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IJRDM
44,11
1132
Received 10 December 2015
Revised 12 January 2016
30 June 2016
18 July 2016
Accepted 18 July 2016
International Journal of Retail &
Distribution Management
Vol. 44 No. 11, 2016
pp. 1132-1148
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0959-0552
DOI 10.1108/IJRDM-12-2015-0183
A real child in a virtual world
Exploring whether children’s participation
in MMORPGs transforms them into
virtual retail shoppers
Monali Hota
IESEG School of Management, Lille, France, and
Maud Derbaix
Kedge Business School, Bordeaux, France
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether children’s online play and participation in
massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) is leading to the development of virtual
retail shopping motivations and behaviours. This exploratory study also examines the influence of
age-related differences in children’s social and consumer development vs adults and gender on this.
Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted using two focus groups and ten
in-depth interviews with 20 French children between the ages of eight and 12 years.
Findings – Results show that children’s online play and participation in MMORPG communities is
leading to the development of virtual retail shopping motivations and behaviour through the purchase
of virtual tools and accessories by all children using virtual in-game money. But these motivations are
very gender specific due to the overarching importance of gender-specific motivations for achievement.
Boys engage in virtual retail shopping because they need in-game progress and power gains, while
girls engage in virtual retail shopping because they need social status enhancement.
Research limitations/implications – Research should be conducted on children in different age
groups. All aspects of the process and consequences of children’s participation in online gaming
communities should be examined more comprehensively. Quantitative research is required. Results
may also vary with country and cultural context.
Practical implications – First, children between eight and 12 years of age are active consumers
(influencers and buyers) for all companies. MMORPGs provide the perfect setting for better understanding
of children’s motivations and behaviour regarding virtual retail shopping because they provide virtual in-
game money for different achievements that children use to engage in such behaviour. Second, MMORPG
companies can benefit by taking into account gender differences in children’s motivations and the
importance of the games’ social dimensions and interactions when designing the games.
Social implications – First, the risks of playing computer games for children in terms of playing
violent games and leading a virtual life must be considered and studied carefully by public policy
officials. Second, public policy officials that look into online gaming should take into account gender
differences in children’s motivations and the importance of the games’ social dimensions and interactions
when monitoring online games. These are issues that are not only developing children’s abilities as social
actors but may well be promoting excessive materialism aided by the formation of online peer groups.
Originality/value – This is the first study on children’s online play and participation in MMORPGs
in the consumer context and will help us to understand children’s mind-set and motivations for retail
activities in this unique retail setting. The study results show that children’s online play and
participation in MMORPGs is leading to the development of virtual retail shopping motivations and
behaviour that are very gender specific unlike adults.
Keywords Gender differences, Motivations, Children, Online games, Social development,
Virtual communities
Paper type Research paper
It is acknowledged that the research data were collected by Marion Chevalier. The authors thank
her for her contribution.
Introduction Children’s
Digital and online games are a significant part of today’s world with industry analysts participation
predicting that the global games market will touch close to $100 billion in 2016 (NEWZOO,
2016). In today’s digital world, children are also exposed to a variety of gaming applications
in MMORPGs
that include advergames, virtual worlds, mobile-based game apps and multiplayer online
battle arena’s (i.e. MOBA’s). However, research suggests that commercial massive
multiplayer online games (MMOGs) – online computer games that draw together players 1133
from all over the world – have come to dominate the digital entertainment industry,
