Playing for fun or for profit: how extrinsically-motivated and intrinsically-motivated players make the choice between competing dual-purposed gaming platforms

Esko Penttinen*, Merja Halme, Pekka Malo, Timo Saarinen, Ville Matias Vilén

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
277 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

An online poker site is a good example of a dual-purposed information system that is used for both fun and making money. In this study, we address the platform selection problem associated with online poker sites by investigating the features online gamers value when selecting a platform. We test the differences in preferences for online gaming platforms between two types of users: primarily extrinsically-motivated and primarily intrinsically-motivated players. Surprisingly, when comparing the importance scores of the features (usability, enjoyment, functionalities, poker network, loyalty program, and reputation), we observe very little difference between the two user groups. The only difference was that loyalty programs were valued considerably more by extrinsically-motivated players. One would have expected that features such as functionalities, poker network, and reputation would dominate the choice calculus for extrinsically-motivated players and that features such as usability and enjoyment would dominate the choice calculus for intrinsically-motivated players. We interpret this surprising finding as providing support to the claim that utilitarian and hedonic values are becoming increasingly intertwined. In this article, we provide alternative interpretations for this surprising result and discuss its theoretical and managerial implications. Because this is an exploratory study, we also note several avenues for future research.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)337–358
Number of pages22
JournalElectronic Markets
Volume29
Issue number3
Early online date27 May 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2019
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
  • Platform selection
  • Dual-purposed information systems
  • Online gaming
  • Conjoint analysis

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