Virtual reality (VR) is a concept that intrigues many. It refers to an environment in which the perceiver feels transported to another world (Steuer, 1993; Draper et al., 1998). When you think about VR your mind probably meanders towards the gaming industry. VR’s applications, however, go far beyond gaming. Knowledge work systems (KWS), which are information systems that promote knowledge creation and propagation within a firm, can greatly benefit from virtual reality (Kukreja, 2018). In the context of KWS, VR could be used for training, knowledge sharing, and communication.
Virtual reality can be used as a comprehensive mode of communication by engaging multiple senses (Rauch et al., 2018). Therefore, it comes to no surprise that VR is being used in the field of education, which tries to capture and maintain an individual’s attention to relay information, albeit sometimes against his or her free will. Furthermore, the benefits of VR in education can be effortlessly guessed. Imagine the following two scenarios: learning about space through a textbook versus virtually floating through space and absorbing knowledge. In which scenario are you more likely to be engaged? Probably the latter. Nodding off is so much more challenging when you feel physically immersed in what you are learning.
Learning in VR is usually proactive rather than passive. Oftentimes, virtual reality teachings are designed to be interactive, allowing the user to actively affect the environment to which he or she is transported (Freina and Ott, 2014). For example, a user may be able to move virtual objects around, walk through the virtual environment, and zoom in on what interest him or her. Thus, VR offers various opportunities in the area of employee training. With technological advancements, VR feedback systems are expected to become more responsive to user behaviors.
Last but certainly not least, virtual reality appears to lend itself well to data visualization. Researchers claim that VR’s three-dimensional nature allows for much richer data visualization compared to its 2D counterparts. They also posit that marrying big data with VR is a logical next step (Cox, 2017; Sykes, 2018). Besides, in a world becoming increasingly more complex, can we not assume that more sophisticated data visualizations will be needed? How else will we cope with the ever-surging see of unstructured data? Arguably, with the help of VR visualizations, it may be possible to extract more information from data, creating more clarity and transparency within knowledge work systems. Furthermore, VR visualizations can enable more effective information transmission, facilitating and speeding-up communication (Marr, 2017).
You may be wondering now, if VR is so advantageous to knowledge work systems then why is it not more widely adopted by organizations? Well, VR at its current level of development is not all sunshine and rainbows, especially when administered through a headset (VR can also be computer-mediated). Users of VR headsets have reported experiencing motion sickness and, in some cases, seizures. Additionally, users complain that this technology is damaging and straining to the eyes since the screen is just inches away from your face (Stein, 2016; Lewis, 2017). Although these negative effects are bad, the most likely culprit for the low adoption of VR in companies is its high cost (Huynh, 2017). Nevertheless, it is believed that the costs of VR and its hardware will decrease with further technological innovations. Let us hope that Moore’s law does not fail us. Perhaps, then we can live in a world where VR is more ubiquitous, enriching more aspects of our lives such as our jobs.