Online game service satisfaction and preference an empirical study of vietnamese online gaming industry

Secondly, experiential values do not effect to gamer satisfaction and preference, the reason for this finding is that although online games can be entertained by gamers, the cost of play

ONLINE GAME SERVICE SATISFACTION AND PREFERENCE: AN EMPIRICAL

STUDY OF VIETNAMESE ONLINE GAMING INDUSTRY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

ONLINE GAME SERVICE SATISFACTION AND PREFERENCE: AN EMPIRICAL

STUDY OF VIETNAMESE ONLINE GAMING INDUSTRY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In International Business

by Mr: Minh-Quan Nguyen ID: MBA04031 International University - Vietnam National University HCMC

Acknowledge

I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Van-Phuong Nguyen - Deputy Dean, School

of Business (IU-VNU), for the patient guidance, encouragement and advice that he has provided throughout my time as his student I have been extremely lucky to have a supervisor who cared so much about my work, and who responded to my questions and queries so promptly

Thanks to my father for the courage and everything a father could provide as support despite the distance My heartfelt and never-ending love to Phoenix and friends who never kept away from me when I needed them most

I must appreciate the VNU Central Library for being of gigantic use to me in the process of this work

Plagiarism Statements

I would like to declare that, apart from the acknowledged references, this thesis either does not use language, ideas, or other original material from anyone; or has not been previously submitted to any other educational and research programs or institutions I fully understand that any writings in this thesis contradicted to the above statement will automatically lead to the rejection from the MBA program at the International University – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Copyright Statement

This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognize that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent

