Entertainment Gratification Research Articles

Making algorithmic app use a virtuous cycle: Influence of user gratification and fatigue on algorithmic app dependence

Algorithmic recommendation technology, including news apps, social networking services (SNSs), and video or short-video apps, and is widely embedded in various mobile applications (apps), has raised concerns about potential addiction. This study constructs a model linking the uses and gratifications of algorithmic recommendation apps with algorithmic dependence, with a particular focus on fatigue as a key mediator in explaining the psychological mechanism behind the formation of algorithmic app dependence. Snowball sampling was employed for data collection, and a total of 354 valid questionnaires were collected via the online survey tool (i.e., WJX platform). The results show that the use of algorithmic recommendation apps has a direct positive effect on algorithmic app dependence. While all three types of user gratification obtained (i.e., information gratification, entertainment gratification, and expression gratification) are positively related to algorithmic app dependence, the mediating role of fatigue varies: entertainment gratification indirectly reduces algorithmic app dependence by increasing fatigue, whereas expression gratification indirectly increases algorithmic app dependence by reducing fatigue. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of the research findings are discussed.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence Autonomy in Higher Education: A Uses and Gratification Perspective

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, AI educators have become a reality. The advancement and increasing applications of AI technology in higher education not only provide more efficient tools for teachers in long-term and focused teaching, but also provide new active and independent spaces for sustainable self-motivated learning for college students. It is of great importance that the effects of AI educator design are understood to ensure the sustainable development and deployment of AI-driven courses at universities. This paper investigates the influences of AI educators’ autonomy design on students’ usage intentions by delving into how the artificial autonomy of AI educators satisfies students’ needs. Drawing on the uses and gratification (U&G) framework, we theoretically elaborate on how AI educator autonomy (i.e., sensing autonomy, thought autonomy, and action autonomy) influences students’ intentions to use an AI educator through the mediating effects of U&G benefits (i.e., information-seeking gratification, social interaction gratification, and entertainment gratification). By conducting an online survey (N = 673) on college students, we found that the sensing autonomy of AI educators is positively associated with usage intention due to the mediating effects of social interaction and entertainment gratifications; the thought autonomy of AI educators is positively related to usage intention, mediated by information-seeking and social interaction gratifications, and the action autonomy of AI educators is positively linked with usage intention through the paths of information-seeking and entertainment gratifications. Our findings provide both theoretical contributions and practical implications.

“Tell me what I should watch”: A customer value perspective of YouTube metadata

YouTube is increasingly being considered a lucrative means of earning money in addition to becoming popular among viewers. To gain these benefits YouTube content creators (YouTubers) need to first attract viewers’ attention to their videos and then persuade them to watch. YouTube metadata, such as the title, thumbnail, description, and keywords, can assist in achieving both objectives. This has been established in the current literature which shows, for example, that metadata optimizing can increase view counts. While these studies have demonstrated the end result of metadata optimization, they do not indicate why viewers respond to different characteristics of metadata in different ways. We contribute to the literature on marketing and consuming YouTube videos by examining, using Holbrook’s (1999) value typology for theorisation, how viewers experience the metadata and how these experiences contribute to the overall value creation process of watching YouTube videos. We employed an interpretive, qualitative research design in conducting the study, using focus group discussions with 21 young YouTube viewers as the data collection method. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Key findings were that metadata can both deliver value (efficiency) and provide signals about values delivered through the video (excellence and aesthetics). Further, the play value viewers get from interacting with the video is indirectly influenced by the metadata. We also identified that although viewers commonly expect some characteristics in the title and thumbnail, irrespective of their purpose of using YouTube, the importance of each differs when they seek information or entertainment gratification. Further, when value promises made by the metadata are not delivered through the videos, viewers respond negatively.
 Keywords: Entertainment gratification, Information gratification, Metadata optimization, Value, YouTube

‘Recreational shaming groups of Facebook: Content, rules and modministrators’ perspectives’

