Players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) frequently select avatars of the opposite gender, a phenomenon known as gender swapping. While this phenomenon is widely recognized, little is known about the underlying reasons. This study thus examines why players use...

The motivation theory has identified achievement as a critical factor for online game play. However, how achievement induces gamer loyalty (the intention to play a certain game continuously) has not been explored. This study thus used the goal-setting theory to identify two achievement-related...

Internet auction bidders seldom have all the information resources upon which they have learned to comfortably rely. This raises the possibility that internet auction participants depend more on brand related knowledge and employ bidding strategies consistent with heightened valuations of brand...

Network effect refers to the phenomenon that the value of connecting to a network depends on the present number of customers connected to that network. The self-reinforcement characteristic of the network effect strengthens the strong firms and weakens the weak firms. In the extreme form,...

Most extant research focused on the attractiveness of online games, but paid scant attention to the sources of customer dissatisfaction with online games. Thus, this study investigates the sources of customer dissatisfaction (dissatisfiers) with online games. From an online survey, this study...

This study describes the relationships among a salesperson's personality, similarity in terms of personality between salesperson and purchase representative (rep), and service quality perceived by purchase reps. The following findings were obtained: (1) agreeableness of a salesperson was...

Variation of customer-perceived care quality may trigger customer complaints, negative word of mouth, and reduced revisit behavior; for health services especially, this area warrants additional research. This study investigates whether health service provider agreeableness is related to the...

Online games have become increasingly popular computer applications, raising the question of who plays them. Thus, the present study investigates the relationship between gamer personality and online game use as well as the potential links between online game use and gamer demographic variables....

Online games construct a virtual world where gamers can explore and experience various exciting environments. However, studies on gamer behavior rarely investigated the relationships between motivations and spending for online games. Understanding these relationships helps online game service...