Metaverse Experience in a Public Cultural Institution: Media Innovations and Perception of Public Sector Excellence in Museum of the Future in Dubai

1. Introduction

In recent years, the concept of the metaverse (a sustained, shared, and three-dimensional virtual world that can be accessed through immersive technology such as VR, AR, MR, and spatial computing) has shifted from being just a futuristic vision of the potential of technology into a genuine platform with far-reaching implications for governance, education, cultural production, and media communications [1,2]. First introduced in science fiction, the metaverse has been developed and propagated through gaming platforms and social virtual worlds; it has also gained unprecedented interest among private and governmental entities who seek to leverage the potential of the platform to engage citizens and deliver services [3,4]. The global market size for the metaverse is estimated to touch USD 936.6 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 40% [5].

On a public sector level, the metaverse goes beyond simply being another platform; it represents an entire new mode of service provision, engagement with citizens, and institutional communication [6]. In several respects, the metaverse complements or even replaces traditional e-government and smart governance systems, which have relied heavily on web portals, mobile applications, and data-driven decision-making systems, by creating a more immersive medium for citizens to engage with public services, cultural heritage, and forward-looking policy messages [7,8]. As for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar can be seen as pioneers in this regard through their investments in metaverse platforms as a part of their digital transformation strategies associated with diversification of their economies and the formation of a knowledge-based economy [9,10].

An area of mutual interest to both academic and business communities is the interaction of metaverses and media innovation. The media innovation can be described as the creation and adoption of innovations in terms of technologies, formats, platforms, and narrative techniques that substantially alter the production, distribution, and consumption of the information. It has been greatly affected by the appearance of immersive digital worlds [11,12]. Media innovation through metaverses brings many new possibilities for spatial narratives, participatory journalism, visualization of data, and interpretation of cultural heritage that go beyond the limitations of traditional 2D media formats [13]. Prior studies have revealed that immersive media experience results in higher engagement, emotionality, retention, and behavioral intention than traditional media presentations, thus, proving that media innovation in metaverses would provide qualitatively different communicative affordances [14,15].

Opened in February 2022, the Museum of the Future (MOTF) in Dubai is one of the most advanced and technologically savvy public sector organizations to implement metaverse-adjacent technologies into its operations as a government-run cultural institution [16]. Listed by National Geographic as one of the 14 most beautiful museums in the world, the MOTF is at the same time a cultural institute, a technology incubator, an example of public sector excellence, and an immersive media platform. From space exploration to bioengineering, from climate adaptation to digital governance, the exhibitions of the MOTF feature a variety of tools for building a speculative future, including large-scale projection mapping, haptic environments, AI-powered interactive storytelling, spatial audio, VR chambers, and AR-powered exhibits [16]. Its design puts immersive technologies at the forefront of engaging visitors with the vision of the future proposed by the government, which makes the MOTF an appropriate case for studying the relationships between metaverse implementation, media innovation, and public sector excellence.

The MOTF is also interesting from the perspective of heritage studies. Its facade includes Arabic calligraphy, designed by the Emirati artist Mattar bin Lahej, which depicts quotes from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about creativity, legacy, and innovation, incorporating a traditional art of Arabs into a futuristic public structure [17]. More broadly, museums are one of the key institutions in which societies curate, interpret, and transmit their culture, and the adoption of immersive and metaverse technologies changes the way cultural institutions provide access to their collections and interact with visitors [18,19,20]. Therefore, studying the reactions of visitors to the government-run immersive museum is important for discussions of ICTs for cultural institutions and social role of digital cultural heritage.

Even though metaverse technologies are increasingly used in the public sector, empirical studies of the connections between immersive digital experiences and citizens' perception of media innovation and government excellence are just at the beginning stages [6]. At the moment, the majority of the existing research deals with the technical architectures of metaverse platforms, economic models of virtual economies, and design in metaverse environments [21,22]. Additionally, the few empirical studies of the perceptions of metaverse have mostly considered the cultural, institutional, and technological contexts of East Asia and Western Europe, and have not included the representatives of Middle Eastern and Gulf region populations, who may have different experience with metaverse phenomena [23,24].

