How can Squadland motivate people to adopt sustainable behaviours through its metaverse?

Abstract

Squadeasy, founded in France in 2014 with a move-to-earn app, launched a metaverse called Squadland in 2022, with a goal of increasing the company’s positive impact on the planet. When app users engaged in fitness activity in the real world, they earned tokens to buy land and other digital assets (NFTs) in Squadland, thereby improving the environment both inside the app and in the real world; Squadeasy bought land in the real world to mirror users’ actions in the metaverse. In this way, users could contribute to positive social change and have a sustainable effect on the world. This case discusses users’ motivations to engage in this metaverse, through the lens of Self Determination Theory. First, rather than fun and rewards, identified regulation is the relevant motivation to trigger commitment to the metaverse as it related to personal values and self-identity. Second, three external situational factors (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) positively increase commitment and will help users stay with the app. The metaverse fits well with these three external situational factors and can help achieve actual sustainable change.