As social life and communication move increasingly online, we have experienced the expansion and the normalisation of online shaming – different forms of (semi)public cross-platform condemnation of people and their actions by (mass) online audiences. Online shamings can be analysed as combinations of reintegrative (shame-correct-forgive) and disintegrative (shame-stigmatise-expel) social sanctioning practices, usually focusing the ‘serious’ disciplinary shaming on the behaviour of the offender. We propose that equal attention should be given to what we have termed ‘recreational shaming’ – humour-based playful collective shaming that often occurs via online platforms, seemingly just for the sake of shaming, motivated mainly by social belonging needs and entertainment gratification. By combining the results of standardised content analysis of Facebook recreational shaming groups ( n = 65) and in-depth qualitative interviews with the ‘modmins’ of the groups ( n = 8) we will give an overview of what is being shamed, how groups and modministrators create and enforce rules and what is the socio-cultural perceived meaning of this practice. We distinguish three spheres of recreational shaming that ‘frame the shame’ and demonstrate how recreational online shaming is often more about the self than the other – me performing the act of shaming for entertainment value, to belong in a group. Additionally, we introduce how shaming is used as a self-reflexive tool for behaviour-correction or base knowledge for dominant tastes.

Gratification matters? An explorative study of antecedents and consequence in livestream shopping

PurposeThis study aims to explore whether gratification matters in influencing consumers' attitudes towards purchase in the context of livestream shopping and the antecedents that lead to consumers' gratification perceptions.Design/methodology/approachFour technology affordances (i.e. modality affordance, agency affordance, interactivity affordance and navigability affordance) and two gratifications (information gratification and entertainment gratification) are identified, and the relationships among the technology affordances, gratifications and purchase intention are examined. The model is tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe result shows that both information and entertainment gratification are positively associated with consumer purchase intention. No significant results have been uncovered with the relationship between interactivity affordance and entertainment gratification, while the rest relationships of gratification and its antecedents are positively associated.Originality/valueThe findings of this study uncover the antecedents and consequences of gratification in the context of livestreaming from technology affordance perspective. The uncovered relationships among technology affordance, gratification, purchase intention as well as the moderation roles aroused by price consciousness contribute to the extant literature.

A STUDY ON FACTORS INFLUENCING LIVE STREAMING SHOPPING AMONG GENERATION Z IN IPOH, PERAK

Live Streams have been one of the latest marketing strategies to hit the e-commerce industry in recent years. Many companies want in on it, but it is not as easy as talking in front of a live broadcast. Thus, this paper aims to study the level of live streaming shoppers among Generation Z in Ipoh, Perak and factors that influence live streaming shoppers' purchase intention. Factors that were investigated consist of perceived popularity, interactivity, source attractiveness, and argument quality. A total of 202Generation Z in Ipoh has been selected by purposive sampling. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis while the hypothesis was tested using T-test and Pearson correlation test. The results point to positive relations between three of the IVs and the purchase intention of consumers, which are Information Gratification, Attractiveness and Expertise; all except for Entertainment Gratification and Trustworthiness. Plausible justifications on Generation Z's perception and attitude towards entertainment gratification and Trustworthiness affecting purchase intention have been discoursed.

Motivational Factors on the Propensity to Use Sports Events Tourism Websites: The Utilization of UGT

Even though extensive Internet research has been conducted around the world, there is still a lack of knowledge about motivational factors and their moderating effects on the inclination to utilize sports event tourism websites. Two theories are being utilized in this study – (i) the Sport Website Acceptance Model (SWAM) and (ii) the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT). Customer-perceived values which are derived from the SWAM consist of four components including accessibility, flexibility, interactivity, and reliability, while motivation factors include informativeness gratification and entertainment gratification. This study utilized a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 530 sports tourists (315 males and 215 females) participated in three major sporting events involved in this study. Respondents were selected by using a probability sampling technique. The results of Pearson correlation analyses show that there was a significant relationship between customer-perceived value and the propensity to use the websites. The results indicate only 14.8 per cent of the total variance of the intention to use the websites was explained by customer-perceived value, entertainment gratification, informativeness gratification, the combination of customer-perceived value and entertainment gratification as well as the combination of customer-perceived value and informativeness gratification. The research findings would be practical and useful for sports tourism organizations in developing a distinctive sports tourism website on strategies to market their products and/or services effectively.