Therefore, this study explores the empirical relationships between the quality of the metaverse experience, the perception of media innovation, and the evaluation of public sector excellence among visitors to the Museum of the Future in Dubai. Specifically, this study seeks to investigate the relationships between the quality of the immersive media experience and evaluations of media innovation and public sector organizational performance, and the role of perceived media innovation as the mediation mechanism in this relationship. The study aims to answer the following research questions:

• RQ1: What are the patterns and quality of the metaverse experiences of visitors to the Museum of the Future (MOTF) in Dubai?
• RQ2: How well do the visitors recognize the reflection of media innovation and public sector excellence in the metaverse installations at the MOTF?
• RQ3: In what ways are the qualities of metaverse experience, perception of media innovation, and assessment of public sector excellence associated? Is there any mediation effect of perception of media innovation in relation to the quality of metaverse experience on the assessment of public sector excellence?

2. Literature Review and Hypotheses

2.1. The Metaverse: Theoretical Background and Public Sector Applications

The metaverse has been explored through a variety of theoretical paradigms, including technological determinism, social construction of technology, and affordances [1,3]. According to Park and Kim [2], the metaverse consists of the following seven characteristics: persistence, synchronicity, interoperability, immersiveness, scalability, user-generated content, and economic functionality. These characteristics set apart the metaverse from the previous generations of digital interaction through creating productive and spatially and socially embedded virtual experiences that correspond to the real-world interactions.

Since 2021, the usage of the metaverse for public sector applications is steadily growing. In January 2022, the metaverse strategy of South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT stated that the country aims to become the fifth largest metaverse market in the world by 2026, support the emergence of 220 metaverse businesses, and create a pool of 40,000 metaverse specialists [25]. In July 2022, Dubai has introduced its Metaverse Strategy, which will enable the creation of more than 40,000 virtual jobs until 2030 and turn Dubai into one of the leading metaverse economies of the world [9]. Similarly, the 2023 initiative of the European Commission on Web 4.0 and virtual worlds has highlighted public services, cultural heritage, and citizen participation among the main areas of application [26]. Empirical studies on the application of the metaverse in smart cities and urban planning [7,21], education [8], and cultural heritage tourism [22] resulted in mostly positive outcomes in terms of engagement, learning, and trust in institutions.

2.2. Media Innovation in the Era of Immersive Technologies

Theoretical studies on media innovation have changed considerably owing to digitalisation. Storsul and Krumsvik [11] defined media innovation as a new product or process of media production or media organisation while Dogruel [12] suggested a multi-level approach differentiating between incremental and radical media innovations in the domains of technology, content, and business models. The era of immersive technologies has brought new media formats known as spatial or volumetric media whose characteristic feature is to occupy three-dimensional spaces and provide embodied interactions [13].

Research into immersive media has shown their distinct communication potentialities. VR-based media experiences were found to increase presence, emotional involvement, and perspective-taking compared with textual and video experiences [14]. Shin and Biocca [15] demonstrated an effect of immersive media on information credibility and recall accuracy.

2.3. Immersive Technologies in Museums and Cultural Heritage

Museums have traditionally acted as incubators for new media technologies, and the impact of digital innovations on how museums document, interpret, and display their collections has steadily increased over time [18]. A review of various applications of AR, VR, and MR within cultural heritage found that immersive technologies were used mostly for educational, exhibition augmentation, exploratory, reconstructive, and virtual museums' purposes and had the potential to extend access to heritage content [19]. Acceptance of mobile augmented reality in the context of heritage tourism has been associated with information quality, enjoyment, and usefulness [27]. When it comes to museums, the advantages of visits to museums using mixed reality have been found to include higher levels of visitor satisfaction, learning outcomes, and intentions to revisit a museum [23]. VR and MR experience in heritage sites have been proven to contribute to emotional connections with cultural narratives [24]. More recently, metaverse replicas of museums have been shown to foster different forms of visitor engagement and interactions, while raising questions related to the authenticity of experience [20]. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on the usage of immersive technologies in government operated museums, which go beyond cultural content and serve the communicative function of projecting institutional and national visions.

