Matti Mäntymäki

ABSTRACT Millions of young people spend real money on virtual goods such as avatars or in-world currency. Yet, limited empirical research has examined their shopping behaviour in virtual worlds. This research delves into young consumers’ virtual goods purchasing behaviour and the relevance of social context and usage experience. We assert that virtual goods purchasing behaviour is inseparable of the online platform in which it is taking place. We employ the concept of cognitive absorption to capture the user experience and examine the social context with three variables, the size of one’s in-world network, trust in the other users of the online platform and social presence. We test our research model with data collected from 1,225 virtual world users and use PLS in the analysis. The results show that virtual goods purchasing behaviour is predicted by cognitive absorption, perceived size of one’s in-world network as well as trust in the other users.

ABSTRACT Millions of young people engage themselves in virtual worlds. Due to intensifying competition, retaining the existing users is a key business challenge. Prior research has shown that network externalities play a focal role in the adoption of communication technologies. However, very limited research has examined the role of network externalities in continued IT usage in general or with respect to virtual world participation in particular. To fill in this gap in the literature, we introduce the concept of perceived aggregate network exposure (PANE). We position PANE as a moderator in the IS continuance model. We test the model with a data collected from 2,134 Finnish Habbo Hotel users and employ structural equation modeling in the analysis. The results indicate that perceived network externalities moderate the influence of motivational factors on continued use intention.

Purchasing virtual products and services in virtual worlds is a rapidly growing form of online consumer behavior, especially among the digital natives. The paper examines why teens spend real money in virtual goods and services. We empirically investigate the reasons for virtual purchasing behavior in world‟ s most popular social virtual world, Habbo Hotel. Using content analysis, we classify the reasons for purchasing into four higher order gratifications, namely elevated experience, hedonic and social factors as well as ...

Online music streaming services have become popular in listening to music.  Most online music streaming services employ the freemium business model. The specific gratifications from online music streaming are not well understood. Moreover, research examining the freemium model from a user experience perspective remains scant.  We employ uses and gratifications theory and examine four gratifications, namely ubiquity, social connectivity, discovering new music, and enjoyment, as the predictors of continuance intention. We examine the differences in these gratifications between the basic and premium users with data from 374 Spotify users. The results demonstrate that enjoyment, discovering new music, and ubiquity, are the main drivers of the continuance intention. Interestingly, social connectivity has no effect on continuance intention. Furthermore, premium users experience higher levels of enjoyment and ubiquity than the non-paying basic users. Finally, enjoyment is the only predictor of continuance intention among basic users, but has no effect among premium users.

mprove communication across silos and the capacity to collaborate and innovate. Yet, despite increasing academic interest, there is limited empirical research on what uses of ESN create value for individual users. To fill this void, we first report on results of a cross-case analysis into ESN communication patterns. We identify five prevalent activities of ESN users, which we use to derive constructs measuring ESN usage. We place these constructs as determinants of perceived value. We test our research model with survey data from active ESN users using partial least squares (PLS). The results show that the primary source of value derives from generating and obtaining ideas and new information as input for one's work. The study contributes to theorising ESN value and the nature of ESN systems.

Millions of teenagers today engage in social virtual worlds (SVWs). However, teenagers, often referred to as digital natives, represent an under-investigated group in the virtual world research and the Information Systems literature. To this end, we draw on developmental psychology and the uses and gratifications approach to examine teenagers’ continuous SVW use with a multi-method approach. We first investigate role of psychological gratifications and social influences in predicting teenagers’ intention to continue using Habbo Hotel. Thereafter, to gain a deeper understanding of their in-world activities, we triangulate our findings with a structured content analysis of the respondents’ open-ended comments. Our quantitative and qualitative findings show that the intentions to continue SVW use are predominantly hedonically motivated. Moreover, we demonstrate that inside the platform users engage in social activities that are often associated with the hedonic experience. Finally, we discuss how these activities both extend and are distinct from digital natives’ offline and online social interactions.

Engagement in virtual worlds has become pervasive, particularly among the young. At the same time, the number of virtual environments has increased rapidly. Due to intensifying competition, promoting sustained usage, i.e. continuance, has become a top priority for virtual world operators. Prior research has shown that network externalities play a key role in the adoption of communication technologies. However, a small amount of research has examined the role of network externalities in continued IT usage in general or with respect to the virtual world participation in particular. To fill in this gap, we examine how perceived network externalities affect the continuance of social virtual worlds. To this end, we introduce the concept of perceived aggregate network exposure (PANE). We extend the original information systems (IS) continuance model with perceived enjoyment and position PANE as a moderator. We test the model with data collected from 2134 Finnish Habbo Hotel users and employ structural equation modelling in the analysis. The results demonstrate that PANE moderates the influence of motivational factors on continued use intention and satisfaction.

