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The engagement–addiction dilemma has been commonly observed in the information technology (IT) industry. However, this issue has received limited research attention in the information system (IS) discipline. Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, this study explores the engagement–addiction dilemma in the use of mobile games and highlights the impacts of game design features, namely, mobile user interface and mobile game affordance.

The research model was empirically validated using a longitudinal survey data from 410 mobile game users in China.

The empirical results offer several key findings. First, mobile user interface and mobile game affordance positively affect telepresence and social presence, which lead to meaningful engagement and mobile game addiction. Second, a high-quality of mobile user interface positively moderates the effects of mobile game affordance on telepresence and social presence.

This study contributes to the literature by theorizing and empirically testing the impacts of game design features on the engagement-addiction dilemma.

The phenomenon of mobile social networking site (SNS) addiction has become increasingly severe nowadays and brings adverse outcomes to users’ daily life and work efficiency. However, there are relatively few research probes into the formation process of mobile SNS addiction behavior, and how demographic factors (e.g. gender and age) influence users’ addiction behavior. Adopting the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) framework, this study examines the effects of three types of technological functions (enjoyment, sociability and information value) on flow in relation to mobile SNS addiction. The authors further proposed gender and age as moderators, which play important roles in influencing the formation of mobile SNS addiction behavior.

This study examines the formation of mobile SNS addiction with a particular focus on the WeChat app. The authors use a field survey study conducted in China with 351 subjects of WeChat app users to examine thestudy model.

The results demonstrate that addictive behavior is determined by users’ flow states of using mobile SNS. The flow states, in turn, are influenced by three types of technological functions (enjoyment, sociability and information value). In addition, gender and age act as vital moderators in the model.

First, the authors empirically examine the formation of SNS addiction on the mobile device by adopting the S–O–R framework, which may enrich the addiction literature. Second, the authors reveal the moderating roles of age and gender in affecting the formation process of addiction behavior further. The findings of this research deepen our understanding of users’ addiction behavior. Third, the findings also offer rich insights to prevent mobile SNS addiction.

The tremendous market growth of mobile platforms for esports underscores the need to understand players' psychological states and consumption behavior. Based on flow theory, this study examines players' psychological states (flow and clutch experiences) and consumption behavior based on the interaction effects of playing frequency, playing duration and players' levels on the PC (LOL – League of Legends) and mobile (LOLWR – League of Legends: Wild Rift) versions of the same esports title.

Data were collected from 930 valid responses and analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression (PROCESS macro, Model 3).

There are two main findings. First, across PC and mobile participants, casual gamers (low playing frequency and duration) have firm purchase intention when they have a clutch experience, but flow experience hinders their purchasing intention. Second, hardcore gamers' (high playing frequency and duration) psychological states are clearly distinguished according to technological platforms. Flow experience is the most effective for their purchase intention in the PC platform, but both flow and clutch states are important in the mobile platform. Flow experience is essential overall for hardcore gamers to intend their in-game item purchasing.

This study has two primary originality/values. First, this study explores flow and clutch together to measure psychological states and the impact on the purchase intention of in-game items. Second, the interacting effects of playing frequency, duration, and skill level with technical platforms (i.e. PC and mobile) for esports gaming.

This study aims to illuminate Turkish gen Z players’ intention to make in-game purchases based on stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model and uncover the distinctive role of gender.

Six hundred and ninety-six young players were included in the research who are aged 12 to 29 in Istanbul, Türkiye. Measurement validity was checked via principal component and confirmatory factor analysis. Structural model testing, mediation and multigroup analysis were conducted to test relationships among latent constructs.

The study revealed enjoyment, perceived attractiveness and economic value were positively associated with gamer satisfaction, though connectedness was not. In addition, gamer satisfaction positively affected loyalty and loyalty predicted in-game purchase intention. On the other hand, the magnitude of enjoyment-gamer satisfaction path was greater in female players than in males. However, the effect sizes of perceived attractiveness and economic value on gamer satisfaction were larger in males than in females.

The research focuses on freemium game context, the sample of Istanbul province in Turkey, and gen Z (12 to 29) players constituting the limitations.

Mobile game producers should consider that enjoyment is more substantial for female players to increase in-game revenue. Hence, perceived attractiveness and economic value may be improved for male players. They could also balance the gaming experience by providing social connectivity and isolation.

It is the initial attempt to unveil Turkish young mobile players’ behavioral tendency toward paid in-game extensions. On the other hand, gender difference is a salient matter unnoticed by other investigations that the strength of stimulus varies from players’ gender discovered by the research.

Smartphones have become a vital element of daily life and because of this ongoing reliance, consumer' attention is drawn to online platforms, which may harm societal communications. Therefore, this paper investigates a behavioral addiction known as “fear of missing out” (FoMO), which causes anxiety and leads to more problematic smartphone usage and phubbing behavior (PB). In addition, this paper examines the multidimensional perspective of smartphone addiction (SMA) and the moderating role of Big 5 personality types in the aforesaid relationship.

An online questionnaire was administered, to collect data from 468 smartphone users from universities across India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling and Hayes' PROCESS macros were employed as statistical tools for analysis.