2.4. Public Sector Excellence and Citizen Perception

Models of public sector excellence include the EFQM Excellence Model, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), and the UAE Government Excellence Model [28,29]. All of them take into consideration organisational leadership, strategy, people management, partnerships, processes, and results, citizen satisfaction being among the main outcome indicators [30]. In the realm of e-government, relationships between technological innovation and perception of public service quality have been explored, and consistent results indicate that digital service quality, perceived usefulness and technological sophistication predict trust in and satisfaction with government [31,32].

At the same time, the potential of immersive technologies for perceptions of public sector excellence remains underexplored. According to Kshetri et al. [6], the metaverse could increase the efficiency of service delivery, citizen engagement and trust, but empirical testing of such propositions is needed, while Dwivedi et al. [3] call for research in this area, especially with regards to how metaverse experiences influence institution perception when governments utilise immersive technologies for building national brands and engaging with citizens.

2.5. Dubai's Museum of the Future as a Research Context

The MOTF is located at the crossroads of cultural institution, technology showcase, and the best practices of the government. Established under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the museum is run by the Dubai Future Foundation, a government organization that aims to make Dubai into an innovation center of the world [16]. The seven floors of the museum host immersive representations of futuristic scenarios in the domains of space, ecology, health, and digital society; these experiences are built upon storytelling, sensory technology, and participation [16].

As of February 2026, over five million visitors have visited the MOTF since its inauguration [33]. The museum announced that it will be closed in September 2026 to install all-new exhibits in its facilities, with the reopening scheduled for 2027 [33]; accordingly, this research is concerned with the reactions of visitors to the first exhibition cycle. In view of the museum's twofold purpose as a landmark and the government's demonstration of technological leadership, the MOTF represents an adequate natural setting where one may explore how the widespread implementation of metaverse technologies in the public sector influences the citizens' perceptions of media innovation and institutional quality.

2.6. Research Gap and Hypotheses

While the body of knowledge about metaverse technology, media innovation, and public sector excellence has been growing rapidly, there has been little research on the intersections of these concepts in one integrated theoretical and empirical framework. Besides, while the Gulf countries are regarded as leaders in metaverse investments and smart government solutions, they receive scarce attention in the literature on immersive technologies and institutions. Accordingly, this study aims to fill in these gaps and conduct an empirical analysis of the relationships between metaverse experience quality, media innovation perception, and the assessment of public sector excellence within the framework of Dubai's Museum of the Future.

Based on presence theory [34] and media innovation theory [11,12], the higher quality of immersive experience is expected to increase the novelty of the museum's communication in the eyes of visitors. Furthermore, based on the signaling theory [35,36], the visible use of advanced communication technology by a government organization can serve as a signal of institutional competence and vision. The following hypotheses were developed:

• H1: Quality of metaverse experience is positively correlated with media innovation perceptions.
• H2: Quality of metaverse experience is positively correlated with public sector excellence perceptions.
• H3: Media innovation perceptions are positively correlated with public sector excellence perceptions.
• H4: Media innovation perceptions mediate the relationship between metaverse experience quality and public sector excellence perceptions.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Research Design and Setting

In this cross-sectional, quantitative study, the quality of the metaverse experience, media innovation perception, and the public sector excellence evaluation among visitors to Dubai's Museum of the Future were investigated. Data were collected from three months (September – November 2025) via structured self-administered online questionnaire, completed by participants on their own mobile devices after their visit to the Museum of the Future. These months were chosen due to stable operations of the museum in this time range, free of seasonal differences connected to summer heat or Ramadan.

3.2. Participants and Sampling

In this study, a non-probability convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit adults (age 18 or older) who completed their visit to the Museum of the Future. Research team members approached exiting visitors twice a day during two time intervals (10:00-14:00 and 16:00-20:00) three times a week, inviting them to participate in the research. The inclusion criteria consisted of the following: age equal to or more than 18 years old, visiting at least three of seven floors of the exhibition, the ability to read and respond to questions in Arabic or English, and verbal informed consent to participate in the research.

In advance power analysis for multiple regression (f2 = 0.15, α = .05, power = .95) minimum sample size equals 153 participants. The final sample included 386 participants, satisfying this requirement. Questionnaire was delivered to the participants via Google Forms. The data were extracted from Google Forms to Google Sheets and further to MS Excel, where the codes were made for IBM SPSS Statistics (version 26) processing.

