How Do Online Game Communities Retain Gamers? Social Presence and Social Capital Perspectives

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1 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication How Do Online Game Communities Retain Gamers? Social Presence and Social Capital Perspectives Fan-Chen Tseng Department of Multimedia and M-Commerce, Kainan University, No.1 Kainan Road, Luzhu Dist., Taoyuan City, 33857, Taiwan Han-Chung Huang Ching-I Teng Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, 259, Wenhua 1st Rd, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan While online game communities have been found to be useful for retaining gamers, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is not fully understood. Knowledge about such mechanism enables managers of online games to effectively retain their customers. This study thus investigates how network convergence and interdependence 2 characteristics of online game social networks fuel gamers continuance intention. Social presence and social capital theories were used for developing the study hypotheses, and responses from 1,467 online gamers were used in the analysis. The findings indicate that both network convergence and interdependence are positively related to sense of community and relational switching cost (coefficients ranging from.20 to.50), which further contribute to gamer continuance intention (coefficients ranging from.13 to.72). Keywords: Social Presence, Social Capital, Network Convergence, Interdependence, Continuance Intention, Social Network. doi: /jcc Introduction Social networks in various online media have been widely investigated. Among them, online games have been a recent focus in both the literature on communication (e.g., Taylor, Jenson, de Castell, & Dilouya, 2014; Yoon, Duff, & Ryu, 2013) and electronic commerce (e.g., Hsiao & Chiou, 2012; Wu & Liu, 2007). Focal issues include why gamers continue to play online games, and social aspects have been verified as providing critical impetus. Specifically, continuance intention of online gamers has predictors such as gratification (Wu, Wang, & Tsai, 2010), online community position (Hsiao & Chiou, Editorial Record: First manuscript received on December 8, Revision received on August 9, Accepted by Matthew Lombard on August 18, Final manuscript received on September 9, First published online on November 19, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 601

2 2012), team participation, compliance to social norms (Teng & Chen, 2014), trust, and enjoyment (Wu & Liu, 2007). The literature has demonstrated the relevance of social networks to gamer retention, while leaving the process by which this happens insufficiently studied. Research clarifying the process can enhance academic knowledge on social network formation in online games, and can provide a competitive advantage to game service providers by assisting them in the development of social networks for retaining their customers. The literature has identified socialization as one major motivation for the playing of online games. Researchers indicated social interactions are important predictors for continuance intention among online gamers (Wu et al., 2010), implying that social interactions can help explain continuance intention among online gamers. However, little research has examined continuance intention among online gamers by taking into account the social presence (Kim, 2011) and social capital (Hsiao & Chiou, 2012) theories. Inclusion of these theories can provide a novel framework to clarify how social networks help retain users within online gaming communities. Therefore, this study adopts the perspective of two theories, i.e., the social presence theory and the social capital theory, to build a theoretical model to explain whether and how network convergence and interdependence impact gamers continuance intention through sense of community and relational switching costs. This study should deepen the understanding of how gamers communication networks retain other gamers. This study also provides insights that could be valuable to electronic commerce managers in their efforts to capitalize on social networks to boost users continuance intention. In contrast to a recent study (i.e., Teng, Chen, Chen, & Li, 2012a) that examined the positive relationship between interdependence and continuance intention (i.e., loyalty in that study), the current study innovates to clarify the mechanism underlying this relationship. Specifically, the current study hypothesized that sense of community and relational switching cost play important roles in mediating the relationship between interdependence and continuance intention. Moreover, one recent study by Teng and Chen (2014) has examined the relationship between team participation and gamer loyalty (or continuance intention). Compared with that study, the present study is new in using interdependence, network convergence, sense of community, and relational switching cost to explain the gamer loyalty. All of these determinants were not covered in that study (Teng & Chen, 2014). Theoretical Background and Hypotheses Social Presence Theory Social presence theory explains how individuals