Expectations and experience impact on value co creation intention of users when playing games

procedure, we can determine the elements that influence players' initial expectations, including: Enjoyment and Attitude toward advertising, as well as the elements that influence their

ĐẠI HỌC KINH TẾ THÀNH PHÓ HÒ CHÍ MINH

THƯỞNG ‘ ’NHÀ NGHIÊN cứu TRẺ UEH” NẢM 2024

Thuộc nhóm chuyên ngành: Kinh tê

TP Hồ Chí Minh, tháng 02/2024

procedure, we can determine the elements that influence players' initial expectations,

including: Enjoyment and Attitude toward advertising, as well as the elements that

influence their actual gameplay, including: Achievements, Game Visual, and Social

interaction There were 298 video game players in Ho Chi Minh City who provided the

sample data for the quantitative analysis The findings of the factor analysis indicated

that the factors had a favorable impact on how players intended to co-create value.Researchers and developers in the video game industry can use theoretical and practicalcontributions to help them in their work

Key words: Value co-creation, Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT), Video games,

Achievement, Game visual

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES OF THEMES 3

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, TERMS 4

4 Research model and hypotheses development 13

6 Conclusion and discussion 27

2nd Appendix: LIST OF QUALITATIVE RESPONDENTS 383rd Appendix: LIST OF FINAL QUALITATIVE QUESTIONS ( FOR THE

LIST OF TABLES OF THEMES

Table 1 Qualitative question II Table 2 Demographic information of the respondents 18

Table 3 The results of Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cron bach's Alpha 20

Table 4 Pair correlation matrix 23

Table 5 Fornell-Larcker Criterion 23

Table 6 Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) 24

Table 8 Hypotheses results 26

LIST OF PICTURES IN THE THEME

Figure 2 Sodex's Autonomous Food Delivery 6

Figure 3 Playerunknow's Battlegrounds 7

Figure 4 Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) sample model 9

Figure 6 Research model results 27

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, TERMS

AT Attitude toward Advertisement

AV Achievement

E.G For example

ECT Expectation-Confirmation Theory

EFA Exploratory Factor Analysis

1 Introduction

Value co-creation is viewed as a new approach to the definition of value They have appeared for a long time in economic activities between businesses and customers However, consumer value co-creation was only really clarified and received lots of

scholarly attention when the service-dominant logic for marketing debate emerged

(Vargo and Lusch, 2004) Studies have looked into its positive impact on firm innovation (Blazevic and Lievens, 2008); the cost, scale, and competitive advantage that co-creating consumers can bring (Cook, 2008)

Furthermore, co-creation assists organizations in increasing their innovation by developing ideas that they may not have thought of on their own Co-creation speeds

up the development process by bringing together multiple parties to work toward a common goal, fostering strong relationships, and cultivating a sense ofcustomer loyalty

Above all, the co-creation process can provide organizations with the flexibility to

respond quickly to changes in the market or customer needs At the same time, it

improves operational efficiency, generating both business and social value

The collaboration of Haier Group, the world's largest manufacturer of home

appliances, and Heji Home, a Chinese home furniture company, is the most visible

example of this Faced with the Covid - 19, 2020 wave in Wuhan, China, these two

companies developed a working prototype of the device and delivered it to the hospital

in two weeks Following this initial success, additional units were produced anddelivered to local hospitals in the following weeks

One of the most notable examples of co-creation is the 2016 launch of the first

LEGO Ideas

Figure I LEGO Ideas

Source: Lego

Another example of co-crealion is Sodexo's global platform, which aims to

empower every Sodexo collaborator to share and realize innovative ideas and launch service delivery initiatives Sodexo’s Autonomous Food Delivery is one of the products

created from employee ideas

Figure 2 Sodex's Autonomous Food Delivery

Source: Sodexo

Gamification approaches offer a substantial payback in the co-creation of newsolutions by supporting this practice in an open, engaged and collaborative environment(Ind & Coates, 2013) By encouraging this practice in a transparent, interactive, andcollaborative setting, gamification techniques provide a significant return on investment

in the co-creation of new solutions (Ind & Coates, 2013)

Any enthusiastic player is, at his core, a game creator He is aware of theadjustments that can be made to the game Players frequently discuss this on forums and

on social media We got PUBG when devoted gamer Brendan Greene recreated Arma

II in a way he believed would be superior DOTA served as inspiration for Brandon

Beck and Marc Merrill as they developed League of Legends The mobile versions ofLeague of Legends, Arena of Valor, and PUBG were all major innovations in the gaming

industry in 2017, and they were all essentially created by gamers rather than professional game creators

