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Relational cohesion theory posits that relational cohesion helps build relationships among communication partners, implying that users would expect a growth in relations or making more friends in the future. However, little is known about expectancy of a better future state of relations, i.e. expectancy of relational growth, and its impact on users' continued engagement in online communication. Our study extends relational cohesion theory to explain how expectancy of relational growth impacts online gamer loyalty.

We test the framework using structural equation modeling to analyze a large sample of 1,429 responses from online gamers.

We find that expectancy of relational growth is positively related to norm compliance and relational cohesion, which are further related to network convergence and interdependence, fostering online gamer loyalty.

The findings contribute to relational cohesion theory by identifying novel sources of relational cohesion, i.e. expectancy of relational growth and norm compliance. Hence, game providers should create gamers' expectancy of growth in online relationships. Such expectancy could motivate continued gaming communication, even when gamers are not satisfied with the current state of online relationships. Moreover, we propose the new concept of expectancy of relational growth, which should have a strong impact on online communication in various areas.

Flow, or total concentration with intrinsic enjoyment, has been recognized as being able to enhance online gamer loyalty. However, some gamers who experience flow do not exhibit strong loyalty, posing the vital research question asking for whom flow would not enhance loyalty. Limited knowledge on this issue may lead game providers to assume that flow is influential in strengthening loyalty among all gamers, thus leading to suboptimal resource allocation and reduced effectiveness in retaining gamers. The purpose of the paper is to examine how gaming experience and gaming intensity moderate the impact of flow on online gamer loyalty.

In the paper, the hypotheses were tested using responses from 273 gamers.

The findings show that flow and gaming experience positively impact gamer loyalty. Gaming experience reduces the positive relationship between flow and gamer loyalty. However, gaming intensity does not reduce.

Game providers should focus on creating a flow experience to strengthen the loyalty of gamers with short-gaming experience. However, game providers should devise other means to strengthen loyalty among gamers with long-gaming experience.

The study challenged the assumption of flow theory, i.e. that flow always determines loyalty. Instead, the paper offers a moderator – gaming experience – which sets a boundary condition for this theory. Flow works well only among gamers with relatively short-gaming experience. The study also extended the literature on gaming experience by uniquely indicating its attenuating effect on the relation between flow and loyalty.

Online games are popular electronic commerce platforms in which gamers use avatars to interact with others. Avatar identification (the extent to which gamers regard avatars as an extension of themselves) is known to be related to online gamer loyalty. However, few studies have examined how avatars could be designed to enhance avatar identification and online gamer loyalty, indicating a gap. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to contextualize self-affirmation theory into online gaming contexts, identified key theoretical elements and examined how they are related to avatar identification and online gamer loyalty.

This study surveyed 1,348 massively multi-player online role-playing game players, and their responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The analytical results indicate that irreplaceability within a team and avatar customization are positively related to unique avatar image, while avatar customization is positively related to positive avatar image. Moreover, avatar physical attractiveness and avatar ability to achieve are positively related to positive avatar image. Both unique and positive images of an avatar (as perceived by the user) are positively related to avatar identification, and further to online gamer loyalty.

This study proposes new constructs: irreplaceability within a team, avatar ability to achieve, unique avatar image and positive avatar image. Such new constructs provide insights to aid electronic commerce managers in avatar design, thus instilling gamer identification with avatars, and thus loyalty.

Online games are widely adopted electronic applications that facilitate flow experiences, which is a highly enjoyable experience for players, thus motivating further engagement in online gameplay. During gameplay, players set gaming goals, and they must make cognitive efforts to achieve these goals. However, we do not know how goal-setting and cognitive gaming elements (game complexity and game familiarity) create flow, indicating a research gap. To fill this gap, we use the cognitive gaming elements in the literature and the theoretical elements of goal-setting theory to build a model.

Conducting a large-scale online survey, we collect 3,491 responses from online game players and use structural equation modeling for data analysis.

We find that challenging goals, game complexity, game familiarity and telepresence are positively linked to player-perceived flow, explaining 45% of the variance. The new finding is that challenging goals can strengthen the link between game complexity and flow. We also find that telepresence can strengthen the link between game familiarity and flow.

Our study provides the novel insight that gaming goals and cognitive gaming elements can generate player-perceived flow. This insight can help game makers design gaming elements to accommodate players' cognitive efforts to achieve in-game goals, thus creating flow and effectively increasing players' game engagement.

Online games are prevalent internet applications and are known for satisfying the various needs of users. Nonetheless, little is known about whether online games could be a resort for users encountering workplace frustration. Explaining how workplace frustration and users' need satisfaction affect loyalty of online gamers, this study aims to formulate hypotheses and develop a framework based on the self-determination theory (SDT).

The authors use an online survey to collect 848 responses and use structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses.