communicate with each other in communication media and indicates that social presence assists such media to achieve successful outcomes (Richardson & Swan, 2003). Presence, as the core in the social presence theory, should be firstly provided by Heeter (1992). Short, Williams, and Christie (1976) and Heeter (1992) defined social presence to be the feeling of being there, particularly between two communicating parties through a communication medium. Social presence plays a central role in online communication behavior (Kim, 2011). The prevalence of high-speed Internet and the advancement of multimedia technologies make online games vivid communication media through which gamers can experience strong social presence. Drawing on the literature on social presence theory, Kim (2011) enriched the definition of social presence to be the perception of links and affiliation among the users. Kim (2011) proposed four dimensions of social presence, i.e., (1) a sense of community, (2) mutual attention and support, (3) open communication, and (4) affective connectedness. Among these four dimensions, sense of community, i.e., how users perceive a sense of group membership, should be highly relevant in online games, as stronger sense of community may increase gamer loyalty (Hsu & Lu, 2007). 602 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association

3 In online game communities, gamers often share their friends or social networks, a phenomenon called network convergence, defined as the extent to which people develop a common social circle (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Hence, the more online gamers share their friends, the greater the network convergenceislikelytobe.thesharingoffriendsincreasesinterpersonalrelationshipsandcommoninterests, and subsequently sharing a sense of membership as a group, i.e., a sense of community among online gamers (Blanchard & Horan, 1998). Thus, network convergence leads to a sense of community, and the present study hypothesizes: H1: Network convergence positively contributes to sense of community. Interdependence is the degree to which members in a community rely on each other to make decisions and take actions (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Online gamers often form teams or guilds to solve missions or to achieve common goals, or rely on other members feelings and opinions to shape their avatar outlooks or social interactions with others. That is, gamers depend on each other for opinions and support. Such mutual interdependence among members is one of the most essential elements of community (Rovai, 2002). Thus, the present study hypothesizes: H2: Interdependence positively contributes to sense of community. Furthermore, a sense of community motivates gamers to become strongly affiliated to other membersinthesamecommunity.consequently,ifgamersswitchedtoothergames,theywouldlosecontact with the members they are strongly affiliated to, resulting in a significant relational switching cost (Lin, Cheng, Wang, & Chang, 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). Thus, the present study hypothesizes: H3: Sense of community positively contributes to relational switching cost. A sense of community also has an impact on the continuance intention toward computer/internetmediated communication systems such as social network services and web-based bulletin board systems (Zhang, 2010). As a high-quality communication system, online games provide a virtual world where gamers communicate with each other by using rich interactive multimedia. This would facilitate communication among online gamers and enhance the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. Since individuals have an innate need in developing and maintaining interpersonal links to other persons, online gamers would have strong intention to continue engaging in online games to maintain the sense of community. Therefore, this study hypothesized a positive link from sense of community to continuance intention. H4: Sense of community positively contributes to continuance intention. Social Capital Theory Social capital is a construct which describe the resources owned by social organizations (Putnam, 1995); such resources should foster coordination and cooperation to increase mutual benefit (Putnam, 1995). These resources include norms and social trust, reside in the relationship networks formed by the members in a group (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Therefore, social capital can be defined as the resources an entity can obtain from the relationship networks (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 603

