"The (real) world is not enough:" Motivational drivers and user behavior in virtual worlds
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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In: Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 26, No. 1, 02.2012, p. 4-20.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - "The (real) world is not enough:" Motivational drivers and user behavior in virtual worlds
AU - Eisenbeiss, Maik
AU - Blechschmidt, Boris
AU - Backhaus, Klaus
AU - Freund, Philipp Alexander
PY - 2012/2
Y1 - 2012/2
N2 - Virtual worlds (VWs) have become increasingly prominent during the past decade, populated by individual users and more recently, even “real world” firms. To effectively use a VW for business purposes, a relevant question for those firms pertains to why people use VWs and which motivational drivers might influence their participation behavior. This study offers an early analysis of the topic by extending a social influence model to explain participation behavior in a new, marketing-relevant context and identify specific motivational drivers of VW participation. Socializing, creativity, and escape emerge as individual drivers. Accounting for user heterogeneity also reveals four latent segments, each characterized by a distinct motivational driver, and one segment that reflects mixed motives. The segments differ substantially in their descriptive characteristics (e.g., usage intensity, overall spending behavior). These results have significant implications for research, VW operators, and companies doing business in VWs.
AB - Virtual worlds (VWs) have become increasingly prominent during the past decade, populated by individual users and more recently, even “real world” firms. To effectively use a VW for business purposes, a relevant question for those firms pertains to why people use VWs and which motivational drivers might influence their participation behavior. This study offers an early analysis of the topic by extending a social influence model to explain participation behavior in a new, marketing-relevant context and identify specific motivational drivers of VW participation. Socializing, creativity, and escape emerge as individual drivers. Accounting for user heterogeneity also reveals four latent segments, each characterized by a distinct motivational driver, and one segment that reflects mixed motives. The segments differ substantially in their descriptive characteristics (e.g., usage intensity, overall spending behavior). These results have significant implications for research, VW operators, and companies doing business in VWs.
KW - Psychology
KW - Educational science
U2 - 10.1016/j.intmar.2011.06.002
DO - 10.1016/j.intmar.2011.06.002
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 26
SP - 4
EP - 20
JO - Journal of Interactive Marketing
JF - Journal of Interactive Marketing
SN - 1094-9968
IS - 1
ER -