Understanding users' motivations to engage in virtual worlds: A multipurpose model and empirical testing

Despite the growth and commercial potential of virtual worlds, relatively little is known about what drives users' motivations to engage in virtual worlds. This paper proposes and empirically tests a conceptual model aimed at filling this research gap. Given the multipurpose nature of virtual words the model integrates extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as behavioral determinants. By making use of the literature on information system value and motivation theory four important system-specific virtual world characteristics (economic value, ease of use, escapism, visual attractiveness) are added as motivational drivers. Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 846 users of the virtual world Second Life the hypotheses were tested. The results support the model; they confirm the role of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as behavioral determinants and show how and to what extent the four system-specific elements function as motivational basis. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

[1]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[2]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Investigating the Influence of the Functional Mechanisms of Online Product Presentations , 2007 .

[3]  E. Rogers,et al.  Diffusion of innovations , 1964, Encyclopedia of Sport Management.

[4]  E. Deci,et al.  The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior , 2000 .

[5]  Lenita M. Davis,et al.  Atmospheric qualities of online retailing: A conceptual model and implications , 2001 .

[6]  Valerie Barker,et al.  Older Adolescents' Motivations for Social Network Site Use: The Influence of Gender, Group Identity, and Collective Self-Esteem , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[7]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Transfer of Information Technology to the Arab World: A Test of Cultural Influence Modeling , 2001, J. Glob. Inf. Manag..

[8]  Stuart J. Barnes,et al.  Who Needs Cyberspace? Examining Drivers of Needs in Second Life , 2011, Internet Res..

[9]  Gordon B. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View , 2003, MIS Q..

[10]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[11]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  An attitudinal model of technology-based self-service: Moderating effects of consumer traits and situational factors , 2002 .

[12]  G. Rose.  Consumer Socialization, Parental Style, and Developmental Timetables in the United States and Japan , 1999 .

[13]  Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah,et al.  Impact of Flow and Brand Equity in 3D Virtual Worlds , 2010, J. Database Manag..

[14]  Jari Salo,et al.  Teenagers in social virtual worlds: Continuous use and purchasing behavior in Habbo Hotel , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[15]  Nick Yee,et al.  Motivations for Play in Online Games , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[16]  Stuart J. Barnes,et al.  Understanding use continuance in virtual worlds: Empirical test of a research model , 2011, Inf. Manag..

[17]  E. Deci,et al.  Handbook of Self-Determination Research , 2002 .

[18]  Fred D. Davis.  Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology , 1989, MIS Q..

[19]  Dennis F. Galletta,et al.  How Endogenous Motivations Influence User Intentions: Beyond the Dichotomy of Extrinsic and Intrinsic User Motivations , 2008, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[20]  J. Dietz.  Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer , 1997 .

[21]  R. Moenaert,et al.  The Adoption of Information Technology in the Sales Force , 2005 .

[22]  Judy Chuan-Chuan Lin,et al.  The moderating effect of social roles on user behavior in virtual worlds , 2011, Online Inf. Rev..

[23]  Dong Hee Shin,et al.  The Evaluation of User Experience of the Virtual World in Relation to Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation , 2009, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[24]  Kemal Altinkemer,et al.  What habbo goers do in practice? decomposing attitudinal beliefs , 2009 .

[25]  Jijie Wang,et al.  Information technology (IT) in Saudi Arabia: Culture and the acceptance and use of IT , 2007, Inf. Manag..

[26]  John Eighmey,et al.  Adding Value in the Information Age: Uses and Gratifications of Sites on the World Wide Web , 1998 .

[27]  E. Hirschman.  Predictors of Self-Projection, Fantasy Fulfillment, and Escapism , 1983 .

[28]  Richard L. Gilbert,et al.  Realism, idealization, and potential negative impact of 3D virtual relationships , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[29]  Hans van der Heijden,et al.  Factors influencing the usage of websites: the case of a generic portal in The Netherlands , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[30]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Handbook of Marketing Scales: Multi-Item Measures for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research , 1993 .

[31]  Timo Partala,et al.  Psychological needs and virtual worlds: Case Second Life , 2011, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[32]  P. Vorderer,et al.  Psychological Escapism: Predicting the Amount of Television Viewing by Need for Cognition , 2001 .

[33]  Young-Gul Kim,et al.  Extending the TAM for a World-Wide-Web context , 2000, Inf. Manag..

[34]  Andrew K. Przybylski,et al.  The Motivational Pull of Video Games: A Self-Determination Theory Approach , 2006 .

[35]  E. Hirschman,et al.  The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun , 1982 .

[36]  Gordon C. Bruner,et al.  Explaining consumer acceptance of handheld Internet devices , 2005 .