4 As Internet gained increasing popularity, it is believed that social capital also exists in cybernetworks, i.e., social networks in cyberspace (Lin, 1999). Social capital theory thus has been applied to cyberspace, including social networking sites (Lin & Lu, 2011). Social capital helps builds mutual trust (Coleman, 1990), and promotes social participation (Guillen, Coromina, & Saris, 2011). Therefore, we use this theory, i.e., the social capital theory, for exploring how social networks affect continuance intention in online gaming communities. In social networks, individuals likely share friends, and thus increase the extent to which users have common friends. Such an extent is defined as network convergence (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Individuals who have common friends develop relationships more easily and quickly than those who do not (Davis, 1967). Moreover, the number of shared friends is typically related to the number of total friends, which can strongly predict perceived social support. Gamers devote time and energy to interact with friends within a certain game to build their social capital, and thus stronger network convergence should imply more social capital. Gamers would possibly lose such social capital if they decided to switch to another game. That is, gamers may incur relational switching costs. Such costs in online games should be the losses accompanied with the breaking of the bonds that have been formed with other gamers (Lin et al., 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). As a gamer accumulates more social capital with more network convergence, the gamer may incur more relational relationship losses when switching to another game, because the social networks in one game may not be easily carried over to another. Hence, this study hypothesizes: H5: Network convergence is positively related to relational switching cost. In online games, gamers likely form interdependent relationships because through cooperation they can overcome challenges, which in turn are related to gamers continuance intention toward a game (Teng, 2013). In interdependent relationships, users consult and respond to each other when making decisions (Parks & Floyd, 1996). The responsiveness is reciprocated and creates upward spirals of responsiveness, fueling quality relationships (Canevello & Crocker, 2010). Such interdependent relationships are members social capital since they can utilize them to achieve goals (Lin, 2001). If gamers switch to other online games, they will lose such social capital (highly responsive partners and quality relationships), incurring a relational switching cost (Lin et al., 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). Therefore, H6: Interdependence is positively related to relational switching cost. Relational switching cost comprises the friendships and relationships users would lose if they switched to other service providers (Lin et al., 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). Friends are resources in social networks that can help members achieve goals; therefore, friends can comprise members social capital, accordingly (Lin, 2001). Social capital should be valuable to gamers and thus they are motivated to retain it, leading them to play an online game continually. Hence, H7: Relational switching cost positively contributes to continuance intention. Figure 1 illustrates the research framework. Hypotheses were ordered according to the underlying theories. That is, H1 to H4 were developed using the social presence theory. H5 to H7 were developed using the social capital theory. Such an approach helps achieve brevity and connectedness between hypotheses. 604 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association

5 Figure 1 Research Framework Methods Sample, the Process of Collection, and the Data This study is a cross-sectional one. This study collects the data by utilizing an online questionnaire. The invitations had been posted on popular online gaming forums and community websites during 5 weeks. Therefore, the sampling population was online gamers who visited those forums and community websites. The researchers selected gaming forums and community websites that are famous and popular among online gamers. More than 20 forums were chosen among and Gamers from these forums and websites indicated that their favorite online games are (one gamer nominated one game): League of Legends (40.4%), Baseball Online (15.8%), Diablo (9.2%), Dungeon & Fighter (8.7%), Lineage (2.5%), World of Warcraft (2.2%), and others. Notably, most of them are multiplayer games. Prospective respondents were directed via an online link to the online questionnaire, which indicated that this study would focus on gamer evaluation of online games. When respondents completed and submitted their responses, those who submitted a valid response had the opportunity to join in a lottery, which involved 50 winners and a US$7 gift certificate for each winner. The lottery was held to express gratitude for gamers participation. In total, 1,650 responses were obtained. Among them, 183 were judged as invalid and excluded. Table 1 lists the criteria and associated number of invalid responses. After the screening process, 1,467 gamers provided valid responses and generated a valid ratio of 88.9%. Table 1 Data Validity Criteria and Associated Number of Invalid Responses Criterion # Had not played online games for the past month 8 Did not provide meaningful game names 36 Did not provide meaningful role/race/occupation of the main avatar 19 Gave 12 or more months in answer to the question played the game for years 85 and months Spent 0 hours per week playing their favorite online game 1 Spent 168 hours or more per week playing their favorite online game 3 Did not provide meaningful birth year 4 Were aged 10 years or younger 2 Provided addressthathadthesameEnglishcharacterrepeatedpriortothe@sign 19 Submitted multiple responses from the same IP address within 5 minutes 6 Note. # denotes number of invalid and excluded responses. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 605