© Minh-Quan Nguyen/ MBA04031/ 2011-2013

Table of Contents

Chapter One - Introduction 1

1.1 A brief description of the research topic 1

1.2 Background 2

1.3 Research purpose 3

1.4 Research questions 3

Chapter Two – Literature Review 5

2.1 Online game 5

2.2 Experiential value 6

2.2.1 Utilitarian Value 6

2.2.2 Hedonic Value 7

2.3 The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) 8

2.4 Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) 10

2.4.1 Bounded rationality 11

2.4.2 Opportunism 11

2.4.3 Uncertainty 11

2.4.4 Asset specificity 11

2.4.5 Buying frequency 12

2.4.6 Transaction costs 12

2.5 Service Quality (SERVQUAL) 14

2.5.1 Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel 16

2.5.2 Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately 16

2.5.3 Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service 16

2.5.4 Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence 16

2.5.5 Empathy: Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers 16

2.6 Satisfaction and Preference: 17

2.6.1 Satisfaction 17

2.6.2 Preference 19

Chapter III - Research Methodology 20

3.1 Theoretical framework and hypotheses 20

3.1.1 Integrated model 20

3.1.2 Backgrounds of online game satisfaction 21

3.1.3 Online game satisfaction and preference 25

3.1.4 Online game satisfaction as mediator 26

3.2 Research Approach 27

3.3 Research Design 28

3.4 Research process 29

3.4.1 Pretesting 29

3.4.2 Questionnaire design 30

3.4.3 Sample Selection and Data Collection Procedure 36

3.4.4 Data Analysis Method 37

Chapter IV – Data Analysis and findings 39

4.1 Descriptive Statistics 39

4.2 Reliability Test 43

4.3 Exploratory factor analysis 49

4.3.1 EFA of Experience value (EXP) with Satisfaction and Channel Preference 52

4.3.2 EFA of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Satisfaction and Channel Preference 52

4.3.3 EFA of Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) with Satisfaction and Channel Preference 53

4.3.4 EFA of Service Quality (SERVQUAL) with Satisfaction and Channel Preference 54

4.4 Confirmatory factor analysis 60

4.5 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) 69

4.6 Mediation 73

Chapter V – Discussion and conclusions 75

5.1 Interpretation of Results 75

5.2 Practical implications 80

5.3 Limitation and further research 81

References 83

Appendix 92

Appendix A Vietnamese questionnaire 92

Appendix B Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) 100

Appendix C Structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS 101

List of tables

1 T ABLE 3.1 C ODED ITEMS OF MEASUREMENT SCALE 30

2 T ABLE 4.1.1 G ENDER 39

3 T ABLE 4.1.2 A GE 40

4 T ABLE 4.1.3 E DUCATION 41

5 T ABLE 4.1.4 I NCOME 41

6 T ABLE 4.1.5 42

7 T ABLE 4.1.6 E XPERIENCE 42

8 T ABLE 4.1.8 C ONNECTIVITY 43

9 T ABLE 4.2.1 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF EMP 43

10 T ABLE 4.2.2 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF EQU 44

11 T ABLE 4.2.3 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF USE 44

12 T ABLE 4.2.4 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF UT 45

13 T ABLE 4.2.5 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF HD 45

14 T ABLE 4.2.6 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF UNC 45

15 T ABLE 4.2.7 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF ASSET 46

16 T ABLE 4.2.7 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF TIME 46

17 T ABLE 4.2.8 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF REL 47

18 T ABLE 4.2.9 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF RESP 47

19 T ABLE 4.2.10 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF ASS 47

20 T ABLE 4.2.11 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF SAT 48

21 T ABLE 4.2.12 C RONBACH ' S A LPHA OF PREF 48

22 T ABLE 4.3.1 EFA OF EXP 52

23 T ABLE 4.3.2 EFA OF TAM 52

24 T ABLE 4.3.3 EFA OF TCA 53

25 T ABLE 4.3.4 EFA OF SERVQUAL 54

26 T ABLE 4.3.4 T HE RETAINED MEASUREMENT SCALES 55

27 T ABLE 4.4.1: C RITERIA FOR MEASUREMENT MODEL 60

28 T ABLE 4.4.2 G OODNESS - OF - FIT INDICES OF MEASUREMENT MODEL 63

29 T ABLE 4.4.3 R EGRESSION W EIGHTS : (G ROUP NUMBER 1 - D EFAULT MODEL ) – 1 ST ROUND 64

30 T ABLE 4.4.4 R EGRESSION W EIGHTS : (G ROUP NUMBER 1 - D EFAULT MODEL ) - 2 ND ROUND 66

31 T ABLE 4.5.2 L IST OF REJECTED HYPOTHESES 70

32 T ABLE 4.5.2 R EGRESSION W EIGHTS : (G ROUP NUMBER 1 - D EFAULT MODEL ) – FINAL ROUND 72

33 T ABLE 4.6.1 M EDIATION ANALYSIS 73

34 T ABLE 5.1.1 R ESULT OF HYPOTHESES 75

List of figures

F IGURE 1 I NTEGRATED MODEL 26

F IGURE 2 G ENDER 40

F IGURE 3 S ECOND - ORDER CFA 62

F IGURE 4 CFA OF MEASUREMENT MODEL STANDARDIZED 68

F IGURE 5 S TRUCTURAL E QUATION M ODELING RESULT AFTER ADJUSTING THEORETICAL MODEL 69

F IGURE 6 I NTEGRATED MODEL RESULT AFTER ADJUSTING THEORETICAL MODEL 69

Abstract

Online game’ efficiency, content and service quality has become one of the key aspects among other factors that contribute to online game firms business growth and leading position in the business environment with mass competition Efficiency, content and service also plays a significant role in service sectors since due to its untouchable nature the features cannot be spelled out for consumers to directly make judgment before decisions are made In order for businesses to improve and maintain a better positioning in the competitive era, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of the services rendered to their customers In recent times, online game companies spend a great deal of time and money in configuring high efficiency, content and service to satisfy their customers Understanding consumer-level interaction with the online game will enhance understanding of consumer behavior, online game design issues, and drivers of consumer satisfaction with and preference for the online game Customer satisfaction can be evaluated through an assessment of the quality of efficiency, content and service delivered by the online game provider to their customers and the level of efficiency, content and service can also be measured considering customers’ expectations and perceptions

Purpose: This study is aimed to apply the EXP, TAM, TCA, SERVQUAL instrument

in assessing Vietnamese gamer perceptions of online game service and the level of satisfaction obtained from the online game services rendered by the Vietnam online game firms

Method: The convenience sampling technique was used to obtain data from the

chosen population to enable an evaluation of perceptions of online game satisfaction and preference in Vietnam

Findings and Conclusion: Firstly, with regards to the relationship between customer

satisfaction and customer preference, consistently with prior research, this analysis confirms that customer satisfaction is an important component positively affecting customer preference Secondly, experiential values do not effect to gamer satisfaction and preference, the reason for this finding is that although online games can be entertained by gamers, the cost of playing online game currently seem is the unsolvable problem to the online game firms (Hsu & Lu, 2004) Thirdly, it is very interesting that Time does not effect to game players satisfaction That is the public concern on video game addiction rising over past decade in Vietnam Hence, Vietnamese gamers do not consider Time factor as an effect Satisfaction factor because there is a large number of Vietnamese gamers who have personal issue with game addiction Fourthly, the service quality (SERVQUAL) factors have significant effects to experiential value factor could be used to approach a new rating system

re-on experiential value by service quality issued by re-online game firms Last but not least, assurance (ASS) has a strong positive effect to satisfaction (SAT) (1.249) Hence, this study support strongly the face that the Vietnamese online gamers are very interested in assurance,

especially in game items trading that issued by online game producers

Keywords: Online game, Satisfaction (SAT), Preference (PREF), Experiential Value

(EXP), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), service quality (SERVQUAL)

Chapter One - Introduction

Online games or networked games are being rapidly developed with the phenomenal growth of the Internet (Chen, Wang, & Lee, 2009) Due to deep penetration into the consumer market, gaming is considered a prime driver of PC technology (Hsu & Lu, 2004; Von Ahn, 2006) and currently is one of the few profitable e-commerce applications (H.-E Yang, Wu, & Wang, 2009) With online gaming being a billion dollar industry and game companies making revenue from subscription charges (Adams, 2010), the presence of gamer satisfaction and preference issues is becoming more evident

1.1 A brief description of the research topic

This thesis argue that there will have some factors affecting online game service satisfaction and preference The purpose of this study is to understand an online game service model This model contains several dimensions including experiential value (H.-E Yang et al., 2009), the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989), Transaction Cost Analysis (Williamson, 1987) and Service Quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988), the four antecedents of online game service satisfaction and preference and test the associations among the constructs in it After surveying some online game players in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), this study found that four antecedents could have significant and positive effects on online game service satisfaction and which, in turn, significantly affect online preference Especially, service quality has the relatively higher total positive effects on both online game satisfaction and preference Meanwhile, online game satisfaction completely mediates the effects of these antecedents on online preference The findings imply that how to manage online game service quality better, provide more

acceptable transaction cost, and offer more experiential value are the key ways for effectively enhancing players’ satisfaction with the online game service in order to

retain their preference to the online game service system

1.2 Background

The “Online Games Market in Vietnam” report provides an in-depth analysis

of the Vietnam online games market and this report forecasts the number of users playing online games market in Vietnam to exceed 10 million by 2011, driven by rising incomes, increasing PC and Internet penetration rates, and a large population of youth that are actively seeking out entertainment content These findings are contained in the business intelligence and consulting the report “Online Games Market in Vietnam” There are more than 50 online games in the market; a notable achievement given that the online games market just emerged in 2004 Other notable trends include the emergence of locally developed titles, aimed specifically at

Vietnamese gamers

Key findings:

+ Approximately 50% of the total Vietnamese population is under the age of

25 This is an age range that is known for being tech savvy, making them a high priority demographic for digital entertainment companies There are approximately 21 million Internet users in Vietnam with an Internet penetration rate of 24%

+ In our interviews with Vietnamese gamers, many were spending 60,000 to 100,000 VND ($3 - $6) per month In one high-end Internet café we visited, a few interviewees were spending an average of 500,000 VND ($31) per month These consumers are driving the digital entertainment and online games market with virtual item purchases Top online games in Vietnam can attract 200,000 users The Internet

cafes that the researchers visited in Vietnam were consistently crowded with users playing online games