[37]  M. Richard.  Modeling the impact of internet atmospherics on surfer behavior , 2005 .

[38]  Sumeet Gupta,et al.  Value-based Adoption of Mobile Internet: An empirical investigation , 2007, Decis. Support Syst..

[39]  Richard Bartle,et al.  Designing Virtual Worlds , 2003 .

[40]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior , 1975, Perspectives in Social Psychology.

[41]  Kar Yan Tam,et al.  Understanding the Adoption of Multipurpose Information Appliances: The Case of Mobile Data Services , 2006, Inf. Syst. Res..

[42]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Predicting and Changing Behavior: The Reasoned Action Approach , 2009 .

[43]  Lenita M. Davis,et al.  Culture influences on emotional responses to on-line store atmospheric cues , 2008 .

[44]  Christoph Lattemann,et al.  USER ACCEPTANCE OF VIRTUAL WORLDS , 2008 .

[45]  Peter B. Seddon.  A Respecification and Extension of the DeLone and McLean Model of IS Success , 1997, Inf. Syst. Res..

[46]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[47]  Chuan-Hoo Tan,et al.  Dr. Jekyll vis-à-vis Mr. Hyde: Personality variation between virtual and real worlds , 2011, Inf. Manag..

[48]  Yong Jin Kim,et al.  Do visitors' interest level and perceived quantity of web page content matter in shaping the attitude toward a web site? , 2006, Decis. Support Syst..

[49]  P. Korgaonkar.  A Multivariate Analysis of Web Usage , 1999 .

[50]  Hye-Young Kim,et al.  Escapism, consumer lock-in, attitude, and purchase: An illustration from an online shopping context , 2005 .

[51]  E. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[52]  Ting-Peng Liang,et al.  Consumer Attitudes Toward Mobile Advertising: An Empirical Study , 2004, Int. J. Electron. Commer..

[53]  William R. Darden,et al.  Work and/or Fun: Measuring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value , 1994 .

[54]  Robin L. Wakefield,et al.  Mobile computing: a user study on hedonic/utilitarian mobile device usage , 2006, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[55]  Harry Bouwman,et al.  An assessment of advanced mobile services acceptance: Contributions from TAM and diffusion theory models , 2008, Inf. Manag..

[56]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Scaling Procedures: Issues and Applications , 2003 .

[57]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency , 2024, Psihologìâ ì suspìlʹstvo.

[58]  K. B. Monroe,et al.  The Effects of Price - Comparison Advertising on Buyers'''' Perceptions of Acquisition Value, Transa , 1998 .

[59]  Dominique Haughton,et al.  Virtual worlds adoption: a research framework and empirical study , 2009, Online Inf. Rev..

[60]  R. Vallerand,et al.  From Environmental Factors to Outcomes: A Test of an Integrated Motivational Sequence , 2004 .

[61]  Raafat George Saadé,et al.  The impact of cognitive absorption on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in on-line learning: an extension of the technology acceptance model , 2005, Inf. Manag..

[62]  Marja Kankaanranta,et al.  Experiences and motivations of the young for participation in virtual worlds , 2010 .

[63]  M. Minor,et al.  Web aesthetics effects on perceived online service quality and satisfaction in an e-tail environment: The moderating role of purchase task , 2010 .

[64]  advertising value and advertising on the web - Blog @management , 2012 .

[65]  E. Hirschman,et al.  Hedonic Consumption: Emerging Concepts, Methods and Propositions , 1982 .

[66]  Juhani Iivari,et al.  Why do individuals use computer technology? A Finnish case study , 1995, Inf. Manag..

[67]  A. F. Salam,et al.  An extension of the technology acceptance model in an ERP implementation environment , 2004, Inf. Manag..

[68]  J. J. Po-An Hsieh,et al.  ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University , 2016 .

[69]  Kar Yan Tam,et al.  Understanding Continued Information Technology Usage Behavior: A Comparison of Three Models in the Context of Mobile Internet , 2006, Decis. Support Syst..

[70]  Peter A. Todd,et al.  Understanding Information Technology Usage: A Test of Competing Models , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[71]  Marc Hassenzahl,et al.  The Interplay of Beauty, Goodness, and Usability in Interactive Products , 2004, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[72]  William B. Dodds,et al.  Effects of Price, Brand, and Store Information on Buyers’ Product Evaluations , 1991 .

[73]  Leyland F. Pitt,et al.  Potential Research Space in MIS: A Framework for Envisioning and Evaluating Research Replication, Extension, and Generation , 2002, Inf. Syst. Res..

[74]  Yao-Hua Tan,et al.  Information Technology (IT) , 2011, Accelerating Global Supply Chains with IT-Innovation.

[75]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  A cross-country construct validation of cognitive age , 2006 .