How do digital natives perceive and react toward online advertising? Implications for SMEs

ABSTRACT Advertising was once touted as a ‘big boys’ marketing tool, but the advent of the Internet has led to the emergence of online advertising, which has benefitted marketing organizations of all sizes, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), for 20 years since the new millennium. However, the emergence and proliferation of digital natives as a new generation of consumers necessitate further research to ensure the continued attractiveness, effectiveness, and relevance of online advertising. Furthermore, there is a need to consolidate the multifaceted nature of technology and media in online advertising and the corresponding behavior enacted by consumers, particularly digital natives, today. In this regard, this paper endeavors to examine the perceptions and reactions of digital natives toward online advertising using the theory of planned behavior, technology acceptance model, and uses and gratifications theory as an integrated theoretical lens to guide this examination. Using covariance structural equation modeling on a sample of 380 digital natives, this paper finds that the ease of use, usefulness, entertainment gratification, credibility, design, and personalization of online advertisement positively influence the attitude of digital natives toward online advertisement. However, assurance from online advertisement did not produce any significant effect, a unique finding that exemplifies the confidence that digital natives exhibit in digital environments as a self-assured generation. Finally, this paper finds that the attitude and subjective norms among digital natives toward online advertisement and the security and responsiveness of the website of the online advertised product positively influence the intention of digital natives to purchase the online advertised product. The implications of these findings for theory and practice as well as its limitations and future research directions conclude the paper.

Why People Use TikTok (Douyin) and How Their Purchase Intentions Are Affected by Social Media Influencers in China: A Uses and Gratifications and Parasocial Relationship Perspective

The purpose of this study was to explore the motivation of young consumers’ use of TikTok (Douyin) in China and how such motivations may relate to influencer videos’ persuasion power on purchases. Using a national online survey among 382 college students in China, the result showed that entertainment gratification was the most common motivation in using Douyin. But those users with socialization gratification motives had high persuasion knowledge and high parasocial relationships with the influencer, as well as higher purchase intentions for the recommended products. Implications on influencer marketing are discussed.

Staying-at-Home with Tragedy: Self-expansion Through Narratives Promotes Positive Coping with Identity Threat.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a historic opportunity to study the link between identity threat and individuals’ temporary expansion of the boundaries of the self (TEBOTS) through stories. Concurrently, the relationship between eudaimonic entertainment processes and self-expansion, particularly feeling moved and self-awareness, was examined. A quasi-experiment was conducted with an online sample (N = 172) that was randomly assigned to watch either a tragic drama or comedy. Results showed that key TEBOTS predictions were largely confirmed for boundary expansion and the outcomes of narrative engagement and entertainment gratifications. Although identity threat was negatively associated with positive coping with the pandemic, this relationship turned positive when mediated by boundary expansion. Further, exposure to tragedy raised feelings of “being moved,” which, in turn, was linked to self-perceptual depth and expanded boundaries of the self downstream. The present findings suggest that self-expansion through story consumption could benefit viewers’ positive reframing of challenging life experiences.

An exploration of social media-enabled voter relationships through uses and gratifications theory, psychological contract and service-dominant orientation

The relationship that develops between voters and political entities on social media is under-researched. This study offers insight into this contemporary phenomenon by exploring the factors that initiate and drive social media-enabled voter relationships. Data were collected by conducting three focus groups with young voters. Uses and gratifications theory was used to explore the motivations that stimulate young voters to follow political entities on social media. Secondly, the drivers of the resulting relationship were explained using the concept of the psychological contract. Lastly, the various online interactions that underpin this relationship were investigated using the concept of service-dominant orientation. The findings reveal that social, informational and entertainment gratifications are the primary initiators of this relationship. Further, developmental, individuated, relational and ethical interactions fortify online voter relationships. However, a lack of trust, unmet expectations and an absence of individuated interactions are major challenges. The study recommends humanising politicians through social and emotional content, along with an educational approach towards social media marketing.

