Purpose – It is predicted that virtual business and related research possibilities will expand significantly. In this context, the aim of this paper is to use insights from a virtual research project to present a theoretically-informed toolbox of practical suggestions to guide the conduct of...

This paper extends von Hippel?s (Manag. Sci. 32(7):791?805, 1986) concept of lead users to a virtual reality environment. Three lead user groups, site developers, business firms and avatars, have a synergistic role to play in extending virtual reality from a social networking platform to a...