Investigating the intention to purchase virtual goods in social networking service games: a self-presentation perspective

With the rising popularity of SNS games, virtual goods are expected to generate revenue for game providers. However, previous findings may be at odds with changes in this new virtual environment, while some social platforms lack understanding of what motivates users to purchase virtual goods in SNS games either. Considering the social nature of SNS games, this study adopted the self-presentation theory to explore these factors. A conceptual model was proposed and subsequently empirically tested with 302 samples collected from the questionnaire survey. The results show that the desire for online self-presentation is significantly influenced by SNS games involvement, online self-presentation norms, interactivity, and perceived usability. The results also indicate that the effect of the desire for online self-presentation on intention to purchase virtual goods is significant. In addition, the moderated role of perceived usability on the relationship between interactivity and the desire for online self-presentation is established as well. Our findings contribute to the literature on SNS games as well as self-presentation. It also lends insights into how SNS providers can tap this source of revenue.