Ethical approval was granted by the University Research Council of Gulf University, Kingdom of Bahrain (GU-12-12-2024), the approval was obtained on 12 December 2024 with validity period of 1 January 2025-1 January 2026; the data collection took place in this time frame. Consistently with the approved protocol, informed verbal consent was obtained from each participant before the delivery of the questionnaire link. The purpose of the research, voluntariness of participation, the right to stop the research at any point, as well as anonymity and confidentiality of responses were explained to each participant. The written consent was not required because of anonymity, absence of personal identification information in the questionnaire, low risk, in-person recruitment to complete an online survey, and the absence of any audio and video recordings. The study was performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki (2013).

The sample included 198 males (51.3%) and 188 females (48.7%), with mean age of 32.4 (SD = 9.8). The nationalities of visitors represented cosmopolitanism of Dubai: United Arab Emirates nationals (28.2%), other GCC nationals (18.4%), other Arab nationalities (14.5%), South/Southeast Asian (22.3%), European (9.8%), and other nationalities (6.8%) (Table 1).

3.3. Data Collection Instruments

The questionnaire comprised four sections, each of which was professionally translated into Arabic and then back-translated into English by media studies academics and public administration researchers who were fluent in both languages. Content validity was confirmed by five experts (two media innovation scholars, two public administration scholars, and one immersive technology researcher), and the content validity index (CVI) for all sections was higher than 0.90. The whole survey was pre-tested among 30 non-respondent museum visitors, and the results were satisfactory in terms of completion rate (96.7%) and average time required for filling in the survey (18 minutes).

Section 1. Demographic and Digital Literacy Profile. The first section included questions about the age, gender, nationality, educational level, previous experience of interacting with the metaverse/VR (none, limited, moderate, or extensive), daily technology use, and the purpose of visiting the museum (tourism, education, professional interests, or personal curiosity).

Section 2. Metaverse Experience Quality Scale (MEQS). MEQS is the 12-item scale modified for this research based on the presence theory [34], technology acceptance model [37], and experience economy approach [38]. MEQS consists of four dimensions: Sensory Immersion (3 items; e.g., 'The visual and audio elements created a convincing sense of being in another world'), Interactive Engagement (3 items; e.g., 'I felt that my actions meaningfully influenced the experience'), Narrative Coherence (3 items; e.g., 'The storylines presented were compelling and easy to follow'), and Emotional Resonance (3 items; e.g., 'The experience evoked strong emotional responses such as wonder, curiosity, or inspiration'). Items were rated on the 5-point Likert scale, which ranged from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree. Alpha coefficients of the total score and subscales were 0.912 and 0.84 - 0.89 correspondingly; KMO = 0.894 (see Appendix A, Table A1).

Section 3. Media Innovation Perception Index (MIPI). The 10-item scale estimated the impact of MOTF experience on visitors' perception of media innovation. MIPI is based on two established frameworks of media innovation [11,12] and includes three dimensions: (a) Technological Innovation (4 items; e.g., 'The museum used technologies I had never experienced before'), (b) Content Innovation (3 items; e.g., 'The way stories were presented was fundamentally different from traditional media'), and (c) Experience Innovation (3 items; e.g., 'The museum redefined what I expect from a media experience'). Questions were answered using the 5-point Likert scale. Alpha coefficient = 0.897; KMO = 0.876 (see Appendix A, Table A2).

Section 4. Public Sector Excellence Assessment (PSEA). This 10-item scale estimates the influence of MOTF experience on visitors' views on the quality and innovativeness of Dubai's public sector. PSEA scale was developed using the UAE Government Excellence Model and citizen satisfaction frameworks [29,30]; it includes three dimensions: Institutional Vision and Leadership (3 items; e.g., 'This museum demonstrates that Dubai's government has a clear and inspiring vision for the future'), Service Quality and Innovation (4 items; e.g., 'Experiencing this facility increases my confidence in the quality of Dubai's public services'), and Citizen Engagement and Trust (3 items; e.g., 'This experience makes me feel that the government values citizen engagement and wellbeing'). Alpha coefficient = 0.904; KMO = 0.882 (see Appendix A, Table A3).

