Social Elements of Gaming and Microtransaction Purchases : A multiple case study exploring perceived values’ influence on players’ willingness to purchase microtransactions and how these are affected by social elements of gaming.

Abstract: Background: Incorporating microtransactions has become a popular business model for video game publishers as it ultimately provides stability and reduces financial risk. While microtransactions are becoming increasingly prevalent, they do not come without trouble as they have been linked to unfair gameplay advantages and reduced satisfaction with the game. However, understanding and meeting players’ perceived values mean that developers can incorporate microtransactions more effectively and avoid such concerns. Problem: Despite comprehensive research and the consistent recognition of perceived values as having a significant impact on the propensity to purchase microtransactions, the existing literature has yielded inconclusive results regarding the precise extent of their influence. Furthermore, the current body of literature has mainly focused on multiplayer games which differ greatly in their nature compared with single-player games, meaning that these findings do not necessarily apply in a single-player environment. Thus, very little is known about what happens when the social element is absent in the game and more research is needed on single-player games to understand this impact, where perceptions can be explored in another setting yielding potentially different results. Purpose: The research seeks to examine the influence of social elements on players’ attitudes toward purchasing microtransactions and build a theoretical framework. With the absence of research on single-player games and the distinction to multiplayer modes, emergent findings will elaborate adjacent theories on microtransactional gaming and provide an increasingly nuanced understanding of the topic. Research Question: How does the social element of gaming impact players’ willingness to purchase microtransactions? Method: Ontology – Interpretivism; Epistemology – Social Constructionism; Methodology – Inductive Exploratory Multiple Case Study; Data Collection – 10 Semi-structured Interviews; Interview Technique – Laddering Technique; Sampling –Purposeful Sampling and Snowball Sampling; Data Analysis – Thematic Content Analysis. Conclusion: The present study provides evidence of four distinct perceived values, namely self-expression, emotional, convenience, and social, which exert influence on players' willingness to purchase microtransactions. Notably, the social aspects within the gaming environment were found to differentially impact each of these values. Furthermore, these perceived values were found to possess a temporal dimension, indicating whether the anticipated benefits would be realized immediately, in the future, or both. To determine the overall perceived value and purchase intent, players assess the expected benefits of perceived immediate and future value relative to the purchase's associated costs and perceived social risks.