Economic, social and environmental impacts of extended reality (XR) on supply chain: a grounded theory approach

Purpose Extended reality (XR), including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), has been studied primarily for its technical attributes and direct business impacts, such as sales and customer engagement. However, the broader implications of XR on the socioeconomic and environmental aspects of operations and supply chains remain underexplored. This study aims to investigate how XR can improve economic, social and environmental business practices and operational efficiency and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the role of XR in transforming management landscapes. Design/methodology/approach Building on a grounded theory approach, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with industry experts. Three-order coding was used for the data analysis. Findings The results showed that XR can be a useful instrument to achieve supply chain sustainability, which includes economic, social and ecological aspects. The identified aspects are social (employed employees, cooperation and communication), economic (cost reduction and risk management) and environmental (resource efficiency and CO2 footprint reduction) in order to uncover the effects of XR. Practical implications By developing a theoretical framework for XR-based sustainable supply chain management, this study adds significantly to XR, sustainability and supply chain literature. Practically, this study provides valuable insights to developers and managers in bringing more sustainability to the supply chain process. Originality/value This study introduced a novel theoretical framework for XR-based sustainable supply chain management.