The impact of online community position on online game continuance intention: Do game knowledge and community size matter?

This study attempts to investigate how a player's position in an online gaming community leads to his or her continuance intention toward a Massive Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) from the perspective of social capital theory. Using subjective and objective data collected from 340 players in a representative MMOG, our results reveal that community position significantly affects community trust and perceived social value, which in turn positively influence MMOG continuance intention. Furthermore, this study provides support for the moderating effects of game knowledge and community size on the proposed model. This study concludes with research limitations and theoretical and managerial implications.

[1]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[2]  Ko de Ruyter,et al.  Beyond the Call of Duty: Why Customers Contribute to Firm-hosted Commercial Online Communities , 2007 .

[3]  Robert J. Moore,et al.  The life and death of online gaming communities: a look at guilds in world of warcraft , 2007, CHI.

[4]  J. W. Hutchinson,et al.  Dimensions of Consumer Expertise , 1987 .

[5]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  On the evaluation of structural equation models , 1988 .

[6]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital and Value Creation: The Role of Intrafirm Networks , 1998 .

[7]  K. Cook,et al.  Power, Equity and Commitment in Exchange Networks , 1978 .

[8]  R. Kozinets.  E-tribalized Marketing?: The Strategic Implications of Virtual Communities of Consumption , 1999 .

[9]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[10]  N. Lin.  Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action , 2001 .

[11]  Naresh K. Malhotra,et al.  Common Method Variance in IS Research: A Comparison of Alternative Approaches and a Reanalysis of Past Research , 2006, Manag. Sci..

[12]  P. Blau.  Exchange and Power in Social Life , 1964 .

[13]  Eric T. G. Wang,et al.  Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories , 2006, Decis. Support Syst..

[14]  B. Cova.  Community and consumption , 1997 .

[15]  Hsi-Peng Lu,et al.  The role of Internet addiction in online game loyalty: an exploratory study , 2008, Internet Res..

[16]  Mark S. Granovetter.  Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness , 1985, American Journal of Sociology.

[17]  N. Yee,et al.  From Tree House to Barracks , 2006, Games Cult..

[18]  Vijay Mahajan,et al.  The Economic Leverage of the Virtual Community , 2001, Int. J. Electron. Commer..

[19]  Keith N. Hampton,et al.  Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital? , 2001 .

[20]  Howard Rheingold,et al.  The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier , 2000 .

[21]  Robert J. Moore,et al.  "Alone together?": exploring the social dynamics of massively multiplayer online games , 2006, CHI.

[22]  P. Bentler,et al.  Evaluating model fit. , 1995 .

[23]  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..

[24]  R. Burt.  Toward a Structural Theory of Action: Network Models of Social Structure , 1985 .

[25]  Ronald S. Burt,et al.  Positions in Networks , 1976 .

[26]  Bonnie A. Nardi,et al.  Strangers and friends: collaborative play in world of warcraft , 2006, CSCW '06.

[27]  K. Ruyter,et al.  Social Capital Production in a Virtual P3 Community , 2008 .

[28]  Peter A. Todd,et al.  Assessing IT usage: the role of prior experience , 1995 .

[29]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[30]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[31]  A. Herrmann,et al.  The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs , 2005 .

[32]  P. Schurr,et al.  Influences on exchange processes: Buyers' preconceptions of a seller's trustworthiness and bargaining toughness. , 1985 .

[33]  David L. Mothersbaugh,et al.  Consumer Knowledge Assessment , 1994 .

[34]  Steven B. Andrews,et al.  Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition , 1995, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[35]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[36]  Utpal M. Dholakia,et al.  Open Source Software User Communities: A Study of Participation in Linux User Groups , 2006, Manag. Sci..

[37]  Samer Faraj,et al.  Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice , 2005, MIS Q..

[38]  De Liu,et al.  The Effects of Trust and Enjoyment on Intention to Play Online Games , 2007 .

[39]  P. Adler,et al.  Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept , 2002 .

[40]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[41]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[42]  Maria L. Kraimer,et al.  A Social Capital Theory of Career Success , 2001 .

[43]  Dimitrina S. Dimitrova,et al.  Computer Networks as Social Networks: Collaborative Work, Telework, and Virtual Community , 1996 .

[44]  C. Handy.  Trust and the virtual organization , 1999 .

[45]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Project massive: a study of online gaming communities , 2004, CHI EA '04.

[46]  Dong-Mo Koo,et al.  The moderating role of locus of control on the links between experiential motives and intention to play online games , 2009, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[47]  Gary L. Lilien,et al.  Location, Location, Location: How Network Embeddedness Affects Project Success in Open Source Systems , 2006, Manag. Sci..

[48]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Is Anybody Out There? Antecedents of Trust in Global Virtual Teams , 1998, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[49]  R. Burt.  The contingent value of social capital. , 1997 .

[50]  W. G. Astley.  The Two Ecologies: Population and Community Perspectives on Organizational Evolution. , 1985 .

[51]  Chitu Okoli,et al.  Investigating recognition-based performance in an open content community: A social capital perspective , 2007, Inf. Manag..

[52]  T. Elfring,et al.  Entrepreneurial Orientation and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Role of Intra- And Extraindustry Social Capital , 2008 .

[53]  James N. Baron,et al.  Resources and Relationships: Social Networks and Mobility in the Workplace , 1997 .

[54]  Youngjin Yoo,et al.  Emergent leadership in virtual teams: what do emergent leaders do? , 2004, Inf. Organ..

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

[56]  Raymond T. Sparrowe,et al.  Social Networks and the Performance of Individuals and Groups , 2001 .

[57]  R. P. McDonald,et al.  Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit. , 1990 .

[58]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  Lisrel 8: User's Reference Guide , 1997 .

[59]  Molly McLure Wasko,et al.  Leadership in MMOGS: Emergent and Transformational Leadership Candidates , 2009, AMCIS.

[60]  S. Ghoshal,et al.  Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage , 1998 .

[61]  Judy K. Frels,et al.  Consumer switching costs: A typology, antecedents, and consequences , 2003 .

[62]  Wenpin Tsai.  Knowledge Transfer in Intraorganizational Networks: Effects of Network Position and Absorptive Capacity on Business Unit Innovation and Performance , 2001 .

[63]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality , 1996 .

[64]  David Gefen,et al.  Some antecedents and effects of trust in virtual communities , 2002, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[65]  M. Brucks.  The Effects of Product Class Knowledge on Information Search Behavior , 1985 .

[66]  J. Coleman.  Foundations of Social Theory , 1990 .

[67]  Scott E. Caplan,et al.  Can You Hear Me Now? The Impact of Voice in an Online Gaming Community , 2007 .