3 June 2011
Matti Mäntymäki's (M. Sc.) doctoral thesis in Information Systems Science demonstrates how the enduring attraction of the social virtual world is created from friends, enjoyment and a virtual environment.
‒ Together users create positive experiences in the virtual world. They see fun, benefits and sociability as part of an integral user experience, says Mäntymäki, whose doctoral thesis researches social virtual worlds and the continuous use of their services and purchasing behaviour.
The significance of enjoyment is emphasised as a motive to continuously use a single service. Both ease of use and human contact and warmth communicated through the service are also important in a social virtual world for young people.
‒ Ease of use is part of an enjoyable user experience. According to my research, the tridimensionality and navigation based on avatars that are characteristic of virtual worlds must not frustrate the user. This was partly suprising, as the majority of respondents were born in the 1990's and are thus digital natives. Digital natives have been exposed to information technology since childhood and use information and communication technology intuitively, Mäntymäki explains.
Users improve features important to them by purchasing virtual products and services.
‒ These users stand out from other users of the service and attempt to increase their possessions in the virtual world. Virtual consumption is part of everyday life for digital natives.
The results also show that the reasons for use of social virtual worlds relate more to the world itself and factors within it rather than external normative pressure, for example.
From users to paying customers
It is estimated that there are a total of one billion virtual world users. This number is growing especially among children and young people; of one billion users around half are estimated to be under sixteen.
‒ Increasing user numbers have increased interest in virtual worlds as business and marketing channels, Mäntymäki notes.
The central goal for social media and virtual interaction services is to retain existing users as active and at the same time try to find ways to transform as large a number as possible from users to paying customers. The aim of Mäntymäki's research was to find out which factors have an effect on the continuous use of social virtual worlds and to what extent these factors predict the purchase of virtual products and services.
The results of the doctoral research offer companies operating virtual worlds information on factors affecting service loyalty and virtual purchasing. The research offers new information on virtual consumer behaviour and on social virtual worlds as an environment for social interaction and consumption, especially among young people. Empirical data was collected from over 30,000 Habbo Hotel users from several different countries, and the doctoral research focused on over 3,000 Finnish respondents.
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Matti Mäntymäki's thesis Continuous Use and Purchasing Behaviour in Social Virtual Worlds belongs to the field of Information Systems Science.
Read the thesis: http://info.tse.fi/julkaisut/vk/Ae3_2011.pdf
Contact information: mob. + 385 50 4867657, e-mail matti.mantymaki(a)tse.fi
Mäntymäki's picture: http://www.utu.fi/vaittelijat/mantymaki_matti.jpg