From physical to metaversal events. An exploratory study

The present study attempts to explore the meaning of the words “digital,” “virtual,” “hybrid,” “phygital,” “metaversal,” and “physical” applied to planned events. The primary aims is to understand whether there are significant differences among them and how managers can use them to achieve their objectives. The research identifies the projective techniques as the most appropriate method to underpin the phenomenon, and it adopts an exploratory-qualitative approach. Projective techniques appear innovative since they are frequently used for studying people’s instead of managers’ perspectives. The results allow us to classify the six dimensions of digitally transformed planned events as different, and a continuum is generated through the collected data. Finally, the article provides managerial suggestions, such as the pros and cons of each event category. For example, strategists organizing metaversal events should consider analyzing targets and platforms.