Game on! Factors Influencing Adoption and Consumer Behavior of Online Games
(A2022-107595)

AUTHORS

Mihai Orzan, Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Zara Adina, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Marketing Faculty; Gheorghe Orzan, Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Stefan Caescu, Bucharest University of Economic Studies

ABSTRACT

Individuals all over the world are spending an ever-increasing amount of their leisure and entertainment time playing online games. Online gamer communities are fast becoming one of the most important avenues of social interaction and communications. Our paper is aimed at understanding the process of game adoption and the antecedents of long-term game engagement in an online context, and we include in our theoretical model constructs important in the gaming industry such as gamer profile, perceived benefits and risks of online gaming. We analysed a data set from an online survey conducted on a sample of 1038 respondent, with answers gathered from various online communities. Our empirical model shows the antecedents of online gamers’ intentions to play online games and their effects on gamer behaviour. We highlighted first-time gamer experience as a unique and specific content phase in online gaming. The model also provides business implications for gamer segmentation and monetization.