While Vietnam has a rapidly emerging games market, critical challenges include government regulations on online games, the worldwide slowing economy, developing infrastructure, and low income levels

1.3 Research purpose

Structural equation model analyses indicate that metrics tested through each model provide a statistically significant explanation of the variation in the online gamers' satisfaction and channel preference There are several studies found that TAM components—perceived ease of use and usefulness—are important in forming consumer attitudes and satisfaction with the online game Ease of use also was found

to be a significant determinant of satisfaction in TCA The study tries to find empirical support for the assurance dimension of SERVQUAL as determinant in online game satisfaction Further, the study also verified the general support for consumer satisfaction as a determinant of channel preference

Because to keep competitiveness of online game industry is hard to hard, this study has ambition that its model can provide online game corporate to select and adopt the key point what the online game corporate should choose and how to affect the key factors of online game service satisfaction and online preference in online game industry

1.4 Research questions

The literatures revealed that the immediate factor affecting consumers to retain preference to the providers is customer satisfaction (Devraj, Fan, & Kohli, 2002) Similarly, in a B2C channel satisfaction model or online shopping satisfaction model, satisfaction is considered as an important construct because it affects participants’

motivation to stay with the channel and regarded as an antecedent of repurchase (Heilman, Bowman, & Wright, 2000) But what are the key factors that can make them satisfied with the products and services, which, in turn, enhance their preference, especially, in online game service environment, are still under study (Hsu & Lu, 2004;

G Kim et al., 2013; Von Ahn, 2006)

The thesis helps us to answer four main questions:

 What are the key factors that make the customer playing online game?

 Why do the gamers play online game?

 Do SERVQUAL, TAM, TCA and EXP influence the customer satisfaction in online game service?

 Does gamer satisfaction influence the gamer preference in online game service?

Chapter Two – Literature Review

2.1 Online game

Online gaming has grown from a tiny fraction of the interactive entertainment business into a major market in its own right In this chapter, this thesis learn about some of the features and design challenges that set online gaming apart from the more traditional single-player or multiplayer local games (Adams, 2010) Online gaming is

a technology rather than a genre, a mechanism for connecting players together rather than a particular pattern of gameplay (Adams, 2010; Von Ahn, 2006; H.-E Yang et al., 2009; X Yang, 2013) Therefore, this thesis does not look for design commonalities as the chapters on game genres did Instead, it addresses some of the design considerations peculiar to online games no matter what genre those games belong to It’s a huge topic, however, and there is only room in this thesis for the highlights

Do not confuse online gaming, as Von Ahn (2006) uses the term, with online gambling or online casino gaming Online gambling is a different industry, and is not covered here This thesis uses the term online games to refer to multiplayer distributed games in which the players’ machines are connected by a network (Dick, Wellnitz, & Wolf, 2005; Hsu & Lu, 2004; G Kim et al., 2013; X Yang, 2013) This is as opposed

to multiplayer local games in which all the players play on one machine and look at the same screen (Adams, 2010) While online games can, in principle, include solitaire games that happen to be provided via the Internet, such as Bejeweled, the online aspect of solitaire games is incidental rather than essential to the experience Bejeweled is simply a puzzle game Online games do not need to be distributed over the Internet; games played over a local area network (LAN) also qualify as online games (Adams, 2010)

2.2 Experiential value

Previous study discovered that experiential value can be created by traditional and electronic shopping experiences (Babin, Darden, & Griffin, 1994; Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982; Irani & Hanzaee, 2011; O’Brien, 2010) Experiential value can indeed produce both utilitarian and hedonic value when shopping at old-style and electronic store (Babin et al., 1994; Fiore, Kim, & Lee, 2005; Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001; H.-E Yang et al., 2009)

2.2.1 Utilitarian Value

Early research on shopping value commonly emphasis on the utilitarian feature of shopping (Bloch & Bruce, 1984) Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) have identified that in traditional information processing shopping model, the shopper is a rational decision creator wanting to make best use of utility by concentrating on tangible benefits of the product As stated in this model, acquiring has been regarded

as a problem solving action in which consumer moves through a chain of logical stages Especially, utilitarian shopper behavior is explained through task-related and rational behavior (Batra & Ahtola, 1991; Kempf, 1999) Also, Hirschman (1984) asserted that all shopping experiences involve the motivation of thoughts and intellects Shopping experiences viewed as a manner that provides the cognitive (utilitarian) and affective (hedonic) benefits More specifically, tangible attributes of goods and services provide contribution to cognitive process and is closely related to calculations of utilitarian value Thus, a consumer receives utilitarian shopping value when he or she obtains the needed product, and this value rises as the consumer obtains the product more smoothly (Babin et al., 1994)

Perceived utilitarian shopping value might rely on whether how much of the consumption need that prompts the shopping experience is met (Seo & Lee, 2008),

regularly, this means that the consumer purchases goods in a calculated and efficient manner (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982) Hence, utilitarian purchasing behavior is more logical, rational, related to transactions (Batra & Ahtola, 1991; Seo & Lee, 2008), and related with more information gathering compared to hedonic buying manners (Bloch & Bruce, 1984) Koufaris, Kambil, and LaBarbera (2002) suggested that utilitarian value include time saving, control, better product information granted

by interactivity affecting attitude responses toward a product or website

2.2.2 Hedonic Value

Bloch and Bruce (1984) defined that customers gain hedonic value as well as utilitarian value during the shopping experience Research about shopping has extensive emphasize the shopping experience on the utilitarian aspects, which has often been described as task-related and rational and linked thoroughly to whether a product acquisition task was successfully done or not (Babin et al., 1994; Batra & Ahtola, 1991) Nevertheless, traditional product gaining explanations may not fully describe the entirety of the shopping experience (Bloch & Bruce, 1984) Due to this, over the past several years have seen rising attention in the shopping experience on the hedonic features and academics have accepted the significance of its potential entertainment and emotional value (Babin et al., 1994) Also, hedonic value is more particular and personal than utilitarian value That is, customers were described as either ‘‘problem solvers” or in terms of customers looking for ‘‘fun, fantasy, arousal, sensory stimulation, and enjoyment” (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982) Utilitarian value includes shopping efficiency and making the correct product choice based on logical valuation of product information, separately customers observe shopping as an adventure Moreover, the hedonic value of the consumption experience was assumed

as these forms of pleasure, hence, hedonic value was different from utilitarian value