3.4. Statistical Analysis

All statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 26) and PROCESS macro (v4.2) [39]. The analysis consisted of four steps. Step 1: Calculations of frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis were carried out for all demographic, experience, and scale variables. Step 2: To test differences between genders, independent-samples t-test was employed (Cohen’s d: small effect size = 0.20, medium effect size = 0.50, large effect size = 0.80); to compare groups greater than two in number – one-way ANOVA was used with Tukey post hoc test; to determine correlations between continuous variables – Pearson product–moment correlation was applied (small correlation r = .10–.29, medium correlation r = .30–.49, large correlation r ≥ .50). Step 3: Hierarchical multiple regression was used to identify the unique and incremental contributions of metaverse experience quality and media innovation perception to public sector excellence assessment after taking into account demographic and digital literacy variables. Unstandardised (B) and standardised (β) coefficients with 95% confidence intervals are presented. Multicollinearity was tested using variance inflation factors (all VIF < 2.8). The regression model assumptions were verified for linearity (residual plots), homoscedasticity (Breusch-Pagan test, p = .184), and normality of residuals (Shapiro-Wilk test, p = .094). Step 4: Bootstrapped mediation analysis (5000 samples; PROCESS Model 4) was run to test the hypothesis of media innovation perception as a mediator of the relationship between metaverse experience quality and public sector excellence assessment. Indirect effects were considered significant when 95% bias-corrected confidence interval did not include zero. Two-tailed significance level p < .05 was considered statistically significant, effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals are provided along with p-values.

4. Results

4.1. Demographic and Digital Literacy Profile

The participants in this study have a cosmopolitan profile typical of visitors to Dubai. Gender balance (51.3% male and 48.7% female) and age distribution (83.3% 18-45) are typical. The vast majority (87.6%) of the sample has a bachelor’s or higher education. The majority of participants (78.8%) have some experience of virtual reality (VR) or metaverse technologies, but only 13.5% had extensive experience. Tourism is the most popular reason for visiting (43.5%), followed by professional interest (22.3%).

4.2. Metaverse Experience Quality

As seen in Table 2, the items pertaining to emotional resonance, especially sense of wonder and curiosity (M = 4.28), and narrative coherence, especially future relevance (M = 4.22), were evaluated most positively, while the items referring to interactive engagement, including agency and control (M = 3.58), received lower ratings. The composite MEQS rating (M = 3.87, SD = 0.72) reflected the high quality of immersion, since 78.4% of respondents provided a rating equal or higher than the threshold (MEQS ≥ 3.5).

4.3. Media Innovation Perception

The level of media innovation perception was quite high in terms of all dimensions, with future readiness (M = 4.32) and memorable distinctiveness (M = 4.26) receiving the highest ratings. Overall, the media innovation perception was high (composite MIPI M = 4.07, SD = 0.68), since 80.9% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed (see Table 3).

4.4. Public Sector Excellence Assessment

According to Table 4, positive perceptions of public sector excellence were mostly associated with institutional vision (M = 4.34) and strategic positioning (M = 4.22). Citizen engagement and trust factors were also rated positively, but their perceptions were less favorable. Transparency (M = 3.78) was the least favorably perceived item in the PSEA questionnaire. The average score on the PSEA scale (M = 4.03, SD = 0.71) suggests generally high perceptions of public sector excellence due to museum visits.

4.5. Correlation Analysis

As can be seen from Table 5, media innovation perception (r = .64, p < .001) and public sector excellence assessment (r = .58, p < .001) have very strong and positive associations with metaverse experience quality, which proves the validity of H1 and H2 at the bivariate level. The highest bivariate correlation is observed between media innovation perception and public sector excellence (r = .71, p < .001), thus proving H3 and suggesting that both measures are highly correlated. Prior VR experience is weakly and positively correlated with all three variables of the study, while age is negatively associated with experience quality and media innovation perception.

