Understanding Stakeholder Divergence in Ethical and Regulatory Perceptions of Metaverse Marketing: Evidence from a Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study investigates how developers, marketers and regulators perceive ethical and regulatory challenges in metaverse marketing. As immersive digital environments expand, they offer novel engagement opportunities while at the same time raising concerns about privacy, manipulation and platform governance. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 participants across these stakeholder groups and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. Results reveal role-specific differences: developers emphasize technical feasibility and the need for regulatory clarity; marketers focus on creative innovation and brand safety; regulators prioritize user protection and enforcement of legal frameworks. While all stakeholders agree that trust and safety are crucial for sustainable metaverse marketing, they diverge on data practices, responsibility allocation and the scope of regulation. By providing one of the first multi-stakeholder empirical studies in this area, our research contributes to stakeholder theory and platform governance by highlighting the importance of collaborative approaches to ensure ethically responsible and legally robust metaverse marketing ecosystems.

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