(Hirschman, 1984) Thus, MacInnis and Price (1987) said that hedonic value can be assumed as the emotional paybacks to the consumer perceives through the shopping experience other than the accomplishment of the original buying intent In a similar context, summarized characteristics of goods and services can contribute to affective elements in shopping and are closely related to hedonic value (Cottet, Lichtlé, & Plichon, 2006)

Westbrook and Black (2002) recommended that shopping satisfaction contains the opportunity for social interactions with friends, family or even strangers and the sensual incentive such as escapes from routine life, and new information about future styles and fashion

Hedonic value acts both positive and negative roles in consumption regarding consumers’ benefit The negatively extreme form of hedonic value is impulse or compulsive (uncontrollable) purchase Especially, ROOKH (1987) believed impulse buyers buy products from a need to buy rather than a need for a product Also, uncontrollable buyers put their values on shopping activity itself rather than a product (Faber & O'guinn, 1992) Next, hedonic value is usually expressed by the entertaining features of store surfing whether or not an acquisition happens (Bloch & Bruce, 1984)

2.3 The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

TAM, offered by Davis (1989) in his doctoral thesis, is an information system (IS) theory that models how individuals come to accept and use a technology (“Technology acceptance model,” n.d.) That is, TAM forecasts intention to use and acceptance of information systems by individuals It included perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) that drive the approach toward an IS TAM explains why the attitude, in turn, leads to one’s intention to use an IS and how the

eventual acceptance of the IS technology is affected by system design structures (Davis, 1993)

“Intention” in TAM represents the effect of social norms and attitudes that can

be mediated by other variables (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) Moore and Benbasat (1991) claimed that if no other variables interfere, as is the case in many information technology applications, then “intention” can be omitted As a result, recent TAM-based studies have omitted “intention” without any loss of information (Lederer, Maupin, Sena, & Zhuang, 2000; Straub, Limayem, & Karahanna-Evaristo, 1995; Venkatesh, 2000) Agreeing with previous studies (Karahanna & Straub, 1999; Venkatesh, 2000; H.-E Yang et al., 2009), my thesis setting does not contain of a circumstances that other variables interfered and therefore the use of “intention” is not necessary However, the “attitude” is believed that captured in a number of items for channel preference Current outcomes propose that consumer satisfaction in the online atmosphere is considerably higher than traditional channels due to the ease of use in gaining information (Shankar, Smith, & Rangaswamy, 2003) Ease of use can also influence the transaction costs when the ease of use relates to information search

Venkatesh (2000) suggests that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease

of use are found to directly influence behavioral intention to use IT, which leads to eliminate the need for the attitude construct from the model Perceived usefulness was defined as “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his/her job performance”, and perceived ease of use is defined as “the degree

to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of physical and mental effort” (Davis, 1989)

TAM is better suited to IS because it supports to understand the technology acceptance based on ease of use and usefulness (Devraj et al., 2002) Hence, based on

recent research in IS, this thesis apply TAM concepts to observe consumer satisfaction with the online game

2.4 Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA)

TCA (Coase, 1937; Williamson, 1987) was firstly developed to examine the appropriate governance structures or mechanisms for firms to conduct transactions TCA belonged to the “New institutional economics” (NIE), which studied the role of governance structure in decreasing transaction cost (P K Rao, 2003)

A transaction happens when a good or service is shifted across a technologically separable interface (Williamson, 1987) Classical economists developed a theory that presumes perfect information symmetry in the efficient market and the transaction can be executed without costs Nonetheless, markets are often inefficient, and this results in costs to firms in their transactions with suppliers and customers (Coase, 1937) For example, because of the absence of information about supplier’s completeness, a firm draft and negotiate a contract in order to defend their interest in the transaction In contrast, the lack of information about customers’ credit position causes the firm to search for such information (Li & 李仲文, 2008) In

an inefficient market, firms have to obtain transaction costs to safeguard a favorable deal (Coase, 1937)

One of the priori acceptances of the TCA background is that market governance is more efficient than hierarchical firm governance structure because of the benefits of competition, and such acceptance is often called the production cost advantages of the market (Coase, 1937) The TCA structure builds on the relationship between three observable dimensions of transaction as proposed by Williamson (1987): asset specificity, uncertainty (environmental and behavioral) and frequency, and the two main assumptions of human behavior: bounded rationality and

opportunism The interplay between these behavioral assumptions and transaction dimensions are elaborated as follows

2.4.1 Bounded rationality

Transactions are supposed to happen under individuals’ bounded rationality, which implies that individuals are constrained by their basic cognitive capabilities (e.g limited short term memory, slow rate of information processing) to be perfectly rational (Simon, 1955)

2.4.2 Opportunism

Excluding individual’s bounded rationality, TCA structure also proposes that agents participate in a transaction possibly will act opportunistically if given the chance That is, Williamson (1985) defines opportunism as self- interest seeking behavior concerning planned efforts to mislead and confuse exchange partners Opportunism ascends because buyer has imperfect control seller who has personal interests in an exchange, and the contracts between the two parties take part in an exchange are vague and incomplete (E Anderson, 2008)

2.4.3 Uncertainty

The “uncertainty” is the inability to predict relevant contingencies from two sources—unpredictable changes and information asymmetry resulting from strategic nondisclosure or distortion of information by the sellers (Masten, Meehan, & Snyder, 1991; Williamson, 1985) Also, Devraj et al (2002) suggested that uncertainty reflects the extension to which good product and price information was provided through the online channel in context of online shopping relationship