6 Table 2 SummaryofNumberofMeasurementItems Construct # original items # deleted items # resultant items Network convergence Interdependence Sense of community Relational switching cost Continuance intention The high ratio of valid responses to total responses may be owing to several reasons. First, only interested gamers were attracted to click through the link and gain access to the study questionnaire. Second, the online questionnaire enabled automatic checking of whether all the study items were completed. Third, the associated lottery served as an incentive for providing accurate and sincere responses. Measurement Items and Psychometric Properties The seven items measuring network convergence and the five items measuring interdependence were adapted from Parks and Floyd (1996). The four items measuring sense of community were adapted from Kim (2011). The four items measuring relational switching cost were modified from the literature, i.e., Lin et al. (2012) and Tseng and Teng (2014). Continuance intention was measured using seven items that came from Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996). To verify the instrument reliability, this study adopted a criterion that item-to-total correlation should exceed.50, with items that did not meet such a criterion being dropped. Moreover, the instrument validity was verified using a factor analysis. This study dropped items loading on constructs other than theoretically assumed. Dropping items of poor reliability and validity should improve the overall measurement quality, and is one commonly used approach in conducting psychological measurements. The numbers of original items, deleted items and resultant items for every construct are depicted in Table 2. As shown in Table 2, this study kept 20 items for measuring five constructs, with at least three items being retained to measure any one construct. This study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for directly assessing the psychometric properties, i.e., reliability and validity, of the study items. Table 3 summarizes the results of the CFA. Notably, each construct had items generating a Cronbach s α value larger than.80. Moreover, the 95% confidence intervals of α values have low bounds exceeding.78, indicating sufficient reliability. Additionally, composite reliability (CR) values were larger than.85 and average variance extracted (AVE) values were larger than.62, further supporting adequate reliability. All indicator loadings exceeded.65, indicating sufficient convergent validity. The minimum AVE (.62) exceeded the maximum squared correlation (.53), indicating sufficient discriminant validity. Moreover, the measurement model fits our empirical data acceptably, supported by the performance of various fit indices. Specifically, the comparative fit index (CFI) =.97 and the incremental fit index (IFI) =.97, fulfilling the criteria (CFI.90, IFI.90). The nonnormed fit index (NNFI) =.97, satisfying the criterion (NNFI.90). The goodness of fit index (GFI) =.90, and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) =.08, indicating sufficient performance of model fit (GFI.90, RMSEA.10). This study did not regard χ 2 and χ 2 /df as critical indices, because they are sensitive to sample size. Table 4 exhibits how the study constructs are related with each other. The correlations were between.33 and.73. This study proposed an alternative measurement model by assuming that all constructs could be explained by common method variance (CMV). The alternative model has a significantly higher χ Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association

7 Table 3 Summary of Confirmatory Factor Analyses Construct-Item M SD λ α C.I. of α CR AVE Network convergence [.85,.88] Myin-gamepartnershaveintroducedmetohis/her friends and family members, and vice versa. Myin-gamepartnershaveintroducedmetohis/her colleagues, and vice versa. My in-game partners and I contact a lot of the same people on the Net. My in-game partners and I are involved with many of thesamenewsgroupsand/ormailinglists. My in-game partners and I have overlapping social circles online Interdependence [.78,.82] My in-game partners and I have a great deal of influence on each other. My in-game partners and I often influence each other s feelings toward the issues we re dealing with. Myin-gamepartnersandIwouldgooutofourwayto help each other if necessary Sense of community [.87,.89] Even though we were physically in different locations, I stillfeltiwaspartofagroupoffriendsinthegame. Online gaming allows me to express my thoughts and feelings, and to learn those of my online game friends. I can feel the others in the game tried to create a sense of community, and vice versa. I work with other members to solve missions and achieve goals in a game Relational switching cost [.82,.85] I would miss my fellow players in the present game if I switched to another one. I feel more comfortable interacting with my fellow players in the present game than I would if I switched to another game. The interpersonal ties I have with my fellow players in the present game are my assets, and I don t want to lose them by switching to another game Continuance intention [.85,.87] Among all online games, this online game is my favorite. Iamwillingtospendmoretimeplayingthisonline game. Iamwillingtosaypositivethingsaboutthisonline game to other people. Iwouldrecommendthisonlinegametosomeonewho was seeking my advice. I would encourage friends and relatives to play this online game Note. λ denotes indicator loading; CR denotes composite reliability; AVE denotes average variance extracted; C.I. denotes 95% confidence interval. