Investigating the Drivers of the Continuous Use of Social Virtual Worlds

Abstract

Social virtual worlds (SVWs) have become increasingly important environments for social interaction, especially for the younger generations. For SVWs to be economically sustainable attracting users and retaining existing users is a paramount issue. This requires understanding the underlying reasons why users continuously engage in social virtual worlds and therefore we empirically investigate the world's largest SVW for teens, Habbo. We apply Technology Acceptance Model as well as IS continuance models complemented with perceived critical mass to investigate the continuous use of Habbo. The research model is empirically tested with data from 2215 Finnish Habbo users by applying structural equation modeling. Perceived enjoyment was found to be the main determinant of the continuous use intention followed by perceived critical mass. Somewhat surprisingly, satisfaction had very little influence on the continuous use intention. Moreover, perceived usefulness and ease of use had only a marginal impact on satisfaction.