Why Do We Buy Virtual Goods?

1st Taufan Ari Putra, 2nd Bahrul Hayat, 3nd Rena Latifa Faculty of Psychology Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, Indonesia [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract - This study identified the variables contribute to profit/loss that leads to buying or not buying the item. So customer behavior in buying virtual goods. We hypothesized from that perceived value which is an abstract concept of this that Buying Intention, Perceived Value, and Flow as a matter needs to be known. significant predictor in buying virtual goods. Participants are players in Indonesia (N = 208). The results showed Perceived value means the ability of individuals to see the that there was a significant effect of Buying Intention, Perceived value of the use of an item or object based on their Value, and Flow on Virtual Goods Buying Behavior. The results perception. Which later researchers believe that the higher the also showed the proportion of variance in buying behavior person gives an assessment of a virtual item, the more often explained by all independent variables = 0.612. Attitudes they will buy or try to get the virtual item [9]. Against Behavior, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioral Control, Visual Authority Value and Perceived Control Based on the phenomena and factors that have been significantly influence virtual goods buying behavior. explained, the authors are interested in conducting further research on the question: why do we buy virtual goods? Keywords: consumer behavior, virtual goods consumer, virtual goods consumer behavior, online gamers player whether it's influenced by buying intention, perceived value or flow?

I. INTRODUCTION II. FRAMEWORK THEORY Online games have become a popular source of entertainment. This phenomenon also occurs in Indonesia, Foxall [8] says that buying behavior is a process that where many teenagers play online games because of the rapid starts before the product is purchased until post-buying the development of internet access to the regions. Online games product. Foxall divided it into four stages, namely: can also be played on computers, gadgets, and also video development and perception of needs, planning before buying game consoles such as Playstation and Xbox. and buying decisions, buying behavior itself, behavior after Online games are related to the formation of Virtual buying that can lead to repurchases and resale. Factors that Worlds that have virtual meanings, except that human roles influence buying behavior (1) Personal Factors, (2) Social are replaced by avatars and this is closely related to games, Factors, (3) Information Factors, (4) Cultural Factors, (5) especially those that have communities or many people who Psychological Factors [1]. play them [3].With the existence of "society", it is possible to buy and sell that occurs and which is sold in the game, namely Lehdonvirta [13] said that virtual goods have functional, virtual goods. Virtual goods themselves can be purchased using a or real currency [9]. emotional, and social qualities. Where functional quality consists of performance and usability, emotional and social Online game ( Defense of The Ancient 2 ) consist of appearance, source, customization capability, and occupies the 2nd most popular game in level of scarcity. the famous game platform with data obtained from steamcharts.com with the most players at the same time Lin and Sun [14] show that virtual goods can be divided as many as 1,291,328 players and with an average of into two categories, first functional which means increasing 500,000-800,000 daily players. The DOTA 2 game itself has the attack strength or defense of the character and second as many types of virtual goods that can be obtained by buying it decoration items to change the appearance of characters, pets, or events that appear or luck (after the match is over). improve social status or as a communication tool. Guo and Research conducted by Ho & Wu [10] strengthen this statement by stating that profits can also be achieved by Barnes [9] describe three attributes of virtual goods that selling items in the game. Some problems can also arise influence buying, namely: perceived playfulness, character related to playing online games. Some of these phenomena competence, and the requirements of the mission being are players carried out. who spend money to play online games and also about According to Ajzen [1] intention to buy is a positive or spending money to buy virtual good. negative attitude that an individual has towards a behavior. Virtual goods are virtual objects whose physical form The intention is an indication of how strong the individual's cannot be owned by the player who buys them, therefore the desire to try and how many attempts to display the player's perception of the goods sold is certainly vital in behavior. This is the background of the creation of Theory determining the purchase itself. Perception of the potential The 7th International Conference on Cyber and IT Service Management (CITSM 2019)