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 607

8 Table 4 Correlations Among the Study Constructs Network convergence 2. Interdependence Sense of community Relational switching cost Continuance intention Note. denotes p <.05. value, i.e., = The test on χ 2 difference is made upon five degrees of freedom, i.e., = 5, which lead to a threshold value of χ 2 of (χ 2 (α =.05, df = 5) = 11.07). The χ 2 difference (262.96) exceeded the threshold value (11.07), indicating our measurement model significantly explains our empirical data better than an alternative model, i.e., CMV model. Such analytical results support the minimum of CMV herein. Results Demographic Distribution of the Sample Table 5 summarizes participant profile. Among the participants, most were male (88.1%), aged no more than 30 years (92.1%), had attended college or university (64.6%), and had a monthly income of either US$ 200 or less (54.9%) or US$ 1,001 or more (13.1%). Averagely, the participants were years old. Their ages ranged from 11 to 52 years old. Averagely, they played their favorite online game for 2.55 years (SD = 2.48 years) and played the game for hours per week on average (SD = hours). Hypothesis Testing We utilized the structural equation modeling technique for examining the hypotheses. The analytical results supported all the study hypotheses. Specifically, network convergence positively contributes to sense of community (path coefficient =.20, p <.05), supporting H1. Interdependence positively contributes to sense of community (path coefficient =.50, p <.05), supporting H2. Sense of community further positively contributes to relational switching cost and continuance intention (path coefficient =.72 and.45, p <.05), supporting H3 and H4. Network convergence is positively related to relational switching cost (path coefficient=.18, p <.05), supporting H5. Interdependence is also positively related to relational switching cost (path coefficient =.06, p <.05), supporting H6. Finally, relational switching cost is positively related to continuance intention (path coefficient =.13, p <.05), supporting H7. Table 6 summarizes the testing results. To increase persuasiveness of the work, this study further included two control variables, i.e., years of playing the favorite game and hours per week of playing the game and their impact on continuance intention. As support for including the two variables, the two variables are significantly related to continuance intention (coefficient =.07 and.07, p <.05). However, inclusion of these two variables does not change the analytical results regarding the hypotheses testing, demonstrating the robustness of the study findings. 608 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association

9 Table 5 Summary of the Participant Profile Variable Category Number Percentage Gender Male Female Age years old years old years old Education High school or below College or university Graduate institute Monthly income US$ 200 or less US$ US$ US$ US$ 801 1, US$ 1,001 or more Discussion Theoretical Implications Yoon et al. (2013) used the technology acceptance model and found that enjoyment, usefulness, and economic value impact gamers attitude to online games. While the study of Yoon et al. (2013) emphasized the economic value of online gaming, this study highlights the social value of online gaming. Specifically, gamers enjoy social activities with real people within computer-mediated environments to experience senseofcommunityandbuildsocialcapital.therelationshipswithothersinsuchenvironmentsare useful and valuable, implying the loss a gamer would incur when switching to another game (i.e., relational switching cost). That is, the accumulation of social capital can form significant switching cost for gamers. Table 6 Results of Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis Coefficient H1: Network convergence sense of community.20 H2: Interdependence sense of community.50 H3: Sense of community relational switching cost.72 H4: Sense of community continuance intention.45 H5: Network convergence relational switching cost.18 H6: Interdependence relational switching cost.06 H7: Relational switching cost continuance intention.13 Note. denotes p <.05. All coefficients are standardized path coefficients. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 609