2.4.4 Asset specificity

Opportunism poses a transactional hazard to the range that a relationship is bordered by behavioral uncertainty, and the situation is getting worse when the

relationship is supported by asset specificity (Rindfleisch & Heide, 1997) Asset specificity refers to durable investments that are undertaken in support of particular transactions; and these specific investments represent sunk costs that have much lower value outside of these specific transactions (Williamson, 1985) Namely, this makes it difficult for the buyer as well as the supplier to switch Within context of online shopping relationship, Devraj et al (2002) measures asset specificity by degree

of variety of product and store choices that is available through online shopping

2.4.5 Buying frequency

Along with the two main transactional measurements previously defined, the complete TCA outline also contains frequency as the third measurement of transaction The frequency dimension refers strictly to buyer activity in the market Recurrent transactions enable economies of scale in regard to transaction costs because these costs will be easier to recover for numerous transactions of a recurring kind (Williamson, 1985)

Frequency refers to the recurring nature of the transactions But frequency has received only limited attention in empirical TCA construct (Rindfleisch & Heide, 1997) In this thesis, the research application will focus upon the analysis based on uncertainty and asset specificity

2.4.6 Transaction costs

Transaction costs for retail market organizations such as online stores consist

of (1) market transaction costs for searching, bargaining, and after-sale activities and (2) managerial transaction costs to run a store (Devraj et al., 2002) In addition, the market transaction costs measure the efficiency level of the interactions of buyers and sellers during a particular market setting, while the managerial transaction costs measure the process efficiency in market organizations (Devraj et al., 2002)

2.4.6.1 Market transaction costs

In the context of market transaction costs, as a potential consumer seeks to make an online acquisition, the site may offer the product image, description, price, and feedback from other customers, in an easy-to-read format (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-

E Yang et al., 2009) Also, in information system usage, S S Kim and Malhotra (2005) found users’ perceived ease of use and usefulness of a website at an early period positively affect their perceived ease of use and usefulness at a later period, when there is no new piece of information that changes the users’ opinions Hence, market transaction costs basically are captured with two constructs to measure the benefits to the market: perceived ease of use (PEOU) and time efficiency PEOU, also

a TAM construct, measures the effort in shopping including searching, bargaining, and after-sale monitoring Consequently, market transaction costs are captured with time efficiency Time efficiency is a measure of the transaction time costs Time efficiency is a measure of the transaction time costs The pioneering work of Becker (1965) in consumer behavior suggests that the consumer maximizes his or her utility subject to not only income constraints but also time constraints (Dellaert, Arentze, Bierlaire, Borgers, & Timmermans, 1998) By reducing information asymmetry and surprises, such as delivering wrong products and missing delivery dates, customers find online shopping easy to use and less time consuming (Devraj et al., 2002)

2.4.6.2 Managerial transaction costs

In the context of the managerial transaction costs, price savings can be considered as a measure of store efficiency because as managerial costs decrease, savings could be passed on to consumers In the finance literature, the transaction costs of financial markets generally include commission fees, bid-ask spread, and price impact costs (Berkowitz, Logue, & Noser, 1988; Devraj et al., 2002; H.-E Yang

et al., 2009) These costs are the compensation to market makers or dealers and are

considered as a measure of market efficiency As market institutions become more efficient, the cost of trading is lowered and consumers get better prices (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-E Yang et al., 2009)

In conclusion, transaction costs include three dimensions: PEOU, time efficiency and price saving While PEOU and time efficiency are measures of the costs between buyer and seller interactions, relative price saving is a measure of online or conventional store transaction efficiency Thus TCA extends TAM constructs to the cost dimension of online transactions (Devraj et al., 2002)

2.5 Service Quality (SERVQUAL)

Parasuraman et al (1988) recommended the most difference between service and goods are four characteristic: intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity, and inseparability Therefore, the focus has different between service marketing and products marketing Because Parasuraman et al (1988) indicate the fact that quality is

an “elusive and indistinct construct” commenced on an exploratory article that has revolutionized research and given service quality a face value in a way (Ndamnsa, 2013) SERVQUAL is a mechanism used to measure quality that sprouts from this model and works with the differences in the gaps scores derived from a questionnaire The SERVQUAL scale (questionnaire) has two sections; one designed to record client expectation and the other to measure client perception in relation to a service segment and a service firm (Parasuraman et al., 1988) The SERVQUAL model is important to managers in service firms as it enables them to appreciate the sources of problems in quality and how they can resolve or improve on these problems (Nair, Ranjith, Bose,

& Shri, 2010)

Moutinho and Goode (1995) assumed that the model has conquered the service quality literature as it was founded and it is a real-world means with an

affluence of value to the industry Studies approved that the model is a reliable apparatus in measuring service quality and has appreciated theoretical involvement in this respect The model is also observed to be a practical and a good forecaster for service quality measurement (Sureshchandar, Rajendran, & Anantharaman, 2002) However, no model can be said to be faultless and SERVQUAL model is not an exemption and thus has its boundaries as this is justified in a study by Brown, Churchill Jr, and Peter (1993), who highlighted low reliability of the scoring recorded Teas (1993) proclaimed that the SERVQUAL model is a tricky one as the respondents might be unable to differentiate between the different types of expectations Nevertheless the critics of the SERVQUAL model, it is still widely and continuously used in numerous sectors

This thesis will be reexamined in detail that is an examination of the different dimensions of the model will be presented in detail Parasuraman et al (1988) in trying to develop the model for measuring “service quality in retail banking, maintenance, phone repairs and security brokerage” firms realized that there were core differences regarding executive perceptions of service quality and the responsibilities involves when delivering services to consumers (Parasuraman et al., 1988) defined that service quality is a global judgment, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service, and superiority is the gap which practical service higher than consumer expectation When expectative service level is equal to perceived service level then it has general service quality When perceived service level is higher than expectative service level then it has better service quality When perceived service level is lower than expectative service level then it has worse service quality (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-E Yang et al., 2009)

Parasuraman et al (1988) introduce ten dimensions to measure service quality and suggest that it can be used in any service model Previous studies use factor analysis

to simplify twenty-two items to five dimensions, called SERVQUAL (Service Quality) (Devraj et al., 2002; Parasuraman et al., 1988; H.-E Yang et al., 2009), listed

as follow:

2.5.1 Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel

2.5.2 Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and

accurately

2.5.3 Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt

service

2.5.4 Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to

inspire trust and confidence

2.5.5 Empathy: Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its

customers

In electronic commerce, service quality measures have been applied to assess the quality of search engines and factors associated with Web site success However, consumers’ perceptions of online service quality remain unexplored There are indications that electronic commerce service issues go beyond product price and may

be the reason for consumers’ preference for the channel (Devraj et al., 2002; X Yang, 2013) SERVQUAL, a widely utilized instrument in marketing research to measure customers’ expectation and perception of service, was recently adapted to measure IS service quality This thesis uses four dimensions of SERVQUAL, which include reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, to measure the users’ cognition of SERVQUAL in online channel

2.6 Satisfaction and Preference:

2.6.1 Satisfaction

Business objectives are not only to deliver products or services to customers, not only aimed at selling what they are offering but also to deliver the needs to customers in a satisfactorily Companies and organizations with an in-depth understanding of how to satisfy customers and deliver satisfaction are in a better position to increase profitability than those that might be aware of customers‟ needs but are unable to deliver them to a satisfactory level (Chen et al., 2009; Moutinho & Goode, 1995; Wu, Tao, Li, Yang, & Huang, 2011) Customer satisfaction is considered as an evaluation of the after- purchase perceptions and the pre-purchase expectations (Ndamnsa, 2013) Customer satisfaction is a practical and theoretical aspect that is important for both researchers in consumers realm and marketers in general (Irani & Hanzaee, 2011) According to (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003), customer satisfaction is an important subject for organizations that desire to create and maintain competitive advantage in today business competitive world Customers who are satisfied will probably inform others about their satisfactory experiences and consequently participate in sharing their experience through positive word-of-mouth (Chen et al., 2009; Shankar et al., 2003) Meuter, Ostrom, Roundtree, and Bitner (2000) customer satisfaction is defined as a decision or conclusion that a customer develops after the act of acquisition and consumption of a product /service Other studies pointed out that customer satisfaction is affected by expectations (Moutinho & Goode, 1995)

A customer is term satisfied when the outcome of performance is greater than expectations and termed satisfied when expectations exceed the outcome of performance this is simply referred to as positive and negative disconfirmation

respectively (Meuter et al., 2000; Moutinho & Goode, 1995; Ndamnsa, 2013) Customer satisfaction is described as the consumer’s perceptive appraisal of a sensitive feedback in accordance to his/her observation of whether the characteristic

of the acquired offering meets his/her expectation (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Chen et al., 2009) Customer satisfaction is an essential tool for survival in the business environment, the prime objective of a business is to create and maintain customer satisfaction in an optimum level (Devraj et al., 2002; Shankar et al., 2003) The concept of customer satisfaction is growing in everyday with different ideas and different definitions Researchers have looked at customers’ satisfaction in different ways Many arguments have been made on the aspect of customer satisfaction with majority pointing out the fact that customer satisfaction is based on experience encountered with service provider and the outcome of service rendered (Parasuraman

et al., 1988)

Today, gamers have greater and easier access to alternative sources to purchase products and services However, to continue to use the online game firms websites, the gamers must believe that the online game firms offer better choices than the alternatives (H.-E Yang et al., 2009; X Yang, 2013) In the marketing literature, consumers’ channel-choice behavior is studied in the service outputs model (Dick et al., 2005; Hsu & Lu, 2004; H.-E Yang et al., 2009), which argues that channel systems exist and remain viable by performing duties and providing benefits to end-users

For online game firms, spatial convenience of purchasing the products at home, reducing online waiting time and delivery time, increased product choice, and customer service are critical service outputs (Dick et al., 2005; Hsu & Lu, 2004) Overall, consumers’ satisfaction is affected by both economic and noneconomic

factors (Dick et al., 2005; Hsu & Lu, 2004; G Kim et al., 2013; H.-E Yang et al., 2009) When consumers find online shopping convenient, time efficient, and price saving, they will be satisfied with the general effectiveness and efficiency of the electronic channel In addition, consumers will find the purchase experience gratifying if online vendors are responsive, concerned, and reliable during the shopping process and subsequent interactions with the customers (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-E Yang et al., 2009) Therefore, we examine game online satisfaction based on an integrated analysis using multiple constructs of technology acceptance, transaction costs, and service quality and experimental value

2.6.2 Preference

While satisfaction is an attitude construct that affects customer’s behavioral intention, channel preference is a consumer behavior choice resulting from prior experience (Devraj et al., 2002; Heilman et al., 2000), and consumer preferences vary with the purchasing experience (Heilman et al., 2000) When consumers enter a new market, they generally show little evidence of product preference As they gather more information for a product and with increased purchasing experience, the probability of their choosing a particular product increases Consumers’ store-choice behavior is also largely affected by their most recent purchase experience (Aaker & Jones, 1971; P K Rao, 2003; T R Rao, 1969) In the online environment, as the overall satisfaction with the online channel increases, it is likely that consumers will

use the online channel again (Bhattacherjee, 2001; Devraj et al., 2002)

Chapter III - Research Methodology

This chapter discusses and justifies the author’s choices for the methodological approaches employed in the research Starting from the discussion regarding theoretical framework, hypotheses, research approach, choices for research design, data sources, research process, data collection method, data collection instrument, sampling, data analysis method, and quality criteria are presented with the reasons behind the choices