The authors find that workplace frustration, autonomy need satisfaction and competence need satisfaction are positively related to online gamer loyalty. Moreover, workplace frustration enhances the link between competence need satisfaction and online gamer loyalty.

The authors are the first to use SDT to identify the three antecedents and the moderator of online gamer loyalty. Our findings offer a key message that game providers could design effective means to retain their gamers by understanding their gamers' workplace frustration and informing them that playing games could alleviate the associated negative feelings.

Avatars are known to be influential in gaming communication. However, little is known about how avatar attractiveness and customization impact online gamers’ flow, i.e., the experience of total concentration with intrinsic enjoyment and loyalty. Grounded in social identity and flow theories, the purpose of this paper is to construct a model to explain how avatar attractiveness and customization can impact online gamers’ flow and loyalty.

The responses of 1,944 online gamers are collected. Structural equation modeling is used for analyses.

The analytical results indicate that avatar attractiveness and customization are positively related to avatar identification, which is positively related to flow, and then to online gamer loyalty. In addition, avatar identification and flow are important process variables in the above relations.

This study is novel in being the first attempt to apply social identity and flow theories to explain how avatar attractiveness and customization contribute to online gamers’ flow and loyalty.

As technology-created gamers’ representations, avatars are influential in communication among online gamers. However, there is scant research on how avatars’ characteristics impact gamers’ friendly behaviour via avatars, i.e., avatar friendliness, and how avatar friendliness is related to online gamer loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model grounded in the theory of embodied cognition to examine the impacts of perceived avatar appearance agreeableness, attractiveness and height on avatar friendliness and online gamer loyalty.

The authors collect 1,384 responses from online gamers and use structural equation modelling for hypothesis testing.

The authors find that perceived avatar appearance agreeableness and attractiveness are positively related to avatar friendliness, while perceived avatar height is negatively related to avatar friendliness. Avatar friendliness, in turn, is positively related to online gamer loyalty.

This study assessed gamers’ perceptions using a cross-sectional design. Future works could use a big data approach to collect behavioural and longitudinal data. Moreover, future works could measure avatar height using pixels.

The authors contribute to the e-commerce literature by inventing the new constructs of perceived avatar appearance agreeableness and avatar friendliness, and conducting the first study of using avatar friendliness to explain the impacts of the three avatar characteristics on online gamer loyalty. The findings also provide novel insights for e-commerce managers to effectively build a loyal gamer base.

Gender swapping – when gamers choose avatars of the opposite gender to their own – is a common feature of online gaming behavior, and recent studies have explored the reasons for it. However, no study has yet examined the role gender swapping plays in determining gamers’ continual engagement with communication via online games, i.e., online gamer loyalty. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine this issue and develop hypotheses based on interdependence theory in the online gaming context.

Responses from a survey of 255 online gamers were used for the analysis.

Analytical results using structural equation modeling indicate that gender-swapping behavior is negatively related to social intelligence, which in turn is negatively related to network convergence (the extent of sharing a common social circle), thus contributing to relational switching costs and online gamer loyalty.

This study is the first to examine how gender swapping affects online gamer loyalty.

This study intended to identify and categorize the drivers of using online English learning resources (OELR) and to understand OELR's impacts.

The authors conducted an online survey, obtained complete responses from 157 OELR users and used structural equation modeling (SEM) for hypothesis testing.

Most utilitarian and hedonic drivers lead to positive perceptions of OELR, which in turn positively contribute to continuance intention (CI). Two counterintuitive findings were obtained. First, functionality was negatively related to the perception of ease of use. Second, perceived ease of use (PEOU) was not related to CI to use OELR.

This study has implications as follows: (1) complexity of the functions of OELR may deter rather than attract users, (2) ease of use of OELR is not directly positively related to CIs and (3) users may seek practical benefits (utilitarian) and experiential learning processes (hedonic) when using OELR.

The authors' study has theoretical significance by being the first to caution that excessive functionality or complexity in assisting learning tools would likely hinder further use of OELR. The practical significance of this finding is that the finding highlights two factors (perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived enjoyment) that could effectively increase OELR use.

Online games are popular applications of Internet technology, with over 2.8 billion users worldwide. Many players engage in team gameplay, indicating that online games are suitable media through which players connect with their friends. However, past studies have not examined the ability of games to assist players in connecting with their friends, indicating a gap. To fill this gap, the authors propose a new concept, the friend-connecting affordance, which is the ability of an online game to enable players to contact friends within the game.

The authors built a model to explain how games' friend-connecting affordances influence game loyalty. The authors gathered responses from 1,347 online players and used structural equation modeling to test the model.

The authors found that friend-connecting affordances and team participation influence game loyalty. Gaming intensity and gaming history can moderate the impact of friend-connecting affordances.

This new affordance can be realized through various game elements, offering unique and actionable insights to game makers. The authors also compared the friend-connecting affordances among a number of popular online games, providing insights specific to each game and increasing the practical value of the findings.