Abstract
An online poker site is a good example of a dual-purposed information system that is used for both fun and making money. In this study, we address the platform selection problem associated with online poker sites by investigating the features online gamers value when selecting a platform. We test the differences in preferences for online gaming platforms between two types of users: primarily extrinsically-motivated and primarily intrinsically-motivated players. Surprisingly, when comparing the importance scores of the features (usability, enjoyment, functionalities, poker network, loyalty program, and reputation), we observe very little difference between the two user groups. The only difference was that loyalty programs were valued considerably more by extrinsically-motivated players. One would have expected that features such as functionalities, poker network, and reputation would dominate the choice calculus for extrinsically-motivated players and that features such as usability and enjoyment would dominate the choice calculus for intrinsically-motivated players. We interpret this surprising finding as providing support to the claim that utilitarian and hedonic values are becoming increasingly intertwined. In this article, we provide alternative interpretations for this surprising result and discuss its theoretical and managerial implications. Because this is an exploratory study, we also note several avenues for future research.
Highlights
Making choices in the digital environment is becoming increasingly complex due to the proliferation of digital platforms and artifacts that often offer both utilitarian and hedonic value to users (Lee et al 2005; Turel et al 2010; Weiss and Schiele 2013)
An online poker site is an excellent example of a system that can be used either for fun or to make money. Both the utilitarian and hedonic values have an impact when users play games on these sites. Motivated by this interesting empirical setting and by a lack of understanding in the current literature related to the potential differences in preferences across the two user groups, we address the following research question: BWhat are the differences between primarily extrinsically-motivated users and primarily intrinsically-motivated users in terms of their selection of online platforms?^ In essence, we are interested in determining whether extrinsically-motivated users value some platform features differently from how intrinsicallymotivated users value these features
Our objective was not to probe the ranking of the features, we found that reputation was the most important feature for the respondents overall, followed by the poker network, loyalty program, enjoyment, usability and functionalities
Summary
Making choices in the digital environment is becoming increasingly complex due to the proliferation of digital platforms and artifacts that often offer both utilitarian and hedonic value to users (Lee et al 2005; Turel et al 2010; Weiss and Schiele 2013). Given this abundance of alternatives available for individuals and the large variety of use situations and motivations, it is of paramount importance to determine how individuals make choices in digital environments, i.e., how they make a selection among competing platform providers and digital artifacts. Do you think you play to a) to earn money or b) just for fun?
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