Planned Behavior (TPB) which describes the intention to et al. [16] which takes the components of other researchers behave into three, namely: attitudes toward behavior, and makes 4 dimensions of value, namely: subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. 1. Enjoyment Value: Gamers buy in-game items to According to Davis [3] buying intention can be explained enhance the fun associated with playing games. by his theory of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) even 2. Character Competency Value: Gamers buy in- though this theory originates from information systems, but this theory also explains consumer behavior, TAM identifies game items to improve character abilities and strength factors that influence buying intention into two things in the context of the game. namely perceived usefulness where describing individual 3. Visual Authority Value: Gamers buy items to decorate beliefs that buying a product will improve performance, their characters, chase rare items in the game, or while perceived ease of use is described as how much improve their social status in the context of the game. individuals think about the effort spent in displaying 4. Monetary Value: Gamers buy items because the price is behavior [5]. appropriate and worth the price. The researcher took an understanding of Ajzen which led Compared to the theory of Sheth et al. [16] enjoyment to his theory, namely Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) value is similar to emotional value, and character which was associated with the behavior of buying virtual competency value is associated with functional goods. TPB contains three dimensions, namely: attitudes value. Visual authority value is included in social value, toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral while monetary value is an addition that can be based on control. The dimensions of intention to buy: (1) Attitudes context. toward Behavior, (2) Subjective Norms, (3) Perceived However, researchers do not use epistemic Behavioral Control. value and conditional value because they are not in accordance with the context of the research and also the Guo and Barnes [9] define perceived value as a form of researcher will leave the character competency assessment of users of the value of a virtual product, in the value because DOTA 2 does not have items that enhance form of monetary value or non-monetary effort, this is related to the context of research in the form of capabilities but only as decorations. Therefore, the researcher purchasing virtual goods and how players perceive items in will use 3 dimensions from Lee & Park [17] to them. measure perceived value towards the intention to buy virtual goods in the online game DOTA 2. This is in line with the understanding of Zeithaml Csikszentmihalyi [15] describes Flow as the individual's [2] which defines perceived value as an overall assessment ability to focus fully and sink into activities to the point carried out by consumers of the usefulness of an item based on the perception of what is given and what is obtained. that nothing is more important. Maslow [7] describes flow or what he calls the peak experience as a Sheth [16] also developed the theory of perceived fun and also interesting moment in life, as well as sudden and value based on consumer decisions to buy or not buy, overflowing pleasure, experience. transcendental from fused, where perceived value is divided into five dimensions, or knowledge of higher truths. Peak experience here is also namely functional value (related to functional goals) of the the basis for Csikszentmihalyi to make it the basis product, social value(related to images obtained from the of flow theory. environment) emotional value (feeling of using the The researcher will use the dimensions of flow which product), epistemic value (curiosity or curiosity) conditional were developed by Domina et al. [6] certainly based on value (specific situation or situation faced by consumers). Csikszentmihalyi's theory. [15] These dimensions were Based on the description above, it can be concluded chosen based on previous research by Koufaris [11] and that perceived value is the result of consumer assessment of were chosen because they are more directly related to virtual the product that leads to the decision to buy or not, so buying world and arguably more suitable for complexity and uses money or gets it through business. sophistication in measuring flow in this research setting. The In this study researchers adapted the dimensions researcher took 3 modified dimensions, namely: developed by Lee & Park [17] based on the theory of Sheth • Perceived Enjoyment: Using is perceived as pleasant regardless of the The 7th International Conference on Cyber and IT Service Management (CITSM 2019)

performance consequences that individuals will IV. RESULTS receive. TABLE I. MODEL SUMMARY • Perceived Concentration: Intensity of focus or attention given to what is being done. R-SquareModelTable R R Adjusted Std.Error Square R Square of the • Perceived Control: Individual perceptions of the Estimate ease or difficulties that might be felt to do a behavior 1 , , 612 , 594 5,95278 782a When individuals have the perception that they have control, they will tend to issue enthusiasm, interest, From the table above, we can see that the acquisition of R and attention that is settled on what is being square is 0.612 or 61.2%, which means the proportion of done. Based on the research settings, the researcher variance from buying behavior explained by attitudes towards behavior, subjective norms, perceived will use the flow dimensions developed by Domina behavioral control, enjoyment value, visual authority value, d kk. [6] monetary value, perceived Control, Perceived III. RESEARCH METHODS Concentration, and Perceived Enjoyment is 61.2% while the Participants are online game players (DOTA2) (N = remaining 38.8% is influenced by variables outside of this study. 200). We use non-probability sampling techniques.

Instruments: researchers used a scale in the form of a TABLE II. TABLE OF COEFFICIENT OF REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS Likert scale, with a range of points 1 to 4, that is, very Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. appropriate, appropriate, inappropriate, and not according to Coefficients Coefficients the consisting items. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) -.023 3,907 -006 .995 • buying behavior [8], measures: (1) the development and STP .381 .69 .370 5,501 .000 perceptions of desire and needs, (2) planning before NS .198 .057 .176 3,449 .001 PBC_INT .227 .061 .220 3,736 .000 purchasing and decision making, (3) buying behavior, E_Value .39 .59 .39 .662 .509 (4) behavior after purchasing. V_Value .127 .062 .125 2,054 .41 M_Value -.010 .056 -009 -.180 .857 • buying intention is measured based on aspects [12]: (1) Perceived_Cont -.127 .46 -.136 - .006 attitudes against behavior, (2) subjective norms, 2,764 P_Concentration .049 .59 .47 .822 .412 (3) perceived behavioral control. P_Enjoyment .117 .68 .118 1,720 .087 • perceived value, using an instrument adapted from Consumption Value Based on the regression equation above, it can be Theory developed by Sheth [16] and adapted Lee & explained that out of the 9 independent variables there are Park [17] with the reliability values of the respective only five significant variables, namely attitudes toward dimensions of enjoyment value of 0.89, the visual behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral authority value of 0.89 and also monetary value of 0.93 control, visual authority value, and perceived control. making this scale can be used in various situations. V. DISCUSSION AND SUGGESTIONS • Flow, researchers use the dimensions Based on the data analysis, we can conclude that the of flow developed by Domina et al. [6]. The researcher variables contribute to customer behavior in buying virtual took 3 modified dimensions, namely: (1) Perceived goods are: attitudes toward behavior, subjective Enjoyment, ( 2) Perceived Concentration,(3) Perceived norms, perceived behavioral control, visual authority value, Control. and perceived control. Attitudes toward behavior significantly influence buying A. Data Analysis behavior, with the direction of the positive regression coefficient. These results are in accordance with previous CFA ( Confirmatory Factor Analysis) was used to test the research that attitudes toward behavior have a positive validity of measuring instruments and multiple linear influence on buying behavior. It is assumed that individual regression used to test the research hypothesis. attitudes towards the behavior of buying a virtual