[76]  Hans van der Heijden,et al.  User Acceptance of Hedonic Information Systems , 2004, MIS Q..

[77]  Yogesh Kumar Dwivedi,et al.  Contemporary trends and issues in IT adoption and diffusion research , 2009, J. Inf. Technol..

[78]  Philipp Alexander Freund,et al.  “The (Real) World is not Enough:” Motivational Drivers and User Behavior in Virtual Worlds , 2012 .

[79]  R. Vallerand,et al.  Intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational styles as predictors of behavior: A prospective study. , 1992 .

[80]  Eleni Stroulia,et al.  Virtual worlds - past, present, and future: New directions in social computing , 2009, Decis. Support Syst..

[81]  Stephen Shaoyi Liao,et al.  Combining empirical experimentation and modeling techniques: A design research approach for personalized mobile advertising applications , 2008, Decis. Support Syst..

[82]  Ming-Hui Huang,et al.  Web performance scale , 2005, Inf. Manag..

[83]  Dianne Cyr,et al.  Design aesthetics leading to m-loyalty in mobile commerce , 2006, Inf. Manag..

[84]  Edward E. Rigdon,et al.  Experiential value: Conceptualization, measurement and application in the catalog and Internet shopping environment. , 2001 .

[85]  R. Vallerand.  Toward A Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation , 1997 .

[86]  Robert A. Peterson,et al.  The Role of Affect in Consumer Behavior: Emerging Theories and Applications , 1986 .

[87]  Scott E. Caplan,et al.  Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile , 2008, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[88]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Creation of Favorable User Perceptions: Exploring the Role of Intrinsic Motivation , 1999, MIS Q..

[89]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[90]  Sanjit Kumar Roy,et al.  Internet uses and gratifications: A survey in the Indian context , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[91]  Douglas R. Vogel,et al.  Individual motivations and demographic differences in social virtual world uses: An exploratory investigation in Second Life , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[92]  Marcel Creemers,et al.  Understanding online purchase intentions: contributions from technology and trust perspectives , 2003, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[93]  David A. Bray,et al.  Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds: A Roadmap for Research , 2007, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[94]  Chin-Lung Hsu,et al.  Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[95]  Mark Vandenbosch,et al.  Research Report: Richness Versus Parsimony in Modeling Technology Adoption Decisions - Understanding Merchant Adoption of a Smart Card-Based Payment System , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[96]  J. Russell,et al.  An approach to environmental psychology , 1974 .

[97]  Naveen Donthu,et al.  Using the technology acceptance model to explain how attitudes determine Internet usage: The role of perceived access barriers and demographics , 2006 .

[98]  Wynne W. Chin.  The partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling. , 1998 .

[99]  K. Reynolds,et al.  Hedonic shopping motivations , 2003 .

[100]  Ashleigh K. Shelton.  Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying? , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[101]  M. Minor,et al.  Aesthetics and the online shopping environment: Understanding consumer responses , 2011 .

[102]  Andrew K. Przybylski,et al.  A Motivational Model of Video Game Engagement , 2010 .

[103]  Thomas Hill,et al.  Role of efficacy expectations in predicting the decision to use advanced technologies: The case of computers. , 1987 .

[104]  Yoonhyuk Jung,et al.  User goals in social virtual worlds: A means-end chain approach , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[105]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis : a global perspective , 2010 .

[106]  William H. Starbuck,et al.  When Is Play Productive? , 1991 .

[107]  Lakshmi Goel,et al.  From space to place: predicting users' intentions to return to virtual worlds , 2011 .

[108]  Robert F. DeVellis,et al.  Scale Development: Theory and Applications. , 1992 .

[109]  Cheng-Wen Lee,et al.  Influential Factors of Player's Loyalty toward Online Games for Achieving Commercial Success , 2010 .

[110]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use: Integrating Control, Intrinsic Motivation, and Emotion into the Technology Acceptance Model , 2000, Inf. Syst. Res..

[111]  Jia Shen,et al.  Exploring Intentions to Use Virtual Worlds for Business , 2009 .

[112]  Richard P. Bagozzi,et al.  Assessing Construct Validity in Organizational Research , 1991 .

[113]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation to Use Computers in the Workplace1 , 1992 .

[114]  Hsi-Peng Lu,et al.  Why people use social networking sites: An empirical study integrating network externalities and motivation theory , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[115]  George A. Marcoulides,et al.  Modern methods for business research , 1998 .

[116]  Johann Füller,et al.  Avatar-Based Innovation: Consequences of the Virtual Co-Creation Experience , 2010, 2010 43rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[117]  Angeline C. Scheinbaum,et al.  Beyond Buying: Motivations Behind Consumers’ Online Shopping Cart Use , 2009 .