TY - JOUR
T1 - From Play to Pay: Exploring Imaginal and Emotional Virtual Item Retail Experiences in Online Game Environment
AU - Hussain, Dr Ali
AU - Mirza, Farhan
AU - Sarker, Moniruzzaman
AU - Ding, Ting Hooi
N1 - © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
PY - 2024/10/28
Y1 - 2024/10/28
N2 - In online gaming, selling virtual game items is a growing phenomenon designed to engage players. Despite growing adoption, little remains known regarding the gamer’s perceived virtual item retail experiences, particularly in the online game retail context. Based on the hedonic consumption perspectives, we examined the role of escapism, role-projection, fantasy, enjoyment, emotional involvement, and arousal in developing positive attitudes toward in-game virtual items, which eventually enhanced behavioral outcomes such as game store loyalty, willingness to pay (WTP) and word-of-mouth (WOM). We collected survey data from 281 online gamers and analyzed the data using partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modeling. The results indicate that fantasy, escapism, enjoyment, and arousal significantly enhance gamers’ favorable attitudes toward virtual item experiences. Moreover, the findings indicate the positive influence of attitude on players’ WTP, loyalty to retailers, and positive WOM. This study i
AB - In online gaming, selling virtual game items is a growing phenomenon designed to engage players. Despite growing adoption, little remains known regarding the gamer’s perceived virtual item retail experiences, particularly in the online game retail context. Based on the hedonic consumption perspectives, we examined the role of escapism, role-projection, fantasy, enjoyment, emotional involvement, and arousal in developing positive attitudes toward in-game virtual items, which eventually enhanced behavioral outcomes such as game store loyalty, willingness to pay (WTP) and word-of-mouth (WOM). We collected survey data from 281 online gamers and analyzed the data using partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modeling. The results indicate that fantasy, escapism, enjoyment, and arousal significantly enhance gamers’ favorable attitudes toward virtual item experiences. Moreover, the findings indicate the positive influence of attitude on players’ WTP, loyalty to retailers, and positive WOM. This study i
U2 - 10.1080/10447318.2024.2415758
DO - 10.1080/10447318.2024.2415758
M3 - Article
JO - International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction
JF - International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction
ER -