Adopting immersive technologies for design practice: The internal and external barriers

In the first quarter of the new millennium, the immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) are only a few steps away from becoming the mainstream tools within the design industry. This study investigated the internal and external barriers of technology adoption within design-oriented businesses. A mixed method was used to collect and analyze the data from the employees of a large design firm. This research confirmed that external barriers such as funding, technical support, training, and business strategy that exist at the organizational level are interrelated with the internal barriers such as designers' and managers' perception and attitude toward the new technologies. The managerial applications were discussed later and the directions for future research were provided.