goods/item in the DOTA 2 game influence it to intend to buy

items. Furthermore, it will lead to buying the item itself as stated by Yet Mee Lim, Ching Seng Yap, and Teck Heang Lee The 7th International Conference on Cyber and IT Service Management (CITSM 2019)

(2011). This is also reinforced by Guo and Barnes (2011) who [12] Lim, Y. M., Yap, C. S., & Lee, T. H. (2011). Intention to shop online: state a significant influence between intention to buy and A study of Malaysian baby boomers . African Journal of Business buying behavior with an attitude towards behavior as a Management, 5(5), 1711–1717. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM10.640 [13] Lehdonvirta, V. (2009). Virtual item sales as a revenue model: determinant factor of intention to buy it. Individuals Identifying attributes that drive purchase decisions. Electronic who have high scores on attitudinal variables towards Commerce Research, 9(1–2), 97–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-009-9028-2 behavior will have a greater chance to buy DOTA 2 virtual [14] Lin, H., & Sun, C.-T. (2007). Cash Trade Within the Magic Circle: goods/items. Free-to-Play Game Challenges and Massively Multiplayer Online For further research, it is also recommended to use Game Player Responses. Proceedings of DiGRA 2007: Situated Play, 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.9963 the flow theory in full, developed by Mihalyi, because in this [15] Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal study only the modified version was used so that it did Experience. not appear as a full flow. So that the possibility of better [16] Sheth, J. N., Newman, B. I., & Gross, B. L. (1991). Why We Buy results and can better explain why someone buys something What We Buy. Journal of Business Research, 22, 159–171. more attractive. [17] Park, B. W., & Lee, K. C. (2011). Exploring the value of purchasing online game items. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(6), 2178–2185. How someone judges an item, especially items that are https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.06.013 abstract as in the game, needs to be emphasized again, especially on the monetary value that is felt in this study not representing the hypotheses that have been built, changing diction or changing items as long as they are in accordance with the definition of the variable. If this can be done with a more diverse sample, then the results will be more interesting when you see how someone judges the worth of an abstract item.

REFERENCES [1] Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T [2] Aulia, A.S., Sukati, I. & Sulaiman, Z. (2016). Asian Journal of Social Sciences A Review: Customer Perceived Value and its Dimension. Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, 3(2), 150– 162. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.500/2016.3.2/500.2.150.162 [3] Bleize, D. N. M., & Antheunis, M. L. (2017). Factors influencing purchase intent in virtual worlds: a review of the literature. Journal of Marketing Communications, 7266(December), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2016.1278028 [4] Bleize, D. N. M., & Antheunis, M. L. (2017). Factors influencing purchase intent in virtual worlds: a review of the literature. Journal of Marketing Communications, 7266(December), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2016.1278028 [5] Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology, 13(3), 319–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-0483(98)00028-0 [6] Domina, T., Lee, S., & Macgillivray, M. (2012). Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services Understanding factors affecting consumer intention to shop in a virtual world. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 19(6), 613–620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.08.001 [7] Engeser, S. (2012). Advances in flow research. Advances in Flow Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2359-1 [8] Foxall, G. R. (1980). Consumer Behaviour: A Practical Guide. Routledge Library Editions (Vol. 49). New York: Routledge. [9] Guo, Y., & Barnes, S. J. (2011). Explaining Purchasing Behavior Within . Journal of Computer Information Systems, 52(3), 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2012.11645555 [10] Ho, C.-H., & Wu, T.-Y. (2012). Factors Affecting Intent To Purchase Virtual Goods in Online Games. International Journal of Electronic Business Management, 10(3), 204–212. [11] Koufaris, M. (2002). Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and Flow Theory to Online Consumer Behavior, 13(2), 205–223.