Customer Loyalty in Social Virtual Worlds

Abstract

Social virtual worlds (SVWs) are an emerging phenomenon in terms of numbers of users as well as business environments. When it comes to the economic viability of SVWs, keeping existing customers active, i.e. customer loyalty, is a sine qua non. In this paper we investigate customer loyalty with two key variables: continuous use intention and purchase intention. We apply the expanded expectation-confirmation model by Thong et al. (2006) and empirically test our research model with data collected from 965 Canadian SVW users. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data. Perceived enjoyment was found to have the strongest impact on continuous use intentions whereas perceived critical mass was the main predictor of purchase intention. Finally, contrary to previous studies, satisfaction did not have a statistically significant impact on loyalty.

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