ENTERTAINMENT GRATIFICATION, INFORMATIVE GRATIFICATION, WEB IRRITATION AND SELF-EFFICACY AS MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS TO ONLINE SHOPPING INTENTION

The Internet technology and pervasive computing has provided consumers with privileges to shop online. In addition, the Industry 4.0 agenda has placed the business web and the social web as the ecosystem domains, which explains why online shopping is a norm today. While many studies have been conducted to investigate the determinants of consumers’ intention to use online shopping, mixed results are always found, especially when the business take unique approaches for their digital presence. Besides, even though self-efficacy has been studied extensively in information system research, technological complexity has always given a challenge to consumers’ computing ability. Building on the Use and Gratification Theory (GTA) and the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this study aims to examine the relationships between entertainment gratification, informative gratification, web irritation and self-efficacy towards individual’s intention to use online shopping. Using the quantitative survey approach, data was collected from 217 young executives who are frequent online shoppers. The results of the structural equation modeling suggest entertainment gratification, informative gratification and self-efficacy are the factors that derive consumers’ intention to shop online. On the other hand, web irritation has no significant relationship with online shopping intention. The findings do not only capture the importance for web retailers to provide adequate buying-selling information and to provide the element of fun to the shopping portals, but it also suggests for the web retailers to provide less complicated online shopping features since consumers’ ability to use the technology determines purchase behavior. The findings serve as future research agenda.
 Keywords: online business, Use and Gratification Theory (GTA), Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), entertainment gratification, informative gratification, web irritation, self-efficacy

Constituents and Consequences of Online-Shopping in Sustainable E-Business: An Experimental Study of Online-Shopping Malls

With the growth of the internet, electronic (online) business has become an important trend in the economy. This study investigates how retailers could enhance their shopping processes and hence help sustain their e-business development. Therefore, we propose a unified information system-consumer behavior (IS-CB) model for online shopping to analyze factors that impact online shopping. We used an online survey to gather data from 633 online customers to test the theoretical model, matching differences using structural equation modeling. Highly influencing factors for the IS-CB online shopping model included perceived value (PV), perceived risk (PR), social factors (SF), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), online shopping intention, trust, online shopping experience, actual online shopping purchases, entertainment gratification (EG), website irritation (WI), information design (ID), visual design (VD), and navigation design (ND). This study provides important theoretical and practical implications. PV and trust in online shopping can nurture positive attitudes and shopping intentions among online customers. Well-designed websites produce higher levels of trust and reduced WI. Similarly, online shopping sites with better ID, ND, and VD also reduce WI and increase trust. This study fills gaps in previous studies relating to IS and CB and provides explanations for IS and CB constituent impacts on acceptance and use of online shopping. The proposed unified IS-CB explains consumer online shopping patterns for a sustainable e-business.

Depression, emotional states, and the experience of binge-watching narrative television

ABSTRACTTerms like “binge-watching” and the “showhole” suggest a relationship between binge-watching and emotional health. This study sought to understand the relationship between binge-watching, unhealthy emotional traits, and regular emotional states such as sadness. The study found that emotional states experienced after binge-watching had implications for entertainment gratifications. However, the study did not find a conclusive connection between binge-watching and unhealthy emotional traits.

Media use and political learning: Comparing Trump supporters to celebrity candidate voters

ABSTRACTThis study examines whether political media use behaviors of voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election align with those of “celebrity candidate voters” portrayed in the literature. The study used a national online survey (N = 1,608) conducted during the 2016 primary, and findings reveal that Trump supporters, more than other voters, are driven by entertainment motivations and follow campaign news using entertainment media: specifically, the video-sharing site YouTube. Although Trump voters are interested in the campaign, their level of political knowledge is lower than other voters, and no one media outlet made a significant contribution to their learning. A comparison group of other voters showed significant knowledge gains from news websites and Twitter. Results for Trump voters are consistent with scholars’ characterization of the celebrity candidate audience, particularly in studies suggesting that celebrity politicians may increase citizens’ engagement through entertainment gratifications rather than by a desire to become informed.

Consumer need for mobile app atmospherics and its relationships to shopper responses

This study developed and tested a conceptual model delineating the interrelationships among hedonic shopping orientation, consumer need for mobile app atmospherics, entertainment gratification, mobile irritation, and intention to reuse mobile apps for apparel shopping. A total of 216 U.S. mobile shoppers in the age range of 18–34 participated in the study. Consumers with a higher need for mobile app atmospherics tended to experience increased entertainment gratification and reduced irritation in using mobile apps. Hedonic shopping orientation was found to be an antecedent of consumer need for mobile app atmospherics. However, hedonic shoppers’ mixed emotions toward mobile apps were confirmed through the positive influences of hedonic shopping orientation on both entertainment gratification and irritation. Consumer need for mobile app atmospherics played a significant role in predicting the intention to reuse mobile apps for apparel shopping, along with entertainment gratification and mobile irritation. This study extended the research scope of mobile shopping behavior and provided implications for mobile app retailing.

