<b>Meta-Brand Engagement and Willingness to Buy: Exploring the Pre-Adoption Behavior on Emerging Digital Platforms</b><b></b>

This study investigates the impact of meta-brand engagement on consumers’ willingness to buy in the Metaverse. Adopting a quantitative, cross-sectional research design, data were collected through an online survey from 300 active Metaverse users, selected via purposive sampling to ensure relevance. Validated instruments measured various dimensions of meta-brand engagement and willingness to buy. The analysis employed both correlation and multiple regression techniques to test five hypotheses concerning these relationships. The results revealed that brand awareness and knowledge, as well as emotional and psychological factors, have a positive and significant influence on willingness to buy. Conversely, social and incentive factors exhibit a significant negative effect. The remaining factors—brand interaction and engagement and perceived value and experience—were not found to have a significant impact. These findings offer valuable insights into how meta-brand interactions shape consumer decision-making in virtual environments, providing actionable implications for marketers aiming to refine branding strategies within the Metaverse and deepen their understanding of virtual consumer behavior.