10 Wu and Liu (2007) utilized the theory of reasoned action to identify subjective norms (what others expect) as one determinant for continuance intention in online gaming. The present study is in line with Wu and Liu (2007) in identifying determinants for continuance intention. However, it is unique in introducing the social presence and social capital theories to identify sense of community and relational switching cost as two novel mediators for continuance intention in online gaming. Findings of the present study elucidate the fertile opportunities for introducing classic psychological and communication theories to the further understanding of this issue. One of the most related studies is that of Hsiao and Chiou (2012), who also investigated how social networks fuel continuance intention in online gaming. Their study verified that community position is critical to explaining continuance intention. Findings of our study are compatible with such finding, for a sense that a gamer in a central position (where the gamer connects with the most other gamers) should have relatively high levels of network convergence and thus social capital in the community. Therefore, to avoid huge relational switching cost, such a gamer would have a strong continuance intention toward the game the gamer is playing. In short, the present study provides an alternative explanation for their findings. Implications for Managers and Society Although some problematic use of online games may cause annoyance and dissatisfaction (Teng, Tseng, Chen, & Wu, 2012b; Tseng & Teng, 2011), online games are still highly attractive to gamers. As revealed inthecurrentstudy,oneofthemostattractiveaspectsisthesocialvalueoffered.managersofonline games thus can take advantage of our findings to enhance continuance intention among their users. Four points are illustrated below. First, sense of community is a strong predictor of continuance intention and positively influences relational switching cost. Therefore, managers are encouraged to foster a sense of community within their social networks. Managers can facilitate the sharing of recent statuses among network members and hold community events to draw members closer. Second, relational switching cost positively contributes to continuance intention. Therefore, managers may devise various mechanisms to raise such costs to deter users from switching to other social networks. For example, managers may offer bonuses or privileges to members who have accumulated significant social capital in the network, so those members realize they might feel a strong sense of loss should they switch to another social network. Third, network convergence indirectly contributes to continuance intention, indicating the importance of mutual friends among network members. Managers thus are encouraged to provide methods to enlarge the social networks of their members. For example, strategic inclusion of the use of Facebook or other social networking sites effectively introduces the social network of one member to another to enhance network convergence. Finally, interdependence also contributes indirectly to continuance intention. Managers can thus develop small games within the current game that require collaboration/cooperation to increase interdependence among members. For example, while playing online games, gamers exert efforts to achieve challenging missions to earn gaming trophies. To reduce effort and maximize returns, they often form teams or partnerships for cooperation, thus establishing interdependence (Teng et al., 2012a). Limitations, and the Associated Future Research Directions This study is a cross-sectional study. Such a design should be acceptable for testing relationships among constructs. However, such a design is known to be limited in directly examining causality, restraining 610 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association

11 this study from claiming and examining exact causality among the study variables. Future studies are encouraged to replicate this study using big data approaches to directly examine the causality of the relationships observed in our study. Our study sample mainly included participants in one single country, thus preventing problems of semantic equivalence among questionnaires of multiple languages and the confounding effects of cultural variables. However, the single-country sample restrained this study from examining how cultural differences impact the findings and how a specific culture impacts users retention intention owing to social networks. Future studies could replicate this study in other countries and cultures to examine the above issues. Participantsofthisstudywereaskedtoratetheirfavoritegame,i.e.,onegamerratedonegamebutnot all gamers rated the same game. Such an approach includes various games, increasing the applicability and generality of the findings. However, such an approach is restrained from focusing on the uniqueness of each game. Since gamer interactions may differ among game genres, e.g., World of Warcraft players and Second Life players are distinctively different, future studies are encouraged to replicate this study using a specific game genre and further include unique aspects of that genre. This approach can provide further in-depth understanding of each game genre. One of the