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

Authors:
Tibert Verhagen;Frans Feldberg;Bart van den Hooff;Selmar Meents;Jani Merikivi
Affiliations:
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Turku School of Economics, Turku, Finland
Venue:
Computers in Human Behavior
Year:
2012

Citing 43
Cited 7

User acceptance of computer technology: a comparison of two theoretical models

Management Science
Why do individuals use computer technology?: a Finnish case study

Information and Management
Creation of favorable user perceptions: exploring the role of intrinsic motivation

MIS Quarterly
Extending the TAM for a World-Wide-Web context

Information and Management
Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use: Integrating Control, Intrinsic Motivation, and Emotion into the Technology Acceptance Model

Information Systems Research
Research Report: Richness Versus Parsimony in Modeling Technology Adoption Decisions--Understanding Merchant Adoption of a Smart Card-Based Payment System

Information Systems Research
Potential Research Space in MIS: A Framework for Envisioning and Evaluating Research Replication, Extension, and Generation

Information Systems Research
Factors influencing the usage of websites: the case of a generic portal in The Netherlands

Information and Management
Understanding online purchase intentions: contributions from technology and trust perspectives

European Journal of Information Systems
An extension of the technology acceptance model in an ERP implementation environment

Information and Management
The impact of cognitive absorption on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in on-line learning: an extension of the technology acceptance model

Information and Management
Design aesthetics leading to m-loyalty in mobile commerce

Information and Management
Value-based Adoption of Mobile Internet: An empirical investigation

Decision Support Systems
Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective

Computers in Human Behavior
Do visitors' interest level and perceived quantity of web page content matter in shaping the attitude toward a web site?

Decision Support Systems
Understanding continued information technology usage behavior: a comparison of three models in the context of mobile internet

Decision Support Systems
Understanding the Adoption of Multipurpose Information Appliances: The Case of Mobile Data Services

Information Systems Research
Consumer Attitudes Toward Mobile Advertising: An Empirical Study

International Journal of Electronic Commerce
Information technology (IT) in Saudi Arabia: Culture and the acceptance and use of IT

Information and Management
Combining empirical experimentation and modeling techniques: A design research approach for personalized mobile advertising applications

Decision Support Systems
An assessment of advanced mobile services acceptance: Contributions from TAM and diffusion theory models

Information and Management
The interplay of beauty, goodness, and usability in interactive products

Human-Computer Interaction
How Endogenous Motivations Influence User Intentions: Beyond the Dichotomy of Extrinsic and Intrinsic User Motivations

Journal of Management Information Systems
Research Note---Investigating the Influence of the Functional Mechanisms of Online Product Presentations

Information Systems Research
Virtual worlds - past, present, and future: New directions in social computing

Decision Support Systems
Internet uses and gratifications: A survey in the Indian context

Computers in Human Behavior
User goals in social virtual worlds: A means-end chain approach

Computers in Human Behavior
Web performance scale

Information and Management
Defining the lines between virtual and real world purchases: Second Life sells, but who's buying?

Computers in Human Behavior
Avatar-based innovation: Consequences of the virtual co-creation experience

Computers in Human Behavior
Dr. Jekyll vis-à-vis Mr. Hyde: Personality variation between virtual and real worlds

Information and Management
Why people use social networking sites: An empirical study integrating network externalities and motivation theory

Computers in Human Behavior
Realism, idealization, and potential negative impact of 3D virtual relationships

Computers in Human Behavior
Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology

MIS Quarterly
User acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view

MIS Quarterly
User acceptance of hedonic information systems

MIS Quarterly
Understanding digital inequality: comparing continued use behavioral models of the socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged

MIS Quarterly
Teenagers in social virtual worlds: Continuous use and purchasing behavior in Habbo Hotel

Computers in Human Behavior
Understanding use continuance in virtual worlds: Empirical test of a research model

Information and Management
From space to place: predicting users' intentions to return to virtual worlds

MIS Quarterly
Individual motivations and demographic differences in social virtual world uses: An exploratory investigation in Second Life

International Journal of Information Management: The Journal for Information Professionals
Psychological needs and virtual worlds: Case Second Life

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Impact of Flow and Brand Equity in 3D Virtual Worlds

Journal of Database Management

Exploring the role of espoused values on e-service adoption: A comparative analysis of the US and Nigerian users

Computers in Human Behavior
Mirrored selves: The influence of self-presence in a virtual world on health, appearance, and well-being

Computers in Human Behavior
Lost in space? Cognitive fit and cognitive load in 3D virtual environments

Computers in Human Behavior
Factors influencing information distortion in online deliberations: The effects of informational characteristics and regulatory focus

Computers in Human Behavior
Development of scales for the measurement of principles of design

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
A tale of two social networking sites: How the use of Facebook and Renren influences Chinese consumers' attitudes toward product packages with different cultural symbols

Computers in Human Behavior
Digital natives in social virtual worlds: A multi-method study of gratifications and social influences in Habbo Hotel

International Journal of Information Management: The Journal for Information Professionals

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

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.