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Why people buy virtual items in virtual worlds with real money

Published: 28 October 2007 Publication History

Abstract

Virtual worlds, such as Second Life and Everquest, have grown into virtual game communities that have economic potential. In such communities, virtual items are bought and sold between individuals for real money. The study detailed in this paper aims to identify, model and test the individual determinants for the decision to purchase virtual items within virtual game communities. A comprehensive understanding of these key determinants will enable researchers to further the understanding of player behavior towards virtual item transactions, which are an important aspect of the economic system within virtual games and often raise one of the biggest challenges for game community operators. A model will be developed via a mixture of new constructs and established theories, including the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM), trust theory and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). For this purpose the research uses a sequential, multi-method approach in two phases: combining the use of inductive, qualitative data from focus groups and expert interviews in phase one; and deductive, quantitative survey data in phase two. The final model will hopefully provide an impetus to further research in the area of virtual game community transaction behavior. The paper rounds off with a discussion of further research challenges in this area over the next seven years.

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Published In

cover image ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems
ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems  Volume 38, Issue 4
November 2007
101 pages
ISSN:0095-0033
EISSN:1532-0936
DOI:10.1145/1314234
Issue’s Table of Contents

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 28 October 2007
Published in SIGMIS Volume 38, Issue 4

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Author Tags

  1. MMOG
  2. MMORPG
  3. model
  4. transactions
  5. virtual game
  6. virtual items
  7. virtual world

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