merits of the study of Hsiao and Chiou (2012) was the collection of both subjective and objective data. This is particularly critical for examining the issue of community position, which can be both subjective and objective. The present study includes network convergence, which may be measured using objective data. However, it is unclear how the extent to which one gamer has shared friends with his/her in-game partner should be measured, e.g., by percentage of shared friends or other indicators. Moreover, it is also very difficult to obtain valid data by asking a gamer to provide a complete list of their friends. Therefore, the present study refrained from using objective data to measure network convergence. Nevertheless, the use of both subjective and objective data is a recommended approach for future studies. Although the sample included users of numerous games, the sample was not randomly selected. Such an approach may suffer from the risk of self-selection bias, representing a limitation. To overcome such a limitation, researchers are suggested to seek for cooperation with large firms (e.g., Blizzard Entertainment) to obtain complete lists of potential participants that enables random sampling. This study adopted self-reported data to measure network-related constructs (e.g., interdependence). Future studies can collect additional objective data. One suggested means is to develop software (e.g., an ad hoc app) which can collect Facebook friendship data. To successfully undertake this means, researchers should convince participants to download the app and use it, considering the participants concerns of privacy and information security. This study used two theories to construct the model. However, a model can hardly be exhaustive, since a complex real-world phenomenon can be explained using a large number of theories. Such a limitation likely applies to many studies in the literature, showing the fertile ground for future ambitious researchers to construct a highly comprehensive model to include all known theories regarding a specific issue and connect their key components. Intuitively, high satisfaction levels and few quality alternatives likely increase continuance intention. Such impacts are known in the literature, motivating this study to examine new antecedents and their impact on continuance intention. However, future studies can examine whether the effects of known factors (i.e., satisfaction level and quality of alternative) outweigh the effects of new factors (i.e., network convergence and interdependence) on continuance intention. Such examination should provide further insightintothefindingsofthisstudy. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 611

12 Conclusion Specifically, this study found that network convergence positively contributes to sense of community and relational switching cost. Similarly, interdependence is positively related to sense of community and relational switching cost. Moreover, the sense of community further positively contributes to relational switching cost. Both sense of community and relational switching cost positively contribute to continuance intention. Overall, the results show that the social presence and social capital theories can be applied to explaining how social networks retain users. These findings provide useful insights for managers who operate online businesses. Managers should consider the facilitation of users communication in social networks that can enhance the perceived performance of the medium (i.e., increasing a sense of community, a dimension of social presence). Moreover, users social networks can build switching barriers that hinder users switching behavior (i.e., increasing relational switching cost). In sum, social networks can effectively boost user retention and thus create a competitive advantage for managers. Extant research on social networks has indicated that they can effectively fuel the continuance intention of online gamers. Our study contributes to the communication literature by elucidating the underlying mechanism on how social networks retain gamers. That is, gamers in social networks regard playing games as one way of interacting with real people and appreciate the social networks in games because such networks satisfy their need for sense of community and social capital. Therefore, online game providers should consider social networks as useful tools for building loyal user bases and devise means for fostering the formulation of social networks. In academics, our study lays the ground to assist future studies that intend to further understand how social networks impact online gamer psychology and behavior. References Blanchard, A., & Horan, T. (1998). Virtual communities and social capital. Social Science Computer Review, 16(3), doi: / Canevello, A., & Crocker, J. (2010). Creating good relationships: Responsiveness, relationship quality, and interpersonal goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(1), Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Davis, J. A. (1967). Clustering and structural balance in graphs. Human Relations, 20(2), Guillen, L., Coromina, L., & Saris, W. E. (2011). Measurement of social participation and its place in social capital theory. Social Indicators Research, 100(2), doi: /s Heeter, C. (1992). Being there: The subjective experience of presence. