Human Journals Review Article November 2019 Vol.:14, Issue:1 © All rights are reserved by José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior et al. Design Science Research in Developing Leadership in Virtual Worlds www.ijsrm.humanjournals.com Keywords: Design Science Research, Leadership, Metaverse, Competence ABSTRACT This paper discusses the Design Science Research (DSR) approach applied in the development of leadership skills in undergraduate business administration students. The development of leadership skills is essential for managers; however, business undergraduate courses do not provide many opportunities and spaces for students to develop their skills. To fill this gap, using the DSR method it was possible to build, test and evaluate an artefact that could be utilized as a training method for leadership development in the three- dimensional virtual world Second Life. The research was developed in a business administration undergraduate course in one university in South Brazil. This paper describes the steps of the research showing all methodological considerations and accordingly its contribution to rigor and relevance in the DSR domain. The results demonstrate that DSR is an appropriate approach to study and develop competencies in practice. Furthermore, it was possible to identify the possibilities and limitations of the artefact. The results also indicate that this virtual environment has the resources for the user to encounter a context close to reality. Finally, this paper is useful to researchers who wish to apply the DSR method and serves as supporting material for teaching management, as the created artefact can be totally or partially replicated. José Carlos da Silva Freitas Junior* 1 , Claudia Cristina Bitencourt 1 , Patricia Martins Fagundes Cabral 1 , Rafael Alfonso Brinkhues 2 1. UNISINOS (VALE DO RIO DOS SINOS UNIVERSITY) Av. Dr. Nilo Peçanha, 1600 – Boa Vista, Porto Alegre – RS, 91330-002 2. IFRS (FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL) Av. Sem. Salgado Filho – São Lucas, Viamão – RS, 94410-970 Submission: 22 October 2019 Accepted: 29 October 2019 Published: 30 November 2019