particularly for children and adolescents (Magnussen and Misfeldt, 2004; Paraskeva et al.,
2010). “Online games are structured (i.e. closed) environments that are designed around
socialization, fantasy and role playing with clearly defined goals (Eisenbeiss et al., 2012)”.
Modern day online games are known as MMOGs. These make suitable use of advanced
technology with features containing 3D visual representations and are capable of
supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously and are necessarily played
on the internet (Griffiths et al., 2003; Ng and Hastings, 2005; Yee, 2006).
These multiplayer games have now evolved into massively multiplayer online role
playing games (i.e. MMORPG), which are social games that focus more on role playing
rather than the traditional combat and action aspects, a high-growth segment according
to industry reports and analyses. In all, 23 million players interact with each other in
modern day online gaming environments now (Van Geel, 2013), something that has
grown tremendously from 16 million in 2008 (Woodcock, 2008). Research has focussed
attention on studying the scoping of MMORPGs including virtual worlds such as
Lineage and Second Life in the ambit of research (Meredith et al., 2009). But recent
research suggests that all multiplayer online games are not MMORPGs and virtual
worlds are unstructured social and technological environments that are very distinct
from related virtual venues, such as multiplayer online games or virtual communities
(see Eisenbeiss et al., 2012 for a detailed discussion).
Research in other fields such as technical education has directed attention on
children’s online multiplayer games (Paraskeva et al., 2010). Research in the field of
consumer psychology (Rose et al., 2009; van Reijmersdal et al., 2012) has examined some
aspects of children’s and adolescent’s behaviour as consumers of the virtual world
because of their growing numbers. While van Reijmersdal et al. (2012) have investigated
children’s cognitive and affective responses to advergames, Rose et al. (2009) have
investigated the influence of website design on children’s information processing
performance. However, there is a dearth of empirical research on children’s participation
in online multiplayer games in the consumer psychology context that has significant
implications as the following discussion shows. The two inherent characteristics of
MMORPGs, namely the increasing social nature of the games and the tendency of gamers
to engage in virtual purchases for virtual in-game money (Cole and Griffiths, 2007; Lin,
2008) can lead to developments in terms of extending motivations to play online into
virtual retail shopping motivations. This study is an exploratory examination of whether
the increasing participation and online play of children in MMORPGs is leading to the
development of virtual retail shopping motivations and behaviours. This is the first study
looking at children and MMORPGs in the marketing context. So, given the growing
importance of the children’s market and their active role as consumers (influencers and
buyers), it will help us to understand children’s mind-set and motivations for retail
activities in this unique retail setting. Further, it seems theoretically relevant to check the
impact of age-related differences in children’s social and consumer development as well
as gender differences in children’s online gaming on these developments.
IJRDM Theoretical background
44,11 The theoretical foundation for this study is based upon research from a variety of
disciplines and areas including consumer behaviour, developmental psychology, cyber
psychology and virtual communities. Our study aims to check whether children’s
online play and participation in MMORPGs is leading to the development of virtual
retail shopping motivations and behaviour given age related and gender differences.
1134 More specifically we question the possibility that current gaming trends that have led
to the expansion of MMORPGs lead to this development. In order to analyse these
consequences of playing in MMORPGs, we argue that it is necessary to start from
children’s motivations. They will help us understand children’s expectations from the
game experience and the subsequent strategies implemented to achieve the objectives.
Thus, the second part of this literature review examines the basic typology of
motivations to play in MMORPGs as identified with adults – the only current target
analysed. Finally, we discuss children’s social and consumer development as well as
gender differences.

