Companies and Virtual 3D Worlds: Analysis of Business Models at the Example of Second Life

The virtual 3D world of Second Life (SL) has become a media focal point. Despite the coverage, it is still unclear to most executives, what this SL is, what implications it has on their business and what business models would be suitable to engage into it. After embedding SL into the context of Internet, Web 2.0 and virtual worlds for gaming, the author shows the business opportunities a company has in and around SL. Companies can enter SL with creative, interconnecting or virtual business models. Creative business models need most resources and capabilities to become successful, whereas interconnecting business models are still scarce. This means that an innovative company can still become a first mover in the market. With virtual business models companies face the biggest competition, since these models can be integrated into an existing e-business strategy very easily and the cost for all virtual products are nearly the same. Weighting up threats and opportunities the author concludes, that virtual 3D worlds will become a major factor in the future of e-business with great technical and social implications, although it is not clear, if SL will be the place to be in the future.