results of Metaverse marketing is increased brand loyalty (Hussain et al., 2021). The researchers sought to understand how Metaverse marketing impacts gaming brand loyalty (Rane et al., 2023). Lastly, recent research shows that social media engagement, brand experience, authenticity, and emotional connectivity influence brand loyalty. The B2B marketing in the Metaverse, specifically VR, AR, mixed reality (MR), and virtual worlds, enables firms to create emotional connections and brand loyalty (Zeng et al., 2023). 2. Research methodology For this research, we employed a quantitative survey method to collect data from participants belonging to the Generation Z population. We used an online survey through Google Survey Form to ensure speed, economy, control over respondents, and high-quality data. We used purposive selection to choose the optimum sample to study how Metaverse marketing aspects affect brand gamification, advocacy, and loyalty. The study required respondents to have taken a Metaverse virtual tour in the past year. The survey link was disseminated on social media from March to May 2023 to reduce bias. We examined how Metaverse marketing parameters affected brand gamification, advocacy, and loyalty in B2B marketing using 384 responses for the sports industry’s celebrated brands. Respondents were presented with a Metaverse sports video from which data was collected. The video featured Metaverse sports so respondents could answer the questionnaires correctly and provide their views on Metaverse marketing factors, brand gamification, brand loyalty, and advocacy. Participants completed a post-film screening survey administered with questionnaires on the interest variables. Various questionnaires dealt with Metaverse marketing (interactivity, vividness, novelty, and influencer marketing), brand gamification, loyalty, and advocacy (Ahmed et al., 2017). Based on relevant literature, we constructed tools and scales to measure Metaverse marketing elements (vividness, novelty, influencer, interaction), brand gamification, brand loyalty, and brand advocacy for this research (Mittal and Bansal, 2023). Bousba and Arya (2022) provided the influencer marketing scale. The brand loyalty and advocacy scales were adopted (Quaye et al., 2022; Mittal and Bansal, 2023), measuring repeat purchase intention, brand preference, and premium willingness – a brand advocacy scale to assess the likelihood of brand referrals and good word-of-mouth. Smart-PLS 4.0 and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to analyze data from the completed surveys and test hypotheses (Kamis et al., 2020; Ahmed et al., 2024). Using Economic Interferences AE Vol. 27 • No. 70 • August 2025 1097 SEM, the partial least squares (PLS) for data analysis helped identify relationships. This approach allows for the analysis of variables within the model and the direct/indirect effects of Metaverse marketing on brand gamification, loyalty, and advocacy (Ahmed et al., 2017). We tested hypotheses and assessed associations’ power and significance in research model variables using Smart PLS 4 SEM (Guenther et al., 2023). 3. Empirical results and findings Table no. 1 represents the demographics and behavioral attributes of the selected sample from Generation Z. It indicates their gender, favorite sports brand, Metaverse brand recall, and influencer preferences in various contexts. Table no. 1. Demographic analysis of participants Factors Frequency Percentage Gender Female 173 45% Male 211 55% Favorite Sports Brand Nike 136 35% Adidas 78 20% Puma 34 8% Under Armour 112 29% Others 24 8% Metaverse and Sports brand recall Nike 170 44% Adidas 102 26.5% Others 112 29.5% Metaverse Influencer preference Sports Influencers 126 33% Fashion Influencers 85 22% Gaming Influencers 38 10% Fitness Influencers 58 15% No Preference 77 20% Factor loadings associated with each latent construct reflective indicator were assessed to determine the validity and reliability scores of the measurement model. The intensity of the relationship between each indicator and its intrinsic construct is similarly determined using factor loadings. Furthermore, comprehensive assessments of convergent and discriminant validity were conducted to guarantee the overall integrity of the measurement models (Ahmed et al., 2024). The factor loading values range between 0.786 to 0.915, which indicates that the brand advocacy, brand loyalty and Metaverse dimensions possess high indicator loadings. This means that the indicators and latent constructs are highly related. This enables us to present more data for the argument presented above that exactly these indicators are, in fact, capable of capturing participants’ perceptions towards such traits from a Metaverse standpoint. This reduced number of deleted factors was reasonably attributed to the criterion for elimination, AE Metaverse Marketing: A Business-To-Business Analysis of Brand Strategies and Generation Z Engagement in the Sports Industry 1098 Amfiteatru Economic and many deletions were due to their low factor loading being lower than 0.7 (Singkheeprapha et al., 2022). Based on table no. 2, a comprehensive evaluation of the validity and reliability is performed. The Cronbach’s alpha values across the latent construct ranged from 0.794 to 0.91, with acceptable and high levels of internal consistency, respectively. The composite reliability values, including rho and rho_c, were within the 0.795-0.914 range, which demonstrated a reliable measurement model that exceeds the cutoff point of 0.7, indicating great construct relying on Single Component Analysis (SCA) test result for each item; given hereunder are general guidelines: primarily under review is relative straightforwardness or final for convergent validity, average variance extracted (AVE) values ranged between 0.753 and 0.853. Although these values were slightly below what is usually considered desirable (0.50), they remained significant anyway. High internal consistency, composite reliability, and acceptable AVE values suggest the successful extraction of underlying constructs through a measurement model (Ahmed et al., 2019; Cheung et al., 2024). Table no. 2. Constructs validity and reliability Cronbach's alpha Composite reliability (rho_a) Compositereliability (rho_c) Average variance extracted (AVE) Brand Advocacy (BA) 0.894 0.896 0.922 0.703 Brand Gamification (BG) 0.916 0.918 0.941 0.799 Brand Loyalty (BL) 0.794 0.795 0.907 0.829 Influencer (INFL) 0.892 0.894 0.925 0.755 Interactivity (INTER) 0.837 0.841 0.902 0.754 Novelty (NOV) 0.893 0.896 0.926 0.758 Vividness (VIVID) 0.898 0.909 0.929 0.766 Table no. 3 illustrates the discriminant validity assessment results using the Fornell-Larcker method. This method examines the square root of the AVE for each construct and compares it with the correlations between constructs. The diagonal values in the table represent each construct’s square roots of the AVE (Ahmed et al., 2017). When the square root of the AVE is higher than the correlations, discriminant validity is established, indicating that the construct is distinct from other constructs (Cheung et al., 2024). 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