4.6. Hierarchical Multiple Regression

The results of the hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that metaverse experience quality (Step 3) predicted the largest incremental variance (ΔR² = .218, p < .001), while media innovation perception (Step 4) explained additional 14.2% of the variance. In the final model, MIPI and MEQS turned out to be significant positive predictors of public sector excellence, with β = .46 (p < .001) and β = .24 (p < .001) respectively, and the adjusted R² of the model was 43.2%. As expected, the addition of the MIPI variable to the model resulted in the reduction of the metaverse experience quality coefficient from β = .41 to β = .24 (Table 6).

4.7. Mediation Analysis

As it can be seen in Table 7, the mediation analysis confirmed that media innovation perception mediated the effect of metaverse experience quality on the public sector excellence assessment, thus confirming H4. Upon introducing media innovation perception as a mediator variable, the total effect of MEQS on PSEA (β = .574) became significantly reduced (direct effect = .214; indirect effect = .360, representing 62.8% of the total effect). The 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect did not include zero [.284, .442], which indicates statistical significance. Since the direct effect was also found to be significant, the mediation was partial, thus proving that the quality of immersive experience affects institutional evaluations due to perceptions of the museum's communication innovation.

4.8. Nationality-Based Comparisons

As can be seen from Table 8, the only statistically significant difference between the studied nationality groups was observed with respect to public sector excellence assessment (F = 5.86, p < .001, η² = .06). As a result of post hoc analyses using the Tukey test it was revealed that UAE nationals estimated public sector excellence significantly higher than European visitors (mean difference = 0.50, p = .002) and other Arab nationals (mean difference = 0.36, p = .018), which may be explained by national pride and awareness of UAE government structures. In addition, no statistically significant differences between the studied nationalities were revealed in metaverse experience quality and media innovation perception.

5. Discussion

The current research can be regarded as one of the few empirically based attempts to examine the relationships between metaverse experience quality, media innovation perception, and public sector excellence assessment in an immersive cultural institution managed by the government. The findings provide evidence of a consistent and theoretically justified relationship: the quality of metaverse experiences at Dubai’s Museum of the Future is significantly associated with public sector excellence perception, and media innovation perception serves as the mediator.

5.1. Quality of Metaverse Experiences

High average ratings in all categories (M = 3.87) provide evidence that the MOTF is a successful design in terms of creating immersive experiences that are engaging for visitors from sensory, interactional, narrative, and emotional perspectives. High average ratings for emotional resonance (wonder and curiosity: M = 4.28) and narrative coherence (future relevance: M = 4.22) demonstrate that museum's design approach, focused on storytelling and emotional engagement as opposed to just entertainment with the help of the latest technology, proves to be quite effective. The obtained findings support the experience economy framework by Pine and Gilmore [38], stating that the most transformative experiences are those involving audience aesthetically, educationally, entertainingly and escapistly.

On the other hand, relatively low ratings for interactional engagement (particularly for perceived agency and control, M = 3.58) show the area that needs improvement. Interactivity and agency have been proven to be one of the key variables affecting presence, satisfaction, and learning in immersive environment [14,15]. The exhibition design of the MOTF is very elaborated from the sensory and narrative perspectives, but seems more choreographic and less user-centered and open-ended.

5.2. Technology and Media Innovation in the Metaverse

As expected, metaverse experience quality was positively correlated with media innovation perception (r = .64, p < .001), providing empirical support to the theoretical claims that metaverse technologies represent not an incremental, but a qualitative improvement in media communication [11,13]. Visitors reporting better metaverse experience rated museum higher on the perception of media innovation, demonstrating that communicative properties of the immersive technology (spatial embedding, interaction and multi-sensory engagement) are recognized as new media capacities by visitors.

In particular, high ratings for future readiness (M = 4.32) and memorable distinctiveness (M = 4.26) on the MIPI prove the effectiveness of the MOTF in positioning itself as a progressive institution that shows media capacity that visitors perceive as part of the future media landscape. The obtained findings coincide with the theory developed by Dogruel [12] on incremental and radical media innovations, suggesting that visitors perceive the immersive technologies used by MOTF as a radical innovation in media experiences.