Results highlight that there is a significant association between FoMO and PB with SMA as a significant mediator with partial mediation effect.

Conscientiousness, neuroticism and extroversion were found to be significant moderators in the model. Further, the findings raise awareness regarding smartphone etiquette and additional technology literacy required in this field.

Drawing on the social learning theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and consequences of users’ excessive online social gaming. Specifically, the authors develop a model to propose that observational learning and reinforcement learning mechanisms together determine excessive online social gaming, which further foster adverse consequences.

The model is empirically validated by a longitudinal survey among users of a popular online social game: Arena of Valor. The empirical data are analyzed using component-based structural equation modeling approach.

The empirical results offer two key findings. First, excessive online social gaming is determined by observational learning factors, i.e. social frequency and social norm, and reinforcement learning factors, i.e. perceived enjoyment and perceived escapism. Second, excessive online social gaming leads to three categories of adverse consequences: technology-family conflict, technology-work conflict and technology-person conflict. Meanwhile, technology-family conflict and technology-work conflict further foster technology-person conflict.

This study contributes to the literature by developing a nomological framework of excessive online social gaming and by extending the social learning theory to excessive technology use.

Technology addiction is an increasingly severe problem. TikTok has become increasingly popular recently, and its addiction is also a major concern. This study aims to examine the antecedents and outcomes of TikTok addiction.

The authors collect 579 data from Chinese users using an online survey. The authors use structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) to analyze data and test hypotheses.

The results illustrate that perceived enjoyment, social relationship, utilitarian need and social influence positively affect TikTok addiction. Both social anxiety and loneliness have positive effects on TikTok addiction. Moreover, parasocial relationships positively moderate the association between the antecedents of self-determination theory (SDT) (perceived enjoyment, social relationship, utilitarian needs, social influence, social anxiety and loneliness) and TikTok addiction. Meanwhile, TikTok addiction intensifies conflicts, including technology-family conflict, technology-person conflict and technology-work conflict. These conflicts reduce life satisfaction.

It offers practical implications for preventing and avoiding TikTok addiction to create a healthy environment.

This study is one of the few to provide a complete process of TikTok addiction. It systematically investigates the antecedents and outcomes of TikTok addiction.

This study aims to focus on how smartphone addiction impacts young consumer behavior related to mobile technology (i.e. the compulsive app downloading tendency). After a thorough literature review and following the risk and protective factors framework, this study explores factors that could mitigate its effects (resilience, family harmony, perceived social support and social capital).

The study used the covariance-based structural equation modeling approach to analyze data collected from 275 Generation Z (Gen Z) smartphone users in Spain.

Results suggest that resilience is a critical factor in preventing smartphone addiction, and smartphone addiction boosts the compulsive app downloading tendency, a relevant downside for younger Gen Z consumers.

Through the lens of the risk and protective factors framework, this study focuses on protective factors to prevent smartphone addiction and its negative side effects on app consumption. It also offers evidence of younger consumers’ vulnerability to smartphone addiction, not because of the device itself but because of app-consumption-related behaviors.

This paper aims to explain the effect of flow, game repetition and brand familiarity on players’ brand attitude and purchase intention in the context of mobile advergaming.

Data from 227 participants who played a mobile advergame were analysed. Structural equation modelling with partial least squares was used to test the research model.

The results reveal that the independent variables (i.e. game repetition and brand familiarity) significantly influence the dependent variables explored in this study (i.e. brand attitude and purchase intentions of players). Results also show that brand familiarity influences players’ flow experience, which in turn significantly affects players’ purchase intentions.

The findings of this study are important for advertising practitioners and advergames’ developers as understanding the determinants of mobile advergaming effectiveness is crucial for designing successful advergames that persuade players the most.

This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it provides new insights into the effectiveness of mobile advergames, which is an under-researched area. Second, it offers empirical evidence of the effects of game repetition, flow and brand familiarity on mobile advergaming effectiveness.

This paper aims to attempt to understand the extent to which the effect of motivations on purchase intention varies for diverse segments of video gamers (depending on their personality).

Information was collected from 511 Spanish video game consumers. Structural equation modeling, clustering and multi-group analysis were then conducted to compare results between segments of gamers.

Results show that hedonic, social and mainly addiction motivations lead to purchase intention of game-related products. Moreover, the authors identify a typology of gamer that gives rise to differences in motivations-purchase intention links: Analysts include individuals who are essentially conscientious, prefer inventive or cognitive and simulation games and whose behavior is more influenced by hedonic and social motivations to play; socializers comprise individuals who are mainly extrovert and emotionally stable gamers and who prefer sports and strategy games. The motivations to play that affect their purchase intentions are mainly social; and sentinels include individuals that are unmindful and introvert, prefer inventive, cognitive, sports and simulation games, and whose social motivations drive their purchase intentions.

There are 2,200 million video gamers around the world, although it is assumed that this vast market is not homogeneous, which has implications for consumer motivations and purchase intention. However, the currently available classifications that address this challenge are rather limited. In this sense, the present paper provides valuable insights into understanding how personality offers a useful variable to segment consumers in the video game industry and how it moderates the effect of motivations on purchase behavior.