Virtual connections, real responsibilities: a research agenda for sustainable virtual world development

Purpose The objectives of this study are to understand the interdependencies between the metaverse and sustainable development. This study aims to integrate the existing body of literature within the research discipline and formulate a research agenda. Design/methodology/approach The current research applies bibliometric analysis to understand the evolution of the research area, the publication and citation patterns and the presence of prominent authors, countries and journals. In addition, the research will present clusters of key themes to present how concepts relate. A close inspection of the themes will reveal research gaps to guide future research. Findings It pinpoints the main trends in publication and citation, highlighting most contributors, such as top authors, countries and journals. This paper detects collaboration patterns among research and co-authorship networks and identifies major knowledge clusters shaping the domain. A detailed analysis of the latter enabled the study to detect lacunas in existing research and indicate clear directions for future studies. Practical implications Higher education institutions can enhance the learning in sustainability industries can adopt circular and artificial intelligence-based green practices, policy framers can use digital solutions for resilient cities and healthcare and can provide affordable maternal health solutions. Originality/value The article summarises the available literature to bring to the forefront the most influential authors, journals, geographies, seminal papers and publishing trends in the literature. This article also analyses the main research topics to uncover the research gaps and provide directions to researchers. This article is most helpful to a novice researcher.