Paper Info
Title
I Am You, You Are Me: Game Character Congruence With The Ideal Self
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of congruence between the ideal self-image of a game player and the game character on identification and interaction with the game character, perceived game power and performance, character attachment and willingness to spend money on the game character. Design/methodology/approach A total of 347 online game players participated in an online survey posted via the nationwide crowdsourcing web service Mechanical Turk in the US. A structural equation modelling was conducted using a maximum-likelihood estimation procedure to test the relationships among the variables. Findings The results revealed a significant positive impact of congruence between a game character and the ideal self-image of a game player on identification and interaction with the game character, perceived game power, game performance, attachment to the game character and willingness to spend money on the game character. Originality/value Although significant research has been conducted in the area of online gaming, limited attention has been given to the strategic game content that stimulates a player's intention to purchase game items. Due to the challenges in sales growth in the game industry caused by business model shifts from a subscription-based model to a free-to-play one, it is important for marketing practitioners to motivate game players to continue playing the game and purchase game items. The results of this study provide valuable strategic insights to overcome the limitations of existing marketing strategies in the online game business.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.1108/INTR-05-2020-0294
INTERNET RESEARCH
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Online game, Mobile game, Game character, Ideal self-image, Identification, Willingness to spend money
Journal
31
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
2
1066-2243
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Dong Woo Ko100.34
Jihye Park200.68