5.3. Perception of Media Innovation as a Mediator

The major contribution of the study conceptually consists of mediating factors' identification. The finding of 62.8% of the effect of metaverse experience quality on the evaluation of the public sector excellence being mediated by media innovation shows that immersive technology does not simply affect the perception of institutions' technological expertise; instead, it makes the assessment of an organization dependent on its communication skills, visions, and quality.

From the perspective of signalling theory [35,36], it should be noted that the Dubai government uses the latest immersive technology in a public cultural institution as a way to demonstrate technological advancement, visionary leadership, and citizen participation. However, from the point of view of visitors, such a signal is perceived mostly as media innovation, or the ability to communicate in innovative ways.

5.4. Cultural and Contextual Issues

The existence of the significant difference in public sector excellence evaluations depending on the nationality of visitors, as nationals gave the highest ratings, is an important contextual aspect of the findings. It can be explained by the combination of the sense of national pride, familiarity with the institution, and the status of MOTF as the proof of the achievements of the UAE nation. However, experience quality and media innovation were not significantly affected by the nationality of participants.

5.5. Consequences for Museums and Cultural Organizations

The results carry implications for cultural institutions that are implementing immersive technologies. First, narrative consistency and emotional significance were prioritized over interactivity, meaning that technology contributes more to storytelling and interpreting a concept than to entertainment. This finding is aligned with previous studies on immersive technologies in cultural heritage [19,23]. Second, the low ratings for agency and control imply that cultural institutions can give visitors more freedom of exploration, choice, and creation, something that is already being tried out in metaverse museums [20]. Third, since the visitors perceived the immersive communication of the museum as a way to demonstrate their institution’s vision and professionalism, it means that cultural institutions managed by the government should understand that exhibition design communicates institutional identity as well. Lastly, the incorporation of the Arabic calligraphy at the MOTF shows how immersive cultural institutions can tie local cultural heritage with innovation stories [17].

5.6. Limitations

Certain constraints must be considered. First of all, the cross-sectional approach employed does not make it possible to draw causation between the quality of metaverse experiences and perceptions of the government institutions or vice versa – it is unclear whether those visitors who had better experiences were those who felt positively about Dubai’s government or vice versa. Second, self-reporting was employed for all variables, which introduces common method variance [40] and social desirability effect for the institutional variables in particular. Third, the sampling procedure used, where only visitors who had visited at least three exhibition floors were surveyed, may have resulted in overrepresentation of those participants who were more engaged with technology and had more positive attitudes toward innovation. Fourth, the research has been conducted in relation to only one institution in one particular city, limiting the possibility to generalise the findings to the other metaverse applications elsewhere. Fifth, while the model was able to explain a considerable amount of variance (R² = .432), 56.8% of the variance in public sector excellence perceptions still needs to be accounted for by other factors.

5.7. Future Research Directions

Future research might be conducted using longitudinal designs to track changes in perceptions of institutions; comparative designs comparing metaverse-based institutions in other countries; experimental designs to isolate certain immersive characteristics of the metaverse experience; and mixed methods combining qualitative analysis of visitors' narratives with quantitative assessment. There will also be a possibility to compare reactions to the MOTF’s exhibitions in 2027 when it opens again with new exhibitions.

6. Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that there is a strong correlation between immersive experiences provided in the Dubai Museum of the Future and positive perceptions about media innovation and public sector excellence. It is significant that perception of media innovation mediated 62.8% of the relationship between the quality of metaverse experience and public sector excellence and demonstrates the significance of immersive technologies for the perception of the government as an innovative communicator, which should be taken into account when building metaverse infrastructure in the framework of the digital transformation process. The results suggest that the usage of immersive technologies by governments in their public cultural institutions can have not only positive influence on cultural consumption, but also lead to a better perception of government institutions by citizens and improve its reputation and performance. It should be noted that the results of the research are correlational and are obtained with the help of a convenience sample from one institution only.

The present paper offers empirical evidence concerning the investment in the metaverse-based institutions in culture in the UAE and other Gulf States, showing that the crucial point is not the technology itself but media innovation in order to unlock institutional benefits from such investments. In other words, this fact implies that there are important implications regarding how to create innovative institutions based on the use of modern technology, namely it is not sufficient to employ the technological capabilities but to make innovative communication experience in order to change the perception of what cultural institutions can do for the citizens.