How online gamers' participation fosters their team commitment: Perspective of social identity theory. (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liao, Gen-Yih; Pham, Thi Tuan Linh; Cheng, T.C.E.; Teng, Ching-I
• Is Part Of: International journal of information management. Volume 52(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: Online game -- Commitment -- Identification -- Teamwork -- Norm compliance; Social sciences -- Information services -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Information science -- Periodicals; Management information systems -- Periodicals; Knowledge management -- Periodicals; Sciences sociales -- Documentation, Services de -- Périodiques; Sciences sociales -- Recherche -- Périodiques; Sciences de l'information -- Périodiques; Systèmes d'information de gestion -- Périodiques; Information science; Management information systems; Social sciences -- Information services; Social sciences -- Research; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 025.52068
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102095
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0268-4012

Abstract

Highlights: We test how overall online gamers' teamwork knowledge and overall team participation experience affect their commitment. Overall teamwork knowledge enhances norm compliance; overall team participation experience enhances team identification. Both norm compliance and team identification contribute to gamers' team commitment. Abstract: Online games are highly popular applications. While online gamers actively participate in gaming teams, no study has yet explored whether gamers have sufficient teamwork knowledge and have accumulated sufficient team participation experience. These likely strengthen team commitment, but we do not know, indicating a research gap. Research filling this gap could shed light on useful means for enhancing gamers' team commitment. Grounded in social identity theory, we theorize the mechanism that links gamers' overall gaming team participation experience and overall gaming teamwork knowledge to their team commitment. We collect two-wave data from 344 online gamers that have played massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and use structural equation modelling for data analysis. We find that overall team participation experience is positively related to gaming team identification, while overall teamwork knowledge is positively related to compliance with gaming team norms. Both team identification and norm compliance are positively related to gaming team commitment. This study is the first to clarify the mechanism underlying the impacts of overall gaming team participation experience and overall gaming teamwork knowledge on gamers' team commitment. Our findings provide the practical insight that game designers should incorporate game features that require or reward gamers' participation in gaming teams or enhance gaming teamwork knowledge, thus strengthening gamers' team commitment.