Figure 3 Playerunknow's Battlegrounds

The PlayerUnknown's Battle Royale mode for the Day z video game proved

popular, and Sony Online Entertainment was the first to notice this trend Even Brendan Greene, the game's developer, was requested to serve as a consultant for H1Z1: King ofthe Kill His contract was not renewed after several months of talks since all relevant

skills had been moved

Brendan Greene soon relocated to Bluehole in Korea, where he rose to theposition of principal game designer for the Player Unknown's Battleground (PUBG)

undertaking The player games PUBG and H1Z1: King of the Kill have vastly differentlevels of importance It seems that you need to do more than just pay attention to the

players

Most studies have outlined the characteristics and advantages of consumer co­

creation However, these discussions fall short of describing why customers interact with businesses in ways that provide value. This is a very important researchchallenge because understanding what motivates consumers to engage value co-creation might enable firms to strategically manage their interactions with consumers in a way

that creates superior value for the consumer (e.g more relevant and quality products)

and for the firm itself (e.g extraordinary margins) In truth, the research mentioned above do not have a complete knowledge of motivation and have not yet fully studied and investigated copper ’ s drive to produce user value Some research articles mention user motivation but lack quantitative evaluation, theory cannot be

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generalized and renders a significant gap in our knowledge of customer-centric

innovation

Our research proposes that the consumer ’ s motivation to play the game should be viewed as an essential premise of the consumer's value co - creation intention in the game. It not only reveals what motivates consumer value co-crealion

intentions in video games, but it also reflects on players' personal characteristics andgaming habits

This study contributes to the knowledge of the motivations behind user's value

co-creation intentions during game experience, enhancing research on value co-creation

intentions As a result, it makes it simple for businesses to develop game application

designs that swiftly and accurately capture customer needs in the target market segment,

presenting chances to approach and connect with customers

2 Theoretical background

2.1 Value co-creation

The notion of value as something created by a company’s production processes

and disseminated to customers through markets, who can consume and frequentlydestroy it, does not appear to reflect the essence of value creation and realization (Vargo

& Lusch, 2004, 2008, 2016) Co-creation, which is gaining ground as a new

management paradigm, enables businesses and customers to co-create value through

engagement Co-creation refers to the collaborative, concurrent, peer-like process of

generating new literal and symbolic value The literature is divided over the distinctions

between co-creation and co-production and the significance of doing so (Gronroos and

Voima, 2013; Cova et al., 2013) Although one could argue that the most fundamental

type of value co-creation is the relationship between a company and a client, this view

is an extreme oversimplification that overlooks essential elements of the actual value­

creation process Company and customer cannot co-create value until private, market­facing, public, and natural resources are integrated (Horbel, 2013; Lusch & Vargo,2014)

2.2 Expectation Confirmation Theory

In marketing, the Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT) has been widely

applied to measure consumer satisfaction and post-purchase behavior in an effort tocompletely conceptualize and explain the consumption process (Oh, 1999) According

to Oliver, 1980, Oliver, 1999, and Bhattacherjee, 2001, the primary mechanism

underpinning ECT is a procedural sequence First, before actual purchase behavior, consumers build initial anticipation of a specific service/product, which may becharacterized as the extent of customers' expectations about the aim and the extent of

their thoughts about the service provider's capabilities (Coye, 2004) Throughout theconsuming phase, perceptions of overall performance alter gradually Customers then compare perceived performance to their previous expectations of the service in order tojudge the extent to which these expectations were met In the subsequent phase, client

satisfaction with the service is measured using pre-purchase expectations, as well as the mismatch between pre-purchase expectations and post-purchase evaluations of the

service is validated (Kristensen el al., 1999) ECT’s fundamental constructs andstructural linkages are depicted in Figure 4

Figure 4 Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) sample model

such conjecture is not without error By continuing to do qualitative research throughgroup discussions in the form of live Q&A through online meeting software Google

Meet, the discussion groups help the group to re-validate the model from which there

are certain adjustments to be more relevant and determine the direction of the upcoming quantitative survey questionnaire

3.2 Method

Step 1: Identify research objectives and research questions

Overall to get a better understanding of the participants, we chose the Qualitative

