Virtual environments for meetings, business operations, innovation, and social interaction have evolved from being a "last resort" to a desirable alternative to in-person settings. However, these environments often face issues such as engagement problems, long-term commitment, attention loss, and limited actions. Some populations, including video game players, have extensive experience with immersive worlds and have overcome challenges related to engagement, commitment, and motivation––issues that businesses still face in virtual surroundings. This paper explores the design of virtual settings, especially what tools, strategies, and policies could be implemented to boost innovation and co-creation activities and make them more engaging, effective, and efficient. We examined the two-decade-long co-creation process between CCP Games, and the community around the video game EVE Online by conducting a longitudinal qualitative case study. We used grounded theory to analyze both primary and secondary data including interviews, shadowing, internal company documents, online forums, blogs, and other relevant sources. We investigated the characteristics of gaming environments that facilitate and support successful interaction––specifically communication and innovation, as well as their primary similarities to and differences from the physical environment. These analyses led to the development of a new spectrum model, positioning the means and tools used in the co-creation process along a continuum based on their potential to contribute to player-driven innovation. We build on several theoretical perspectives to inform our emergent model including von Hippel’s toolkits-based innovation framework, Gibson’s affordances theory for game design, and Jeppesen’s model of user involvement. We conclude with a discussion of how the various dimensions of the spectrum model influence behavior in contexts where interactions are mediated through technological platforms. Furthermore, we argue that a deeper understanding of the gaming environment can enhance our comprehension of virtual organizations and improve the functioning of businesses and individuals in our increasingly digital world.