3.1 Theoretical framework and hypotheses

3.1.1 Integrated model

An increasing electronic commerce research work has been done on the antecedents and consequences of consumer online satisfaction by adopting constructs from different theoretical frameworks in order to identify the key antecedents and explain the effects of them on the consequences in the model (Chen et al., 2009; Devraj et al., 2002; E.-J Lee, Uniremidy, & Overby, 2004; K Lee & Joshi, 2007) However, no such integrated models are employed to investigate online game player’s satisfaction with and preference to the game service system provided An integrated theoretical framework, including the constructs proposed by technology acceptance model (TAM), transaction cost analysis (TCA), and service quality (SERVQUAL), was developed and validated by Devraj et al (2002) and they demonstrated that metrics derived from traditional models in marketing, economics, and psychology can

be successfully applied in e-commerce to determine customer preference

On the other hand, experience value was defined as the perception which game players gained in the past process playing (Hsu & Lu, 2004) This construct is divided into two dimensions, utilitarian value and hedonic value Utilitarian value is defined as the best choices which do by ‘‘logical evaluation” reference to games’

efficiency and content (Babin et al., 1994; Batra & Ahtola, 1991; O’Brien, 2010) Hedonic value is defined that to find fun, fantasy, arousal, sensory stimulation, and enjoyment is the interest for the people (Babin et al., 1994; Batra & Ahtola, 1991) From previous discusses and due to the importance of experiential value of the game service, this thesis combines the constructs for experiential values with TAM, TCA and SERVQUAL in order to assess online game service more precisely and completely

3.1.2 Backgrounds of online game satisfaction

Previous studies considered that overall satisfaction is primarily a function of perceived service quality (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Chen et al., 2009; Shankar et al., 2003) and service quality is strongly related to online satisfaction (Moutinho & Goode, 1995; Sureshchandar et al., 2002; H.-e Yang & Tsai, 2007) Recent researches have included additional constructs as the antecedents of customer satisfaction in the online satisfaction and preference model (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-e Yang & Tsai, 2007; H.-E Yang et al., 2009) In addition to the set of constructs suggested by the technology acceptance model (TAM), the constructs used in the transaction-cost approach (TCA) (Coase, 1937; Williamson, 1975, 1985, 1987), that

is, perceived ease of use, time efficiency, and price savings, the three dimensions have been used to measure different aspects of the efficiency of online transactions and explained a large portion of customer satisfaction with Internet-based services (Devraj

et al., 2002) However, according to the research conducted in Vietnam and due to the low transparency of corporate governance (McGee, 2009) and the corporate tax system in Vietnam (Chan, Whalley, & Ghosh, 1999), the price saving will be dropped Hence, TCA will consist only two dimensions which are perceived ease of use and time efficiency

The five dimensions of SERVQUAL: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, for assessing service quality, have been adapted to evaluate information system (IS) service quality recently and prior studies also indicated that SERVQUAL is appropriate for measuring IS service quality (Bhattacherjee, 2001; Brown et al., 1993; Chen et al., 2009; Cottet et al., 2006; K Lee & Joshi, 2007; Nair

et al., 2010; Ndamnsa, 2013; Wu et al., 2011; Yoshida & James, 2010) For measuring customer- perceived service quality of websites, (H.-E Yang et al., 2009) refined and validated the current SERVQUAL and IS-SERVQUAL instruments and the results indicated that the tangibility dimension is less relevant to the e-commerce service quality and completely excluded from the model This thesis follows the conclusion and use four dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, empathy, and assurance of online channel in this thesis (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-E Yang et al., 2009) There is insignificant research that validated the factors anteceding to online satisfaction (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Chen et al., 2009; Yoshida & James, 2010) When only considering quality as the antecedent of online satisfaction, the findings indicate that the path coefficients from system quality and service quality to online satisfaction are significantly positive (H.-E Yang et al., 2009) When integrating the metrics of TCA, TAM, and SERVQUAL in a model, the results reveal that TAM and TCA dominate the impact on satisfaction (Devraj et al., 2002) When replacing TAM with website technology (WEBST) in the integrated model, the results show that the standardized path coefficients from WEBST, TCA, and SERVQUAL to online satisfaction are all positively significant (H.-e Yang & Tsai, 2007)

There is a research that claimed that the factors empathetic perception of emotional (aka empathy) have significant effects to hedonic value (Zillmann, Mody,

& Cantor, 1974) Thus, this thesis will suppose that the experiential value factors have relationship with service quality factors

Based on the previous review of the relationships between the online satisfaction and the constructs from experiential value, transaction cost, TAM and SERVQUAL, we suggest that the following hypotheses can be posited in an online game service context:

o H1a: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by utilitarian

value in experiential value (EXP)

o H1b: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by hedonic

value in experiential value (EXP)

o H2a: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by time

saving (TIME) in transaction cost (TCA)

o H2a1: Time saving (TIME) will be positively affected by uncertainty

in transaction cost (TCA)

o H2a2: Time saving (TIME) will be positively affected by asset

specificity in transaction cost (TCA)

o H2b: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by perceived

ease of use (EQU) in transaction cost (TCA)

o H2b1: Perceived ease of use (EQU) will be positively affected by

uncertainty in transaction cost (TCA)

o H2b2: Perceived ease of use (EQU) will be positively affected by asset

specificity in transaction cost (TCA)

o H3a: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by assurance

(ASS) in service quality (SERVQUAL)

o H3a1: Assurance (ASS) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will be

positively affected by utilitarian value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3a2: Assurance (ASS) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will be

positively affected by hedonic value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3b: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by empathy

(EMP) in service quality (SERVQUAL)

o H3b1: Empathy (EMP) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will be

positively affected by utilitarian value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3b2: Empathy (EMP) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will be

positively affected by hedonic value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3c: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by reliability