Research - Focus Group Discussion approach We can then learn more about consumers' satisfaction, confirmation while playing the game, and about their expectation and

perceived performance with the game In addition, to explore some of the disadvantages that the game can have on the way to customer satisfaction and then map out possible

solutions

Step 2: Establish discussion guidelines for a qualitative study (Exploratory Research)

Firstly, we create screening questions based on the objectives in two differentsections In section 1, we focused on demographic data, baseline understanding, and

respondents' perceptions of games in general In section 2 - which is the main part, went

into detail about how users play the game Secondly, we developed an outline and

identified respondents who were members of Generation z and played games

Step 3: Focus Group Conduct Interview

In this step, we first determine that there will be 5 participants, including 3 malesand 2 females The focus group chat takes place via Google Meet and lasts about 1 hour.The meeting was also recorded for later use

3.3 Data collection

Focus group discussion: One focus group with a total number of 5 university

students from different universities across HCM City were invited for in - depth interviews For this group, 5 participants were invited based on the range of age from

19 to 20 2 of which were female participants Most of the students love and pay a lot of

attention to games

In addition, before the interview, you were also briefly introduced to value co creation as well as experience this type.

-3.4 Questions

Table I Qualitative question

No Question

1 Have you played any games? If you have, please name it.

2 Can you tell me why you play those games?

When choosing a game to play, did you pay attention to the brand name of the

company that created that game? When a famous manufacturer or familiarpublisher releases a new game, do you get excited? Why?

7

Does this game have a community for players? Do you join the community? Ifyes, can you tell US about the activities in the gaming community (events, bugs,sharing skills, moments, achievements, )

8

Before playing the games you mentioned above with us, did you go to get

feedback (ratings, comments) from all your friends around or from a certain gaming community? How does that feedback affect your choice, or

expectations, of the game you will play?

Have you ever played a game just because it has good graphics? Do you think

the game’s graphic design is important? Why?

Have you ever been concerned about your personal information being leaked

or losing your account?

If the producer wishes to collaborate with you as a value co-creator, are you

willing to contribute your opinion so that the next game produced brings a belter experience than not? What specifically do you believe you are capable

of doing?

3.5 Data Analysis and results

According to in-depth interviews, the majority of respondents played games for

enjoyment They also choose to play games because it allows them to express themselves and connect with people everywhere

The survey also discovered that the majority of respondents' expectations were

formed primarily by their enjoyment of the game as well as when watchingtrailers/adverlisements about the new game theme Through the above effects,respondents frequently have expectations about the game's graphic design as well as the

game configuration - beautiful and smooth, no lag Other influences, such as socialinfluence and understanding, had little impact on their expectations because the type ofgame they played had little to do with these However, most of the respondents have a positive experience and are pleased with the games they are currently playing The achievements, game visuals, and social interactions all meet their pre-game expectations, ỉn the storytelling section, it depends on the type of game and the time;Action-oriented games tend not tend to build storytelling

In general, through the above expectations and experience effects, the majority

of respondents have a value co-creation intention, which can be to contribute their ideas

to assist game manufacturers in developing more In addition, some respondents would

like to become game developers if possible, but will need additional benefits

In short, depending on the game genre, there will be different factors that affect

the user's expectations and experience Many players have a value co-creation intention,

if they receive an invitation to cooperate from game manufacturers From there, we create a research model with the variables enjoyment and attitude toward advertisement,

which influence Expectation; Achievement, Social interaction, and game visualvariables, which influence Perceived Performance

4 Research model and hypotheses development

For the former, Hsu and Lin (2008) defined enjoyment as the degree to which anInternet user participates in social networks because the process “yields fun andenjoyment'’ In this research, perceived enjoyment can be considered as enjoying

playing games while spending time with them According to Davis et al (1992), perceived enjoyment can be described as an intrinsic motivation, whereas expectation

in ECT is an example of intrinsic motivation Based on that, we applied ECT in the field

of game With the trend that more and more video games can be played to meet different

needs of users, it is expected that the level of enjoyment after adoption will also become

important in developing players ' expectations with the games which haven’t been experienced Consequently, this study postulates the hypothesis:

Hl: Enjoyment positively influences Expectation.

