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Does a contextualized theory of planned behavior explain why teenagers stay in virtual worlds?

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  • Mäntymäki, Matti
  • Merikivi, Jani
  • Verhagen, Tibert
  • Feldberg, Frans
  • Rajala, Risto

Abstract

Academics and business practitioners are intrigued by the factors that foster continued user engagement in virtual worlds (VWs). It is unclear how, and to what extent, existing theories can explain their continued use. As young people constitute the majority of VW users, understanding the reasons for their continued use intentions is important. Taking the distinctive features of VW services into account, such as the visibility of users’ actions to other users, we contextualize the Theory of Planned Behavior and investigate the role of teenagers’ attitudes, social influences and perceived behavioral control as the determinants of their continued intention to use VW. We then apply a set of constructs from prior Information Systems (IS) literature to decompose these constructs. By analyzing primary data collected from 923 users of Habbo Hotel, a leading virtual world for teenagers, this study confirms the role of users’ intrinsic motivation, interpersonal influence and self-efficacy as key constituents of sustained user engagement in VWs. In addition, we demonstrate that decomposing these three established constructs can capture many of the key contextual characteristics of VWs. The study contributes to the literature by showing that IS theories and constructs are appropriate for the VW setting and teenage users.

Suggested Citation

  • Mäntymäki, Matti & Merikivi, Jani & Verhagen, Tibert & Feldberg, Frans & Rajala, Risto, 2014. "Does a contextualized theory of planned behavior explain why teenagers stay in virtual worlds?," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 567-576.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:34:y:2014:i:5:p:567-576
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.05.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhou, Zhongyun & Jin, Xiao-Ling & Vogel, Douglas R. & Fang, Yulin & Chen, Xiaojian, 2011. "Individual motivations and demographic differences in social virtual world uses: An exploratory investigation in Second Life," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 261-271.
    2. Mäntymäki, Matti & Riemer, Kai, 2014. "Digital natives in social virtual worlds: A multi-method study of gratifications and social influences in Habbo Hotel," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 210-220.
    3. Kieran Mathieson, 1991. "Predicting User Intentions: Comparing the Technology Acceptance Model with the Theory of Planned Behavior," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 2(3), pages 173-191, September.
    4. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
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    6. Naresh K. Malhotra & Sung S. Kim & Ashutosh Patil, 2006. "Common Method Variance in IS Research: A Comparison of Alternative Approaches and a Reanalysis of Past Research," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(12), pages 1865-1883, December.
    7. Weiyin Hong & Frank K. Y. Chan & James Y. L. Thong & Lewis C. Chasalow & Gurpreet Dhillon, 2014. "A Framework and Guidelines for Context-Specific Theorizing in Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 111-136, March.
    8. Shirley Taylor & Peter A. Todd, 1995. "Understanding Information Technology Usage: A Test of Competing Models," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 6(2), pages 144-176, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Koivisto, Jonna & Hamari, Juho, 2019. "The rise of motivational information systems: A review of gamification research," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 191-210.
    2. Panigrahi, Ritanjali & Srivastava, Praveen Ranjan & Sharma, Dheeraj, 2018. "Online learning: Adoption, continuance, and learning outcome—A review of literature," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-14.
    3. Mäntymäki, Matti & Salo, Jari, 2015. "Why do teens spend real money in virtual worlds? A consumption values and developmental psychology perspective on virtual consumption," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 124-134.
    4. Hamari, Juho & Koivisto, Jonna, 2015. "Why do people use gamification services?," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 419-431.

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