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http://dx.doi.org/10.21219/jitam.2020.27.6.197

Analysis on Continuous Usage Intention of Chinese Mobile Games from the Perspective of Experiential Marketing and Network Externality  

Lei, Bo (Jiujiang University)
Lee, Jungmann (Department of Management of Digital Technology, Hoseo University)
Publication Information
Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management / v.27, no.6, 2020 , pp. 197-224 More about this Journal
Abstract
Mobile games have become one of the most important driving forces of the game industry. We focus on the continuous intention to use Chinese mobile games from the perspective of experiential marketing and network externalities. We integrate user experience, network externalities and flow theory into expectation confirmation model and explore the influencing factors of continuous usage intention of Chinese mobile game and propose a research model. Game experience, service experience, perceived enjoyment, social interaction, challenge, perceived number of users and perceived number of peers were employed as independent variables, while flow, perceived value and satisfaction as mediating variables and continuous intention as the dependent variable. After surveying 426 samples, the model is tested with structural equation model. The results reveal that perceived enjoyment significantly positively influences perceived value, flow, satisfaction, and continuous intention. The greater the enjoyment of the game, the greater the satisfaction of the game and the greater the willingness to use it continuously. Game experience has a significant direct effect on continuous intention, which indicates that a better game experience can retain more users. Service experience and perceive number of peers positively influence satisfaction. Another finding is that social interaction and perceived number of users positively influence perceived value and flow, which indicate that social attributes are critical roles for retaining users. Game challenge also positively influences flow. The proper level of challenge is more likely to cause users to enter the state of flow. Flow indirectly influences continuous usage intention through the satisfaction of the game, which indicates that satisfaction is driven by flow experience and further retaining users. Empirical results implied that mobile game companies need to focus on improving user experience, expectation satisfaction and extending network externalities to improve the continuous intention of using mobile game.
Keywords
Mobile Games; Continuous Intention; Expectation Confirmation Model; Value Theory; Network Externality; Experiential Marketing; Structural Equation Model(SEM);
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