Current trends in online games

Extended social motivations. Virtual communities are mediated social spaces in the
digital environment that allow groups to form and be sustained primarily through
on-going communication processes, due to mutual goals, whether functional (as in the case
of online brand communities) or hedonic (as for the typical MMORPGs) (Bagozzi and
Dholakia, 2002). These share five key characteristics, of which, the first four have
strong similarities to the characteristics of today’s increasingly social online gaming
communities. These are, namely, organization around a specific area of interest;
presence of community-oriented social norms and processes; presence of shared
conventions, language, rituals and communal goals; active creation of content by
community members and criticality of communication as a community shaping force.
There are unique but highly significant differences between traditional text-based
virtual communities and the emerging online gaming communities in the criticality of
communication related to both the emerging trends in the online gaming market.
Virtual communities basically provide members with an opportunity to participate in
social interactions with others that do not care about their looks or speech, but are more
interested in knowing about their thoughts and the way in which they communicate
(Rheingold, 1993). Increasingly social games that focus more on role playing are
turning this around as they place various advanced tools and techniques at the
disposal of online gamers apart from text, such as advanced gaming features, and
avatar creation facilities, providing opportunities to express social identity online.
Further, a lot of people are now participating in virtual brand communities formed
due to the mutual functional goals of consumer exchange of useful information regarding
products. Popp et al. (2008) have worked on people’s motivations for participation in
virtual brand communities and propose a scale which reveals three factors of motivation:
“community-related motives, brand-related motives and motives related to ‘added value’,
with some similarities to the existing typologies of people’s motivations to play online
games”. Examining their community-related motives, one finds that these are quite
similar to Yee’s (2006) social motivations to play online games, but with some additional
dimensions. This is because virtual brand communities have a very strong group-
oriented driver for participation similar to increasingly social online gaming
communities. These additional dimensions are for actively participating in the
community, because the other members have the same goals that I have, because it is Children’s
important to me to be part of the community, for gaining recognition from other members participation
of the community and because I identify with other members of the community.
The additional group-oriented motivational dimensions identified from virtual brand
in MMORPGs
community literature appear to be an extension of the teamwork dimension of Yee’s
(2006) social motivations discussed below, lending theoretical support to the contention
that the increasing social component in online gaming represented by MMORPGs leads 1135
to an extension of motivations to represent people’s motivations to participate in online
gaming communities rather than just playing online games.
Virtual retail shopping motivations. In what could be considered a related
development, there is a growing tendency of online gamers to engage in virtual
purchases within the online gaming environment. Lin et al. (2008) explain that
consumption is driven by different motivations such as: “to satisfy inherent desires;
to fulfil manipulated desires; to establish identity and communicate with others;
and to pursue pleasure and experiences (p. 89)”. In the virtual context, this could be
either to rise up game levels, or to emulate other successful virtual persona in the
game, where success can be attributed to the purchase of a virtual gaming accessory.
Similarly, major within game purchases such as the purchase of online identity and
avatar formation accessories and aids, also happen due to varied motivations such as
community social norms; social interaction, identity expression, need to escape from
reality and performance expectancy (Boss, 2007; Castronova, 2004; Guo and Barnes,
2009, 2011, 2012; Healy, 2007; Levine, 2007). Virtual purchase behaviours can result
within the online gaming environment due to different types of interpersonal
influence and motivations because: these games provide virtual in-game money to
participants for different achievements and gamers use real money to engage in
such purchases (Guo and Barnes, 2009, 2011, 2012). Therefore, one realizes that
the second emerging trend in online gaming is leading to people developing virtual
retail shopping motivations similar to Popp, Worartschek and Roth’s (2008) added
value-related motives where there are dimensions such as: buying tools and aids to
build a suitable online identity and appearance in accordance with the social norms of
the virtual community; buying accessories, rewards and awards to aid in building
virtual reputation and social status; buying tools and accessories to aid in better
performance and results; and buying tools and accessories to emulate other
successful performers. This already seems to be reflected in the customization
dimension of Yee’s (2006) typology as discussed below, but he refrains from
discussing the commercial aspect of virtual purchases within online gaming
communities, something extremely important today.
This suggests that it is now becoming very important to analyse how the influence
from other players and player’s social norms and interactions with each other works.
Such influence can either enhance the social motivation to play online games, or act as
an additional-related virtual retail shopping motivation to play online games. Hence,
examining this is imperative given differences in children’s levels of social and
consumer development compared to adults.

A basic theory of motivations for participation in MMORPGs

Adult’s motivations for their participation in online gaming communities are not
identical across players (Castronova, 2004). In his pioneering work, Bartle (1996)
proposes a simple theoretical typology of players – the achievers, the explorers, the
IJRDM socializers and the killers – related to four key types of motives, namely, achievement
44,11 within the game context, exploration of the game, socializing with others and
imposition upon others.
Yee (2006) has used Bartle’s (1996) online game player theoretical typology along
with qualitative information obtained from earlier surveys of MMORPG players, to
further develop an empirically and quantitatively validated typology of motivations for
1136 people to play and participate in MMORPGs. This typology suggests that people’s
motives to play online and participate in MMORPGs consist of three types of motives,
namely, achievement, social and immersion, which may co-exist at an equivalent level
in the same player, unlike what Bartle (1996) has theorized.
Yee’s (2006) typology misses a motivational type that directly addresses the
Killer type of players. However, this is an improvement rather than limitation.
Bartle’s (1996) player type theory was based on all types of online games but
Yee (2006) has empirically validated his typology using only players of MMORPG,
which are social games that focus more on role playing rather than the traditional
combat and action aspects.
Finally, there are some gender differences in adult motivations to participate in
MMORPGs – male players score significantly higher on all the achievement
components than female players, a variation even better explained by age, while female
players score significantly higher than male players on the relationship subcomponent.
However, the gender difference in the relationship subcomponent is not reflected in the
socializing subcomponent, although these two subcomponents are highly related;
something that implies that male players socialize just as much as female players, but
are looking for very different things in those relationships (Yee, 2006).