Attitudes towards Ads mentioned in this study mean negative or positive feelings

after viewing ads about games they have not played Most of the ads about games are

launched on the Internet The Internet is a widely used tool for information seeking and

decision making regarding consumer goods (Darley et al., 2010, Johnson et al., 2004,

Roscoe et al., 2016) Similarly, Game players can find large amounts of game information on the Internet It can be observed that a large number of promotional

strategies have been carried out by game manufacturers and distributors with the aim of impressing players and motivating them to seek out or play that game Therefore, the relationships between Advertisement and Expectation were inferred Based on suchfacts, this study hypothesizes that:

H2: Positive Attitudes toward Advertisement lead to higher Expectation.

Achievement component suggested by Yee (2006) consist of: Advancement (The desire to gain power, progress rapidly, and accumulate in-game symbols of wealth orstatus); Mechanics (Having an interest in analyzing the underlying rules and system inorder to optimize character performance); Competition (The desire to challenge and

compete with others) Achievement focuses on the motivation to behave competently orthe desire to perform a task or activity well We suggest that an individual with a high

level of achievement has a higher extent of perceived performance

H3: Achievement positively impacts on Perceived Performance.

Game visuals are visual design elements built into the game to make the gamemore realistic, close, and attractive to players Hicks et al (2019) show that engagingdesign elements improve the visual appeal of the game and contribute to player curiosity

(e.g., contributing to the desire to explore the world, player’s virtual reality) by addingvisual interest, suggesting that the design strategy can be oftangible benefit to the player.

Based on the study of Hicks et al (2019), our study hypothesizes

H4: Game visual positively influences Perceived Performance.

Social interaction was defined as App's ability to help customers stay in touch with friends and others (Eisingerich et al 2019) Customers engage with gamified healthapps to share the experience with their peers andjoin in conversations within their socialgroups, in a form of social interaction Many gamified health apps allow customers to share their progress with friends and social groups In this way, the apps motivatecustomers to perform better, to avoid any embarrassment due to failing to achieve theirhealth objectives Similar to our topic, as players experience social interactions, their

cognitive performance improves Hypothesis is:

H5: Social Interaction positively influences Perceived Performance

Expectation-Confirmation Theory (ECT) has been widely applied in the field of marketing to assess customer satisfaction and post-purchase behavior, in an attempt to

perfect the concept and explanation of the process of customer satisfaction (Oh, 1999)

According to Oliver (1980, 1999) and Bhattacherjee (2001), the basic mechanism of

ECT is achieved after a sequenced process First, before actual purchasing behavior, customers form initial expectations about a particular service/product, which can be

understood as the level of customer expectations about the goal as well as their level of

confidence in the service provider’s capabilities (Coyc, 2004) During the consumptionphase, the perception of overall performance is gradually developed The customer then

evaluates the perceived performance against their prior expectations for the service to

determine the extent to which these expectations are confirmed In the next step, service satisfaction is determined through the customer's pre-purchase expectations, along with

confirmation of the difference between pre-purchase expectations and post-purchase

evaluation of the service (Kristensen) Et al., 1999) Applying ECT to the field of game,players firstly form an initial expectation about the game During the period of playing,their perceptions of overall performance are gradually developed Then, the players assess the perceived performance compared with their prior expectation about the game

to identify the extent to which these expectations are confirmed In the next step

satisfaction with the game is determined through players' confirmation of discrepancybetween pre-play expectation and post-experience evaluations about the game.

H6a: Players’ s Expectations positively impact on their Confirmation about

the gaming process.

H6b: Players ’ s Perceived Performance positively influences their

Confirmation about the gaming process.

H7: Confirmation positively affects player’ s Satisfaction.

Satisfaction represents the overall performance evaluation a consumer carries out

in relation to a product or service after consumption (Gustafsson el al., 2005)

Satisfaction stems from consumers developing positive attitudes towards the experience

of products or services (Boulding et al., 1993) It can be assumed that if consumers aresatisfied with the products or service, they will have an incentive to co-create value with

them Based on that, we have hypothesized regarding our topic in the field of game If players are satisfied with the games, they are motivated to co-create value with the game.Thus, is it hypothesized:

H8: Players ’ satisfaction with the game positively influences their’ value co­ creation intentions at that game.

