Lily Shui-Lien Chen

Forming relationship commitments to online communities: The role of social motivations

Although administrators of online communities (OCs) may focus on improving their OCs through upgrading technology and enhancing the usability of their OCs to attract additional users, the level of OC participation may be associated with social motives. The purpose of this study is to understand how social motivations (that is, network externalities and social norms) affect members committed to OCs. This study tests the hypotheses on data collected from 396 undergraduate students. Data analyses show that network externalities and social norms directly influence social interaction ties, which subsequently results in commitment toward a community. Social norms also directly influence relationship commitments to a community. The results provide insights into how social motivations lead to commitment to an OC, reminding OC administrators to encourage member commitment to the OC from the perspective of social motivations.

Do consumers perceive differences among national brands, international private labels and local private labels? The case of Taiwan

Purpose – This research attempts to investigate the differences of consumer perceptions on product quality, price, brand leadership and brand personality among national brands, international private labels and local private labels. It aims to use product categories as the moderator of the preceding perceptions.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected outside the entrances of the main rail station of Taipei, Taiwan. A systematic sampling was adopted and 254 questionnaires were eventually collected.Findings – The findings revealed that on the whole national brands were perceived as significantly superior to international private labels, while international private labels were perceived as being superior to local private labels in terms of all perceptions except price perception. The findings also revealed that product categories moderated price and brand personality perceptions across the three brand types, while product categories failed to moderate the effect of the three brands types on quality ...

Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction among Online Game Players

The DFC Intelligence predicts worldwide online game revenues will reach

The impact of perceived risk, intangibility and consumer characteristics on online game playing

9.8 billion by 2009, making online gaming a mainstream recreational activity. Understanding online game player personality traits is therefore important. This study researches the relationship between personality traits and life satisfaction in online game players. Taipei, Taiwan, is the study location, with questionnaire surveys conducted in cyber cafe shops. Multiple regression analysis studies the causal relationship between personality traits and life satisfaction in online game players. The result shows that neuroticism has significant negative influence on life satisfaction. Both openness and conscientiousness have significant positive influence on life satisfaction. Finally, implications for leisure practice and further research are discussed.

Investigating member commitment to virtual communities using an integrated perspective

Online game is the most popular entertainment application in the virtual world and online gamers demonstrate high attachment to playing online games. Previous studies have linked to the numerous negative outcomes in playing online games. The factors contribute to the negative consequences on using online game have been relatively neglected. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of perceived risk, intangibility, gender and age (adolescent/adult) difference on online game playing consequences and intentions. Past usage frequency is also made to look into the influence additional purchase intention. A total of 1418 useful questionnaires (including 1018 from public interview and 400 from online questionnaire feedback) were collected for final data analysis. The results demonstrated the important roles that time risk, psychological risk, financial risk, physical intangibility, mental intangibility and generality play on the negative consequences associated with online game playing. The results also indicated that male and adolescent individuals spent much more time on online game and intented to act the entertainment more than females and adults did. Finally, past online game playing frequency was showed to be a positive predictor of future online game playing intention.

Applicability of the UTAUT model in playing online game through mobile phones: Moderating effects of user experience

Purpose – Although the number of virtual communities has increased dramatically over the past few years, attracting and maintaining members remains the biggest challenge to establishing virtual social networks. This study seeks to integrate the roles of individual factors (issue involvement), social factors (social interaction), and system factors (system interactivity), and to explore how these factors contribute to member commitment in virtual communities.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 402 undergraduate students, who are all current members of virtual communities, participated in this study. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).Findings – The findings reveal that member commitment to communities was influenced more by their issue involvement compared to their perceived social interaction or perceived system interactivity.Originality/value – This research contributes to online community literature by integrating critical antecedent factors in the field of community commit...

Impact of intangibility on perceived risk associated with online games

This study is to explore consumer acceptance after implement the system based on “the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) model. The purpose of our research empirically examined how Venkateshs UTAUT helped online game companies understand consumer intention to play online game through mobile phones and how this changed as a consumer gained experience of playing online game and web browsing on mobile phones. The consumers experience of playing online game and web browsing on mobile phones played moderating roles. This research used the questionnaire method to engage in exploration. Then, tested the construct validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and applied the structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine consumer attitude toward using technology. The findings reveal “Online game experience” and “Web browsing on mobile phones experience” have disturbance effect on consumer intention. The novelty of the study consisted in applying UTAUT to play online game through mobile phones while considering the moderating effects of online game experience and web browsing on mobile phones experience. Significant practical implications can be derived from the results. Finally, management implication and future research are also presented in this research.

Relationship between country of origin, brand experience and brand equity: The moderating effect of automobile country

Online computer gaming is growing at a rapid pace. However, this phenomenon is stigmatised by many negative connotations. This study investigated the influence of intangibility on perceived risks (social, time, financial, physical, performance and psychology) among online gamers. The self-completed market survey questionnaire employs the Intangibility and Perceived Risk scales. Data were gathered in Taipei city, the biggest metropolitan areain Taiwan. Both public (1018) and online (400) voluntary interviews were conducted. The collected data were analysed with a structural equation model. There is a significant positive relationship between intangibility and alldimensions of perceived risk. The findings have managerial implications and future research is suggested.

Consumer involvement and brand loyalty in services: evidence from the commercial airline industry in Taiwan

Globalization made branding competition rise that caused the country of assembly (COA)/country of design (COD)/country of parts (COP) linked to customers closely in global market. Prior studies have adopted the “relationship” to enhance the understanding of the relationship between consumers and brands. The purpose of the paper is to test the relationship between country of assembly/country of design/country of parts, brand experience and brand equity. Automobile country will be tested the moderating effect on the model. Top two automobile brands (Japan/Germany) sale of imported cars in 2010 Taiwan automobile market sale reports are selected as research setting. A sample of 688 useful respondents was collected through online survey and paper questionnaires two methods. The respondents are the Japan/Germany car owners in Taiwan. AMOS 17.0 statistic software is adopted to analyze the reliability/validation testing of constructs and structural equation modeling (SEM) was use for the model hypotheses testing. The hypotheses were all supported by the data analysis result. The final research findings are as following. First, country of assembly, country of design, and country of parts were positively affects brand experience. Second, the results revealed brand experience was positivity affects brand equity. Third, the automobile country (Japan/Germany) plays a moderating role, significant in the model. Finally, the study offer management implications and directions to international marketing decision-makers of automobile industry and future researchers.

Switching online channel brand to offline channel brand

This study explores the relationship between involvement and brand loyalty among flight passengers in an airline service context. We adopted three dimensions from a consumer involvement profile (CIP) and two dimensions of brand loyalty (attitude loyalty and purchase loyalty) as a conceptual framework. A total of 271 valid responses were obtained at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for SEM analysis. Results revealed significant relationships between attitudinal loyalty and the two involvement dimensions of pleasure and sign value. In addition, attitudinal loyalty was a significant explanatory variable in the prediction of behavioural loyalty. Implications for airline practice and further research are also discussed.