Abstract
Competitors in social network game (SNG) are constantly providing substitutes to attract SNG players, and SNG players switch among SNGs. In prior IS literature, little research has attempted to study the switching behavior of IS users. This paper aims at exploring users’ switching behavior in the context of SNG. We applied the push-pull-mooring framework from the marketing field to examine the determinants of SNG players’ switching intention. In addition, we investigate the moderating role of individuals’ demographics, such as age and gender. We tested the proposed research model with 541 responses collected via an online survey among Chinese SNG players. The research results suggest that perceived enjoyment (push effect), descriptive norms and alternative attractiveness (pull effects), as well as adaptation cost (mooring effect), have significant effects on individuals’ switching intention in SNGs. Meanwhile, demographics (such as age and gender) are moderating effects on relations among independent variables to switching intention in various degrees.
Keywords
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Guest Post: Getting Schooled on Developing the Best Games for Teens and Tweens, http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2012/11/23/guest-post-attention-game-developers-getting-schooled-on-developing-the-best-games-for-teens-and-tweens/
Bhattacherjee, A., Limayem, M., Cheung, C.M.: User Switching of Information Technology: A Theoretical Synthesis and Empirical Test Research. Information & Management 49, 327–333 (2012)
Ganesh, J., Arnold, M.J., Reynolds, K.E.: Understanding the Customer Base of Service Providers: An Examination of the Differences Between Switchers and Stayers. J. Market. 64, 65–87 (2000)
Zhang, K.Z., Cheung, C.M., Lee, M.K.: Online Service Switching Behavior: The Case of Blog Service Providers. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research 13, 184–197 (2012)
Keaveney, S.M., Parthasarathy, M.: Customer Switching Behavior in Online Services: An Exploratory Study of the Role of Selected Attitudinal, Behavioral, and Demographic Factors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 29, 374–390 (2001)
Ye, C., Seo, D., Desouza, K., Papagari, S., Jha, S.: Post-adoption Switching Between Technology Substitutes: the Case of Web Browsers. In: ICIS 2006, pp. 1941–1958. Association for Information Systems, Milwaukee (2006)
Oliver, R.L.: Effect of Expectation and Disconfirmation on Post Exposure Product Evaluations: An Alternative Interpretation. Journal Applied Psychology 62, 480 (1977)
Boyle, P., Halfacree, K., Robinson, V.: Exploring Contemporary Migration. Longman, London (1998)
Ranganathan, C., Seo, D., Babad, Y.: Switching Behavior of Mobile Users: do Users’ Relational Investments and Demographics matter? European Journal of Information Systems 15, 269–276 (2006)
Hou, A.C., Chern, C., Chen, H., Chen, Y.: ‘Migrating to a New Virtual World’: Exploring MMORPG Switching through Human Migration Theory. Computers in Human Behavior 27, 1892–1903 (2011)
Bansal, H.S., Taylor, S.F., St James, Y.: “Migrating” to New Service Providers: Toward a Unifying Framework of Consumers’ Switching Behaviors. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 33, 96–115 (2005)
Moon, B.: Paradigms in Migration Research: Exploring “Moorings” as a Schema. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 19, 504–524 (1995)
Hsieh, J., Hsieh, Y., Chiu, H., Feng, Y.: Post-adoption Switching Behavior for Online Service Substitutes: A Perspective of the Push–Pull–Mooring Gramework. Computers in Human Behavior 28, 1912–1920 (2012)
Ye, C., Potter, R.: The Role of Habit in Post-Adoption Switching of Personal Information Technologies: An Empirical Investigation. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 28, 585–610 (2011)
Zhang, K.Z., Lee, M.K., Cheung, C.M., Chen, H.: Understanding the Role of Gender in Bloggers’ Switching Behavior. Decision Support Systems 47, 540–546 (2009)
Klemperer, P.: Markets with Consumer Switching Costs. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 102, 375–394 (1987)
Van der Heijden, H.: User Acceptance of Hedonic Information Systems. MIS Quarterly 28, 695–704 (2004)
Burnham, T.A., Frels, J.K., Mahajan, V.: Consumer Switching Costs: a Typology, Antecedents, and Consequences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 31, 109–126 (2003)
Kim, G., Shin, B., Lee, H.G.: A Study of Factors that Affect User Intentions Toward Email Service Switching. Information & Management 43, 884–893 (2006)
Rusbult, C.E., Farrell, D.: A Longitudinal Test of the Investment Model: The Impact on Job Satisfaction, Job Commitment, and Turnover of Variations in Rewards, Costs, Alternatives, and Investments. Journal of Applied Psychology 68, 429 (1983)
Kim, M., Park, M., Jeong, D.: The Effects of Customer Satisfaction and Switching Barrier on Customer Loyalty in Korean Mobile Telecommunication Dervices. Telecommunication Policy 28, 145–159 (2004)
Lu, H., Wang, S.: The Role of Internet Addiction in Online Game Loyalty: an Exploratory Study. Internet Research 18, 499–519 (2008)
Park, N., Oh, H.S., Kang, N.: Factors Influencing Intention to Upload Content on Wikipedia in South Korea: The Effects of Social Norms and Individual Differences. Computers in Human Behavior 28, 898–905 (2012)
Zhang, K.Z., Cheung, C.M., Lee, M.K.: Online Service Switching Behavior: The Case of Blog Service Providers. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research 13, 184–197 (2012)
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M.G., Davis, G.B., Davis, F.D.: User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View. MIS Quarterly 27, 425–478 (2003)
Jansz, J., Avis, C., Vosmeer, M.: Playing The Sims2: an Exploration of Gender Differences in Players’ Motivations and Patterns of Play. New Media & Society 12, 235–251 (2010)
Yee, N.: Maps of Digital Desires: Exploring the Topography of Gender and Play in Online Games. In: Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming, pp. 83–96. MIT Press, Cambridge (2008)
Jones, S., Fox, S.: Generations online in 2009. Pew Internet & American Life Project, Washington, DC (2009)
Ghani, J.A., Deshpande, S.P.: Task Characteristics and the Experience of Optimal Flow in Human—Computer Interaction. Journal of Psychology 128, 381–391 (1994)
Jones, M.A., Mothersbaugh, D.L., Beatty, S.E.: Why Customers Stay: Measuring the Underlying Dimensions of Services Switching Costs and Managing Their Differential Strategic Outcomes. Journal of Business Research 55, 441–450 (2002)
iResearch: China Online Game Players’ Behavior Research, http://wenku.baidu.com/view/b64428110b4e767f5acfce15.html (access on March 4, 2013)
Bagozzi, R.P., Yi, Y.: On the Evaluation of Structural Equation Models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 16, 74–94 (1988)
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L.: Multivariate Data Analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River (2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Xu, X., Li, H., Heikkilä, J. (2013). Understanding Individuals’ Switching of eService: An Empirical Study of Social Network Games Switching Intentions in China. In: Järveläinen, J., Li, H., Tuikka, AM., Kuusela, T. (eds) Co-created Effective, Agile, and Trusted eServices. ICEC 2013. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 155. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39808-7_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39808-7_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39807-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-39808-7
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)