Children in the context of motivation to play online games

Children’s social and consumer development. The previous discussions examined how
the emerging trends in online gaming could extend motivations for online gaming into
virtual retail shopping motivations. One needs to now discuss the differences in
children’s developmental levels, as this would have an impact on their acceptance of the
emerging trends vs adults.
Children are less advanced compared to adults in their social skills and also go
through progressively different stages of social development which subsequently
leads to different levels of ability to accept reference group influence and understand
the social aspects of consumption (John, 1999, 2008). Reference groups such as peer
groups can exert influence on children’s product choices and decisions only if
children have developed certain social sensibilities and cognitive skills (Bachmann
et al., 1993). Social perspective taking (Selman, 1980) and impression formation
theories (Barenboim, 1981) can act as building blocks and provide a basis for
predicting and explaining when peer group influence might emerge and how it might
develop as children mature (Bachmann et al., 1993). Research suggests however, that
peer group influence does not accelerate with increasing age for a wide range of
products, as older children become more susceptible to peer group influence only for
those products that are conspicuous in nature (Bachmann et al., 1993). The use of
Selman (1980), Barenboim (1981) and Bachmann et al. (1993) needs to be discussed as
significant research has been done on children in both the development as well as
consumer psychology context since then. Selman’s (1980) work on social perspective
taking can be considered a seminal theory in developmental psychology as it has
been cited more than 3,000 times in research dealing with different aspects of child Children’s
development (e.g. Shaffer and Kipp, 2013) and children as consumers (e.g. John, 2008) participation
since then. Similarly, Barenboim’s (1981) work on impression formation has been
cited more than 200 times in research dealing with different aspects of child
in MMORPGs
development (e.g. Shaffer and Kipp, 2013) and children as consumers (e.g. John, 2008)
since then. Finally, Bachmann et al.’s (1993) work on peer group influence has been
cited more than 100 times in research dealing with different aspects of children as 1137
consumers (Gil et al., 2012; Isaksen and Roper, 2012) since then.
Therefore, it is submitted that the use of Selman (1980), Barenboim (1981) and
Bachmann et al. (1993) is appropriate to theoretically extend Yee’s (2006)
conceptualization of people’s motivations to play online in the context of children.
Gender differences. Now one examines an issue that could really impact on children’s
motivations and make them significantly different from adults, as previous literature
and research suggests.
Research on children, right from the 1980s to date has revealed consistent gender
differences in several aspects of online gaming, whether it is in the case of consumer
perceptions (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 1998), consumer game-creation (Kafai,
1996) or consumer online play and interactions (Calvert et al., 2003). Some minor gender
differences have also been found for adults (Yee, 2006).
Research has always discussed that boys are more partial to such gaming than girls
(Dominick, 1984; Lin and Lepper, 1987; Morlock et al., 1985; Rushbrook, 1996;
Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 1998; Wilder et al., 1985).
There are gender differences in the kinds of games boys and girls create – not only
do girls prefer less violence, but they also prefer different kinds of games, game
characters and game worlds (Kafai, 1996). Similarly, gender differences exist in the
online play and interaction styles of children – using avatars to “stand in” for them,
while boy pairs adopt a playful interaction style, girl pairs are more likely to chat with
each other and mixed-sex pairs moderate their interaction styles (Calvert et al., 2003).
This is the first empirical study on children’s motivations for online gaming given
age-related differences vs adults and gender differences and will help us to understand
children’s mind-set and motivations for retail activities in this unique retail setting.
The complete theoretical framework is encapsulated in Figure 1.

Stages of Social
Development in
Gender
Children

Adult Motives for Participation in

Virtual Gaming Communities

Achievement
Motives

Extended
Current Trends Social Motives Children’s Virtual
in Online Retail Shopping
Games Motivations and
Immersion
Behaviour
Motives
Figure 1.
Added Value Theoretical
Motives framework overview
IJRDM Methodology
44,11 Two different types of qualitative methods were implemented to collect the data – focus
groups and in-depth interviews. The main objective of multiple research phases and
types of data sources is to deepen the understanding of children’s motivations.
Moreover each qualitative method of data collection has unique strengths and
weaknesses, but methodological triangulation and investigator triangulation can
1138 improve the way research questions are answered (Hall and Rist, 1999). So, it was
expected that the use of different types of research methods in the two phases would
serve to lessen their respective drawbacks.
Children between eight and 12 years were selected for both phases of the study from
households representing similar socio-economic classes (i.e. the upper middle class) from
Paris in France, in order to ensure the comparability of data. Further, the children
interviewed in the two phases of research regularly visited MMORPG sites such as Fear,
World of Warcraft and Go Girls Games. Young people have personal, social and
cognitive differences as compared to adults. Thus, while some of the existing research
into adult virtual communities may be applicable, it lacks a developmental lens. That is
why the focus of this study is on the 8-12-year-old range (sample details given in Table I).