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 1(2), Hsiao, C.-C., & Chiou, J.-S. (2012). The impact of online community position on online game continuance intention: Do game knowledge and community size matter? Information & Management, 49(6), doi: /j.im Hsu, C.-L., & Lu, H.-P. (2007). Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(3), doi: /j.chb Kim, J. (2011). Developing an instrument to measure social presence in distance higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(5), doi: /j x Lin, K.-Y., & Lu, H.-P. (2011). Intention to continue using Facebook fan pages from the perspective of social capital theory. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(10), doi: /cyber Lin, N. (1999). Building a network theory of social capital. Connections, 22(1), Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association

13 Lin, N. (2001). Social capital: A theory of social structure and action. NewYork, NY: Cambridge University Press. Lin, T.-C., Cheng, H. K., Wang, F.-S., & Chang, K.-J. (2012). A study of online auction sellers intention to switch platform: The case of Yahoo! Kimo versus Ruten_eBay. Decision Sciences,43(2), doi: /j x Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), doi: /AMR Parks, M. R., & Floyd, K. (1996). Making friends in cyberspace. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 1(4), 0. doi: /j tb00176.x Putnam, R. D. (1995). Bowling alone: America s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), Richardson, J. C., & Swan, K. (2003). Examining social presence in online courses in relation to students perceived learning and satisfaction. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks,7(1), Rovai, A. P. (2002). Building sense of community at a distance. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 3(1), Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons. Taylor, N., Jenson, J., de Castell, S., & Dilouya, B. (2014). Public displays of play: Studying online games in physical settings. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(4), doi: /jcc Teng, C.-I. (2013). How do challenges increase customer loyalty to online games? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(12), doi: /cyber Teng, C.-I., Chen, M.-Y., Chen, Y.-J., & Li, Y.-J. (2012a). Loyalty due to others: The relationships among challenge, interdependence, and online gamer loyalty. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(4), doi: /j x Teng, C.-I., & Chen, W.-W. (2014). Team participation and online gamer loyalty. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 13(1), doi: /j.elerap Teng, C.-I., Tseng, F.-C., Chen, Y.-S., & Wu, S. (2012b). Online gaming misbehaviors and their adverse impact on other gamers. Online Information Review,36(3), doi: / Tseng, F.-C., & Teng, C.-I. (2011). An empirical investigation into the sources of customer dissatisfaction with online games. International Journal of E-Business Research,7(4), Tseng, F.-C., & Teng, C.-I. (2014). Antecedents for user intention to adopt another auction site. Internet Research, 24(2), doi: /IntR Wu, J., & Liu, D. (2007). The effects of trust and enjoyment on intention to play online games. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 8(2), Wu, J.-H., Wang, S.-C., & Tsai, H.-H. (2010). Falling in love with online games: The use and gratifications perspective. ComputersinHumanBehavior, 26(6), doi: /j.chb Yoon, G., Duff, B. R., & Ryu, S. (2013). Gamers just want to have fun? Toward an understanding of the online game acceptance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology,43(9), doi: /jasp Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2),31 46.doi: / Zhang, Z. (2010). Feeling the sense of community in social networking usage. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 57(2), doi: /TEM Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association 613

14 About the Authors Fan-Chen Tseng (Ph.D., National Taiwan University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Multimedia and M-Commerce at Kainan University, Taiwan. His research focuses on online games and e-/m-commerce. Address: Department of Multimedia and M-Commerce, Kainan University, Taiwan, No.1 Kainan Road, Luzhu Dist., Taoyuan City 33857, Taiwan. Han-Chung Huang (Ph.D., Chang Gung University) is a Lecturer in General Education Center at China University of Technology, Taiwan. His research focuses on consumer psychology and behavior. Address: Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, 259, Wenhua 1st Rd, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan. t756068@hotmail.com. Ching-I Teng (Ph.D., National Taiwan University) is a Professor in the Graduate Institute of Business and Management at the Chang Gung University, Taiwan. His research focuses on online gamer psychology and behavior. Address: Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, 259, Wenhua 1st Rd, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan. chingit@mail.cgu.edu.tw. 614 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) International Communication Association