Determinants of undergraduates' continuance intention and actual behavior to play mobile games in Chongqing, China

Abstract

Purpose: The widespread use of the Internet and the increasing of sophisticated production of online games have brought great changes to the life of college students. Consequently, this paper examines the determinants of undergraduate student’s continuance intention and actual behavior to play online mobile games in Chongqing, China. The conceptual framework proposes causal relationships between attitudes, utilitarian outcome expectations, hedonic outcome expectations, subjective norms, time constraint, continuance intentions and actual behavior. Research design, data and methods: Data were collected from 500 undergraduate students in Chongqing. Nonprobability sampling were employed, including judgmental sampling, quota sampling and convenience sampling. Before the data collection, the index of item-objective congruence (IOC) and Cronbach's Alpha were applied to approve validity and reliability. Structural equation model (SEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used for data analysis, including model fit, reliability and validity. Results: Attitude, utilitarian outcome expectation, hedonic outcome expectation, subjective norms, time constraints significantly influence continuance intention. Furthermore, the continuance intention has the strongest influence on the actual behavior of mobile games among students. Conclusions: All hypotheses were proved to be consistent with the research objectives. The results from this study will be useful for mobile game developers and marketers in formulating appropriate applications that will attract more consumers.