Research phases
Focus groups. The first phase of the study consisted of two focus groups of children eight
to 12 years of age, consisting of five persons each, one group for boys and one group for
girls. We follow the advice of Marshall and Flelan (1999) to separate the genders to
ensure the best possible discussion. Focus groups offer an appropriate method for
researchers wanting to study children in their role as consumers, although there could be
a potential problem due to children’s susceptibility to peer group influence (Todd, 2001).
In the specific case of this study, the limitation of peer group influence acting within the
focus group was beneficial, as virtual gaming communities are places where peer

Research phase Participant’s name Age Gender

Phase 1: boys’ focus group Loïc 9 Male

Adrien 9
Maelig 9
Florian 9
Idriss 9
Phase 1: girls’ focus group Sarah 9 Female
Fatsy 9
Clara 8
Calista 8
Magalie 10
Phase 2: in-depth interviews Yann 11 Male
Valentin 12 Male
Loïc 10 Male
Gaspard 8 Male
Théo 9 Male
Nolwenn 11 Female
Diane 10 Female
Camille 11 Female
Table I. Magalie 10 Female
Sample overview Fatsy 9 Female
pressure acts significantly on children’s participation and purchases within the Children’s
community. Further, focus groups also yield insights into the language children use participation
when discussing consumption issues (Gunter and Furnham, 1998), which is critical
information for child researchers who have been advised to speak to them using their
in MMORPGs
own terms (Todd, 2001).
Focus groups were conducted in a small independent room within a day-care centre
for children between eight and 12 years of age. All these participants already knew 1139
each other, which allowed them to feel free to speak in a friendly way. A semi-
structured guide was created to conduct the group interviews properly, based on the
literature review and the conceptual foundation. The group interview discussions
lasted for one hour each, and were started by asking the children to create a new online
game, which is the perfect game according to them. In addition, the discussion went
over different topics from their favourite games (with a detailed explanation), their
motivations to play in a particular type of game to the kind of interactions they have
with the other players and why they would possibly buy virtual products.
Group interviews were not only an important source of data for the study but also
fed into the creation of the research instrument for the second phase of the study – the
individual interviews.
In-depth interviews. The second phase of the study consisted of ten in-depth
interviews combined with observations, of children aged eight to 12 years, taking care
that they were evenly split for sex and age (i.e. above and below ten years of age).
Individual interviews offer greater potential for children to discuss their ‘true’
underlying tastes and preferences (Todd, 2001) without problems associated with
group interviews such as the undue influence of the peer group. The individual
interviews thereby allowed a deeper investigation into the topic of children’s
participation in virtual gaming communities and combined with direct observation,
this part of the data-collection process focussed more on children’s lived experiences.
The in-depth interview and observation phase took place in real conditions which
means at home directly on the internet. Before that, the interviewer had a chance to talk
with parents who provided her with more insight about the child’s family life including
the presence of siblings, the parents’ perceptions of online games, whether parents play
online games themselves or whether they just focus on controlling their children’s use
of the internet (especially online games). Individual in-depth interviews sessions lasted
around one hour each. The researcher was alone with the participant in order to avoid
any family bias and to be in an open relationship with him/her based on confidence and
empathy. Although it would have been much better to introduce a new game to the
child and see how he reacts to it such that everybody would have played to the same
game and given us equivalent results for analysis, care was taken of the ethical issue of
children’s potential addiction. Hence, with the parents’ prior consent, the researcher
observed the child playing his/her favourite online game and asked questions during
that time. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions was built
relying on the initial findings of the group interviews, as the purpose of this phase was
to go deeper into some particular topics discussed in the focus groups. However, since
this phase also involved observation, the researcher used the observations of the child’s
play to ask further spontaneous questions based on that to reorient the interview
questions towards the specific game and fine-tune the results. Further, this also made it
possible to observe them playing directly in real conditions; analysing their
unconscious behaviours, and noting how they interact with other players.
IJRDM Data analysis and interpretation
44,11 Group interviews as well as in-depth interviews were audio taped and then fully
transcribed by the primary researcher. The interpretation of the interview texts was
undertaken using hermeneutical process (Thompson, 1991) which involved moving
iteratively, back and forth between interview texts and the literature. Data analysis and
interpretation were on-going interactive processes closely connected with data
1140 collection. Concretely, both authors began the analysis with an independent general
reading of each transcription. Back-and-forth exchanges between the theory and the
content of the interviews as well as between the researchers were carried out. Having
individually read and interpreted each interview, the authors’ insights and notes were
compared until a shared understanding of the central themes emerged through
convergence and/ or complementarity. The research data presentation mode will leave
room for “consumers’ voices”, that is, verbatim transcripts from children, because these
quotes are often better vehicles than researcher syntheses for conveying the experience
children have lived through.