Model

Figure 5 Research model

5 Quantitative research

5.1 Methodology

In terms of Quantitative research, this is a method of research that aims to

quantify the data and usually makes use of statistical analysis It is a straightforward tool

or method that enables researchers to gather a significant volume ofdata in a brief length

of time For this method, we focus on having the Online survey which is completedonline by the target audience typically by filling out a form Surveys can be used togather data on a variety of topics, such as individual characteristics, attitudes, pastactions, and opinions The focus of the survey may be on opinion or fact-based,

depending on its goal

5.2 Method

Step 1: Define goals and related issues

We defined the Approach: Quantitative Research - Online Survey to collect a

large amount of data on respondents to factors influencing game co-creation Using the data we collect, we can look al the impact of game elements on the psychological needs

of Generation z users and how that increases player satisfaction In addition, we wanted

to find out the limitations of gamification in increasing customer satisfaction and make some recommendations for the game to improve the user experience

Step 2: Identify target responders

With locations in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding provinces, we primarily

target Gen z, ages 15-25 Our sample sizes range from 200 to 300 We use convenience

sampling to collect data by sending it to everyone we know

Step 3: Create a survey

The survey form must follow standards such as brevity, directness, avoidingasking questions related to personal information first, stating each question clearly, prioritizing multiple-choice questions and a 5-likert scale In addition, it must include

key questions to achieve the research objectives

Step 4: Analyze

We collect data from the google form and exclude answers that do not come fromthe target group We then analyze the information to test the hypothesis and answer the

research question In addition, we have created tables or graphs to better demonstrate

the findings and help readers better understand the issues

5.3 Data collection and demographic

We survey using Google Forms Our audience is Gen z in Ho Chi Minh City,mostly in college, and collected nearly 390 responses Then, we proceed to filter the answers that do not have high confidence (such as selecting only all on one level,

selecting only on 2 alternating levels, survey participants under the age of 18, ) and finally we get about 299 reliable answers People between the ages of 18 and 22 are the main participants in this survey They are university students who have not graduatedand have a salary of less than 5,000,000 VND/month Regarding gender, therespondents were quite similar More details can be found in Table 2

Table 2 Demographic information of the respondents

From 5 to 10 million VND/month 83 27.9

From10 to 15 million VND/month 15 5.0

Nominal scale: We collect information on gender, age, place of residence and

work, income, education level of survey participants

Interval Scale: We use a 5-poinl Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree tocompletely agree

5.5 Data Analysis and results

5.5.1 Exploratory factor analysis (EFA)

First, the study will test whether the observed variables are reliable or not, have

a close relationship with each other, and can show the characteristics of the scale well The test is carried out through Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient (Hoang Trong

& Chu Nguyen Mong Ngoc, 2008)

Convergent validity was assessed through the factor loadings of the indicatorsand average variance extracted (AVE) Individual item reliability for all factor loadings was confirmed as they were all above 0.5 and the average variance extracted values were

exceeded 0.5 (Table 3)

The benchmark value for Cronbach's alpha that analysts typically use is 0.7 The

items are sufficiently consistent at this level and above to demonstrate the measure is reliable The summary table of Cronbach’s alpha analysis results (Table 3) shows that internal consistency reliability was confirmed as Cronbach's alpha is greater than 0.7 Specifically, Cronbach's alpha of Enjoyment (EY) is 0.806; Attitude toward advertisement (AT) is 0.841; Achievement (AV) is 0.777, Social Interaction (SI) is 898;Game Visual (GV) is 0.851; Expectation (ET) is 0.855; Perceived Performance (PP)

0.838; Confirmation (CF) is 0.786; Value Co-creation Intention (VC) is 0.844.Therefore, the observed variables ofthe scales are kept for confirmatory factor analysis.

Table 3 The results of Exploratory ’ factor analysis (EFA) and Cron bach's Alpha

Variables

Factor loadings (>0.5)

Crobach ’s Alpha (>0.7)

AVE (>0.5)

EY1: 1 feel relaxed when playing this game

EY2: Playing this game makes me feel good 0.841

EY3: Playing this game gives me pleasure 0.846

EY4: Playing this game takes me away from

ATI: I like to look at most game,

advertisements that I am exposed to 0.831

AT2: I often use advertising to help me decide

AT3: Advertising tells me what people with

interests similar to mine are playing the game 0.838

AT4: Advertising tells me which games have

the features I am looking for 0.756

AV 1: When playing games, I think

achievement is important 0.751

AV2: A game that requires effort to earn

achievements makes me like to do very much 0.791

AV3: Achievement is something I like 0.812

AV4: When playing games, I admire persons

who have earned a very high position on the

leaderboard very much

0.733