Social network games: factors influencing players’ engagement Valeria Colnaghi M.B.A. 2013 August 2013 M.B.A. in Business Management Social network games: factors influencing players’ engagement A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Dublin Business School for the degree of MBA in Business Management Valeria Colnaghi Student number – 1659610 Thesis advisor: Michael McKeon Social network games: factors influencing players’ engagement Table of contents LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................... 3 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 5 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 LIMITATIONS OF THIS RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................................. 7 MAJOR CONTRIBUTION OF THIS RESEARCH................................................................................................................................ 8 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................................................................................... 9 RESEARCH QUESTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION ................................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................................................12 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................. 12 SECTION 1: ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Academic definition and practical definition ...............................................................................................................................14 Perception .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Engagement on mobile devices ...................................................................................................................................................18 SECTION 2: SOCIAL NETWORK GAMES ................................................................................................................................. 20 The social network site and factors of the Network effect ..........................................................................................................20 Social network games .................................................................................................................................................................21 The born of virtual goods ............................................................................................................................................................22 Theories on why users purchase virtual goods ............................................................................................................................24 Game immersion .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Mix – Models ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Pattern ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Identity ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 SECTION 3: THE FREEMIUM BUSINESS MODEL ....................................................................................................................... 29 How the model works in the gaming industry.............................................................................................................................29 Advantages of the model ............................................................................................................................................................30 Social network games: factors influencing players’ engagement CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ...........................................................................................33 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................. 33 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................................................................ 33 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................................................................ 33 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS ....................................................................................................................................................... 34 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................. 35 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY ...................................................................................................................................................... 36 RESEARCH APPROACH ........................................................................................................................................................ 37 RESEARCH STRATEGY ......................................................................................................................................................... 37 RESEARCH CHOICE ............................................................................................................................................................. 38 TIME HORIZON ................................................................................................................................................................. 39 TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................................................ 39 Data collection ............................................................................................................................................................................39 Designing the questionnaire .......................................................................................................................................................41 Data analysis ...............................................................................................................................................................................42 Sampling .....................................................................................................................................................................................43 PLAN .............................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Practical afford............................................................................................................................................................................45 Research limitation .....................................................................................................................................................................45