(REL) in service quality (SERVQUAL)

o H3c1: Reliability (REL) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will be

positively affected by utilitarian value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3c2: Reliability (REL) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will be

positively affected by hedonic value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3d: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will be positively affected by

responsiveness (RESP) in service quality (SERVQUAL)

o H3d1: Responsiveness (RESP) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will

be positively affected by utilitarian value in experiential value (EXP)

o H3d2: Responsiveness (RESP) in service quality (SERVQUAL) will

be positively affected by hedonic value in experiential value (EXP)

o H4a: There is a positive influence of perceived ease of use (EQU) on the

perceived usefulness (USE) in TAM model

o H4b: There is a positive influence of perceived usefulness (USE) on the

satisfaction (SAT) in the online gaming context

3.1.3 Online game satisfaction and preference

In recent marketing research, the measures of perceived quality, satisfaction, and preference on behalf of customers have been used to assess firm’s productivity and its marketing performance (Devraj et al., 2002; Heilman et al., 2000) Consumer satisfaction has been the subject of much attention in the literature because of its potential influence on consumer behavioral intention and customer retention (Heilman

et al., 2000) Similarly, in a B2C channel satisfaction model, customer satisfaction is considered as an important construct because it affects participants’ motivation to stay with the channel (Devraj et al., 2002; Heilman et al., 2000) Satisfaction with a product or service offered has been identified as a key determinant for preference (Devraj et al., 2002; Heilman et al., 2000) This relationship would seem to be applicable to Internet e-commerce (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Shankar et al., 2003) Past studies found that online customer preference results from customer’s satisfaction with the EC channel and that the positive impact of online satisfaction on preference is evidenced in the context of electronic commerce (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Chen et al., 2009; Devraj et al., 2002; Shankar et al., 2003; H.-e Yang & Tsai, 2007; H.-E Yang et al., 2009) From the review of the past research, it

is presumable that high online game satisfaction will yield high online game intentions and preference Therefore, the following research hypotheses will be tested:

o H5: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will have a positive impact on online

game preference (PREF)

Figure 1 Integrated model

H2b

Perceived usefulness

H4b

Preference

H5

Utilitarian Value Hedonic Value

Time

Perceived ease

of use Uncertainty

H 3c 2

3.1.4 Online game satisfaction as mediator

Combining the constructs discussed above, this thesis proposed the online game satisfaction and preference model, presented in Fig 1, including constructs from experiential value, TCA, and SERVQUAL with the hypotheses of this study on the paths According to the model, experiential value, transaction cost, and service quality, the four antecedents influence on online game satisfaction, which, in turn, affects online game preference In this model, online game satisfaction is a function of the fours antecedents operating in a situation and helps to explain the influence of the antecedents on online preference Although, it has attracted researchers to pay attention to the formal tests of the mediation effects (R E Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Chen et al., 2009; Devraj et al., 2002; Shankar et al., 2003; H.-e Yang & Tsai, 2007; H.-E Yang et al., 2009), but, to my knowledge, rare research examines the mediating effects of customer satisfaction in an integrated preference model or behavioral intentions model, much less formally tests that of online game satisfaction

in the online game service environment (Devraj et al., 2002; H.-E Yang et al., 2009) Therefore the mediating effects of online game satisfaction when the mediational

model involves latent constructs will be tested formally and the following hypothesis

is posited:

o H6: Online game satisfaction (SAT) will mediate the effects of the

antecedents (EXP, TCA, TAM and SERVQUAL) on the online game preference (PREF)

3.2 Research Approach

Ali and Birley (1999) argue that the term qualitative has no clear meaning and

it can be rather explained as a term, which covers various techniques They also state that in the use of qualitative research method, researchers try to describe, decode, and translate reality through participation (Fisher & Buglear, 2010) Therefore, the main

focus is on respondents and their opinions and reactions Thus research usually begins

with questions and observations of the world and then moves to more generalized and abstract ideas (Fisher & Buglear, 2010) On the other hand, quantitative research method concerns more about actual numbers, such as frequency of occurrence, test

score, or even rental costs (Ali & Birley, 1999; Fisher & Buglear, 2010)

This thesis is will solely be using the quantitative research approach In order

to achieve the purpose of this research, to assess satisfaction and preference in online game of consumers in Vietnam, this thesis have based this research on integrated model created by Devraj et al (2002) and H.-E Yang et al (2009) This model intended to quantitatively assess consumers’ attitudes toward online game through TCA, TAM, SERVQUAL and EXP Considering the given nature of the model, therefore, quantitative research approach would be the most suitable approach for this case

In exploratory research design, the main purpose of the study often lies in more exact problem formulation Thus, the emphasis for this type of research is in finding ideas and insights (Dhawan, 2010) If the study employs descriptive design, it tries to describe the characteristics of the subject to study In this type of research design, a researcher needs to have a clear definition of his subject to study, and the study aims to gather complete data to picture the subject (Dhawan, 2010; Jones et al., 2008) Lastly, if a study takes research design of hypotheses testing, it tries to see the fundamental relationships between variables in the study and to explain if one variable causes the value of another This type of study enables the researchers to have reduced bias, increased reliability for their research, and description of causality (Jones et al., 2008)

Since this study aims to observe and obtain deeper understanding of attitudes toward online satisfaction of consumers in online gaming industry, the main interest

of the study is to picture the consumers’ attitudes based on their satisfaction In addition, this thesis conducts an intensive literature review to get insights for the study from already existing studies Thus, exploratory and descriptive research design fits the best for the purpose of the study

3.4 Research process

Operationalization can be described as a process of defining vague concepts in order to make the concept measurable in form of variables composing of specific observation (Bryman & Bell, 2007) They also mention steps required for successful operationalization: Theoretical insights  Define key variables  Provide operational definition of key variables  Find and list potential measures for key variables  Pretest  Design data collection instrument (Bryman & Bell, 2007; Jones et al., 2008)

3.4.1 Pretesting

When collecting data through questionnaires, researchers need to conduct a pretest in order to refine a questionnaire that they are going to use By doing so, they will be able to assure that respondents will understand the questionnaire in the way that researchers intended to and there will be no problem in recording acquired data (Jones et al., 2008) In addition, it also helps researchers to have some assessment of

questions’ validity and reliability of the data (Jones et al., 2008)

For the research, a series of pretests were conducted before the online questionnaires were carried out The procedure can be summarized into two steps First of all, the author has tested the English version of questionnaire on a senior lecturer at International University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The primary reasons for asking a senior lecturer was to make sure that questions used were appropriate, understandable, and, well reflecting their operationalization of the concepts used (Dhawan, 2010) Second, the translated versions of questionnaire were tested on randomly chosen 16 Vietnamese gamers The main focus of the second pretest was to make sure that all questions were understandable to anybody, as it was assumed that the levels of respondents’ background knowledge of the research topic