Factors affecting purchase intention in Vietnam - A study on virtual goods consumption in online mobile games
Abstract
The evolution of technology has brought along new ways of entertainment for human kind. Nowadays, with just a smart device, people can easily get access to game applications that allow them to have fun and relax anytime, anywhere. Games provide people with not only entertainment, but also income. Game companies release games that are free to play, but in return they sell virtual goods such as game items, upgrades or virtual currency for real money. With the current trend that mobile game industry is developing in many countries around the world, and Vietnam is not an exception, it is vital that more research must be done about the factors influencing virtual goods purchase intention of Vietnamese game players so that game producers in Vietnam, especially new ones, can find more solutions to promote virtual good sales, since there are not many studies out there that dedicated to this problem.
This research investigate seven potential factors that may influence virtual goods purchase intention in online mobile games, which are Character competency, Price utility, Functional quality, Playfulness, Game aesthetics, Social personal-expression and Social relationship support. Next, the level of impact of each factors on purchase intention is evaluated. Lastly, from the result of data analysis, conclusion and recommendation for game producers, as well as future research, are made.
The research follows quantitative research method and multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses proposed. The data was collected from 204 valid responses of the survey. The final results from data analysis pointed out that Playfulness is the only factor that has an impact on virtual goods purchase intention in Vietnam among the seven factors aforementioned. Therefore, game producers should pay attention to the playfulness of virtual goods if they want to increase virtual good sales in the future. Moreover, future studies can extent the research by adding new factors or classifying player types.