Social virtual worlds (SVWs) have become important environments for social interaction. At the same time, the supply and demand of virtual goods and services is rapidly increasing. For SVWs to be economically sustainable, retaining existing users and turning them into consumers are paramount challenges. This requires an understanding of the underlying reasons why users continuously engage in SVWs and purchase virtual items. This study builds upon Technology Acceptance Model, motivational model and theory of network externalities to examine continuous usage and purchase intention and it empirically tests the model with data collected from 2481 Habbo users. The results reveal a strong relationship between continuous usage and purchasing. Further, the results demonstrate the importance of the presence of other users in predicting the purchase behavior in the SVW. Continuous SVW usage in turn is predicted directly by perceived enjoyment and usefulness while the effect of attitude is marginal. Finally, perceived network externalities exert a significant influence of perceived enjoyment and usefulness of the SVW but do not have a direct effect on the continuous usage.► Millions of teenagers actively participate in social virtual worlds. ► Teenagers’ participation in social virtual worlds is strongly driven by their intrinsic motivation. ► Purchasing virtual items results from sustained participation and perceived network externalities. ► Attitude is a surprisingly weak predictor of teenagers’ usage of social virtual worlds.

The use of professional social networking sites (SNSs) such as LinkedIn has increasedrapidly. Retaining existing users, i.e. IS continuance, has become a paramount issue. We argue that current IS continuance literature offers limited value for practitioners
such as professional SNS operators. IS continuance
literature employs an aggregate view of confirmation, offering a very limited understanding of what performance expectations were fulfilled. We extend IS continuance by adding usability to better
grasp the characteristics of the SNS user experience than perceived ease of use currently does. Second, we decompose the confirmation construct into usefulness confirmation and usability confirmation. We have collected longitudinal data from 149 LinkedIn users and used PLS to test the research model. The results demonstrate prior perceived usefulness represents the primary heuristic determining user’s subsequent evaluations of usefulness, whereas usability is influenced more by the confirmation mechanism.

Purchasing virtual products and services in virtual worlds is a rapidly growing form of online consumer behavior, especially among the younger generations. The aim of the paper is to why teens spend real money in virtual goods and services. We investigate the reasons for virtual purchasing behavior in world’s most popular social virtual world, Habbo Hotel. Using content analysis, we classify the reasons for purchasing into four higher order gratifications, namely elevated experience, hedonic and social factors as well as functional activities. The results demonstrate that virtual purchasing is a vehicle for enhancing and customizing the valued aspects in the user experience.

The health care sector is highly data and information intensive. For clinicians, efficient management of information is a key resource. Patient-specific medication information is one of the essential parts of information used to support the clinical decision-making. This multi-method study at hand combines qualitative and quantitative data to
investigate Finnish physicians’ perceptions of EPRs and
their use, mainly focusing on the management of medication
information. Based on the empirical material, the EPRs had
an important role in clinical practice, and the physicians
used them in managing patients’ medication information.
However, the results also reveal that the clinicians were not
considerably satisfied with the quality of the current EPRs.
The findings of this study highlight the need for improving
the quality of the systems and increasing the physicians’
satisfaction to materialize the benefits from the EPRs to
avoid further disappointment and frustration.

Social virtual worlds (SVWs) have become increasingly popular spaces for social interaction. To be attractive to engage with, maintaining a sufficient base of active users is a sine qua non. Using Habbo as an example, this paper develops a framework for investigating the continuous use of social virtual worlds. Based on a detailed review of literature, we propose that a decomposed theory of planned behavior complemented with critical mass and allure of competitors would be an applicable theoretical lens to explain why users continuously engage with a social virtual world. We suggest that the social aspects are of particular importance in determining the continuous use of SVWs. This research attempts to build a theoretical foundation for further studies empirically investigating the phenomenon.

Social virtual worlds (SVWs) have drawn substantial attention in business and academia. This research focuses on how trust affects customer loyalty in the SVW setting. Specifically, this study pinpoints how trust in SVW staff and other users influences the continuous use and purchase behaviour in SVWs. Additionally, we examine the influence of social presence on the two aspects trust and customer loyalty. The research model is tested with PLS using a sample of 2111 Finnish Habbo users. The two facets of trust are important antecedents on customer loyalty, yet differing in their effect. Social presence is a strong determinant of trust but also a direct antecedent of customer loyalty. Together, trust and social presence account for a considerable amount of variance in continuous use and purchase intention.

Trust has been acknowledged to be an important determinant of e-commerce acceptance. Therefore, understanding the nature and importance of trust is momentous in promoting e-government adoption. This paper reviews the trust discussion in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce and government-to-individuals (G2IS) e-government. The aim of the paper is to identify potential differences as well as common denominators in order to introduce aspects that could potentially mutually benefit the research in the e-government and e-commerce domains. The main findings of the study are: 1. both domains trust largely conceptualize as multidimensional construct. 2. In the e-government field, trust is more often also empirically investigated as more than only one variable. 3. In the e-government literature, two main discourses related to trust were identified; trust in government in general, and trust in e-government, referring to the technology aspects.

Despite the extensive interest in trust within information systems (IS) and e-commerce disciplines, only few studies examine trust in the post-adoption phase of the customer relationship. Not only gaining new customers by increasing adoption, but also keeping the existing ones loyal, is largely considered important for e-business success. This paper scrutinizes the role of trust in customer loyalty, focusing on B2C e-services by conducting a three-sectional literature review stemming from IS, e-commerce and marketing. The key findings of this study are: 1. Literature discussing the role of trust after the adoption phase is relatively scarce and fragmented 2. In the empirical testing trust is mostly viewed as a monolith 3. Quantitative research methods dominate the field 4. Since trust may play a role during the whole relationship, also dynamic ways to scrutinize trust would be appropriate. Implications of these findings are discussed and ideas for further research suggested.