Page - 32 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

businesses and consumers. This technology is already a popular tool used by both start-ups and large corporations, offering utility for awide range of purposes. UnlikeAR,VR represents a full digital representation of the actual worldwith virtual content and information.Virtual reality is a complete virtual replacement of the realworld,whereasARadds content to it (Farshid et al. 2018). This couldbe a three-dimensional (3D) digital environment generated by computers,which can be used fordifferentpurposes.Apopular function is theability toplayvideogamesand view immersive video content through VR headsets. In a business context, how- ever,VR technology can be used tomake creative content. Businesses are looking for digital solutions for automation and productivity for their internal processes. There aremanysuccess stories regarding the implementationsofVRtechnology in which the technology has increased productivity and creativity in external and internal processes. Several VR-supported approaches have been tested to examine its effects on creativity. Alahuhta et al. (2014) identified eight affordances for the support of creativity by virtual environments. Characteristics of VR technology, such as immersion and rich visual information, were determined to be important aspects to support creativity. In experiments conducted by Lau and Lee (2012), a focuswas put on learning creativity and the support of learning experiences. From experimenting with highly interactive virtual environments, it showed that enter- taining and explorative factors were essential. Another VR-supported approach concerning creativity that primed virtual environments was tested byBhagwatwar et al. (2013). Here, the idea-generation process of humans was investigated by exposing them to these virtual environments. Graessler et al. (2017) tested six generated virtual environments, consisting of different contents and grades of mobility and interaction.Asaconsequence,Graessler andTaplick (2018) tested the SensoryStimulusEnvironmentTechniquewithpre-developedvirtual environments to investigate its efficiency. By comparing this techniquewith ‘brainstorming’ and the Sensory Picture Technique, theywere able to improve the creativity technique supported byVR technology.These approaches have assisted in the exploration of the relationship between creativity andvirtual environments.Moreover, a common example is the use of virtual tours of houses and other properties in the real estate industry.Real estatefirms are nowable to offer creative digital content in the form of VR tours that allow potential customers to get a realistic and immersive impression of the property. When integrated successfully, VR technology can replaceharmfulorcomplexsituations in termsof training.LikeAR, this technology can also provide solutions for remote access and communication, which can stan- dardise certain operations and reduce the carbon footprint (Fade 2020). Visual tools and technologies are effectiveways to foster creativity in business model development processes and idea development. Augmented reality can help us visualise data and information in the realworld to give a realistic perspective of an ideaorconcept.Digital technologies suchasARenableentrepreneurial activities andease theprocessofbringing ideas to lifeor improvingcommunicationandother processes (Elia et al. 2020). One of the great purposes of augmented reality is the visual aid to support departments andcustomers.Manyfirmshaveexplored theuse of augmented reality to bridge the gap betweenworkingwith customers remotely. Unleashing the Creativity of Entrepreneurswith Digital… 33