From Terror to Transcendence: Death Reflection Promotes Preferences for Human Drama

ABSTRACTPrevious studies that examined the impact of death awareness on entertainment gratifications have used mortality salience. The present study introduces a more personal form of mortality priming called death reflection, which simulates near-death experiences. Compared to mortality salience, death reflection is a competing manipulation that has been found to promote positive outcomes, including improved self-perceptions, rather than worldview defense and self-esteem motives. A between-subjects online experiment (N = 108) was designed to test the main effects of two different death primes on emotional valence and arousal, meaningful affect, and genre preferences for sad drama and comedy. Results show that death reflection was distinct from mortality salience in its capacity to produce greater arousal and interest in watching sad drama. Furthermore, mediation analyses using structural equation modeling show indirect effects of death reflection on interest in sad drama through emotional intensity and self-perceptual depth as mediators. Death reflection as a mortality reminder is arguably more compatible with a key function of somber entertainment, including dramas and tragedies, which is to facilitate human insights and personal growth.

Large-Scale Patterns of Entertainment Gratifications in Linguistic Content of U.S. Films

We count words in film subtitle files in an attempt to reveal morally relevant patterns of linguistic content. We argue that function words (e.g., pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions) should be positively associated with thought-provoking narrative forms. To test this hypothesis, we associate function words to aggregate measures of film viewership and appraisals. Results suggest that function words are negatively associated with measures of viewership but positively associated with appraisals. As such, our finding is consistent with the idea that function words are more likely to occur in narrative forms that audiences value more than they actually consume. We relate this finding to past research, which has shown the same pattern for hedonic versus meaningful entertainment gratifications. Discussion centers on implications for recent theorizing in this area.

Predicting User Acceptance and Continuance Behaviour Towards Location-based Services: The Moderating Effect of Facilitating Conditions on Behavioural Intention and Actual Use

The purpose of this study is to establish and examine the significance of a consumer acceptance and continuance model for location-based services (LBSs) through the integration of perceived entertainment gratification (PEG) and perceived application quality (PAQ) with the technology acceptance model (TAM). By arguing that behavioural intention (BI) does not automatically lead to actual use (AU), we investigated the moderating effect of facilitating conditions (FC) on the relationship between BI and AU. A quantitative study was conducted in Australia and Bangladesh; data were obtained from multiple sources by systematic sampling of the distribution of questionnaires. For data analysis we applied the partial least square (PLS) method. The results indicate that, in both Australia and Bangladesh, perceived usefulness (PU), PEG and PAQ have significant influence on user attitude (UA), which has a subsequent effect on BI. Interestingly, perceived ease of use (PEoU) does not have a direct effect on UA but indirectly influences it through PU—confirming the mediating effect of PU. Further, FC has a moderating effect between BI and AU. The implications of these findings and directions for future research directions are also discussed.

Antecedents and consequences of e-shopping: an integrated model

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated information systems–consumer behavior (IS-CB) model for e-shopping to examine the antecedents and consequences of e-shopping and usage behavior.Design/methodology/approach– The study tests 320 usable responses collected from e-shoppers against the integrated model using structural equation modeling.Findings– The main research results support the use of antecedents of e-shopping acceptance and usage by drawing from unified knowledge of IS and CB underpinnings. The findings show the significance of perceived value, social factors, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, entertainment gratification (EG), web irritation (WI), emotional state, and web atmospherics (WA) in the process of e-shopping.Practical implications– The results suggest that e-retailers should establish positive perceived value in consumers’ minds and uphold trust to foster favorable attitudes and intentions toward e-shopping and actual e-shopping purchase. Proper and good construction of WA can lead to useful and easy-to-use e-shopping sites, EG, and minimization of WI. Capitalizing on online social influences also would be an advantage.Originality/value– This paper bridges a gap in the studies of IS and CB, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of IS and CB antecedents on acceptance and usage of e-shopping.