Emerging findings
To illustrate our key findings, we present vignettes or quotations from children across
the two phases of research. Although the focus groups began by asking the students to
design their notion of the perfect online game, we have taken the results from the
second part of the focus group where children have discussed all that they do while
playing their favourite online game. Taken together, the quotations illustrated and
discussed are chosen for their ability to point towards plausible theoretical insights,
through either their representativeness of major themes or, in a few instances, their
distinctiveness. The findings are structured according to four categories: extension of
the typology of children’s motivations to participate in online games given the current
trends in online gaming; support for the primary typology of motivations to participate
in online games in the child context; revealed differences of the typology of motivations
to participate in online games, comparing children with adults; and gender differences
in motivations. Relative attention to these categories is commensurate with our study
goals. Further, all the findings are analysed and interpreted in light of literature on
children’s social and consumer development and gender differences.

Children’s extended motivations to participate in online gaming communities

The enhancement of the teamwork component. The children interviewed are beginning
to understand what involves teamwork in the game and attempt to increase this
component of social motives. As Bachmann et al. (1993) have observed, children from
nine to 11 are indeed beginning to understand external influences and are open to
influences from their peers. More specifically, in online gaming communities, they
exchange advices and opinions or help each other within the game. This is illustrated
by the following quotes:
It’s better to play in a team and to ask for advice […] when someone is new, I give him some
advice, I tell him how to play, I help him to create his personage (Théo, 9).
We could go out with friends, meet a little bit more […] You can help if someone asks you, you
either agree or not (Sarah, 9, Girls’ focus group).
Children want to be part of a group, a team, an online community rather than play as an
individual. A child between seven and 12 years old is able to “mentally step outside
himself or herself to take a self-reflective or ‘second-person’ perspective on his or her Children’s
own thoughts and actions” (Selman, 1980). Hence, children are able to influence each participation
other now because they are able to conceptualize a “second-person” perspective.
Added value motivations and interpersonal influence. Our analysis suggested
in MMORPGs
children’s emerging tendency for impression formation: possessions acquired through
virtual purchases seem to be of primary importance for children participating in online
games. So, an additional category of virtual retail shopping motivations appears for 1141
children, as the current gaming trends predict for adults. Children know that they can
buy virtual items (accessories, additional features for their avatar and weapons) with
the money earned during the game. As in the case of social motives, the goal of their
purchases often underlies achievement motives: they want to advance and progress
within the game. Examples of this include:
You can buy some guns, a new engine, some accessories for your motorbike, in order to go
faster! (Idriss, 9, Boys’ focus group).
With the money earned, I would buy a big house, adopt children and hire a nurse (Clara, 8,
Girls’ focus group).
To summarize, boys buy online tools and accessories for better game performance
while girls want to enhance their social status and reputation.
Objects are helpful for someone willing to enter a group. Children who want to join a
group need specific objects to gain acceptance (Delalande cf. Brée, 2007). In online
gaming communities, children share knowledge about products and even about
strategies that will help in-game progress:
I prefer playing with friends because alone, it’s boring […] Being with someone else means not
feeling deserted or lonely. […] I do everything to help the poor people; that way they can help me
fighting against the others, otherwise I won’t go far alone with my poor little army (Gaspard, 8).
Children who diverge slightly from their peers as they do not share the same interests feel
embarrassed (Gayet cf. Brée, 2007). Hence, children are willing to get the same objects at
the same time as their friends. In online gaming communities, these objects can be
weapons that allow boys to increase their power or clothes, pets or houses that allow girls
to improve their social status. Someone with enough money to buy an “expensive” item
within the game will receive glory and friendship from others (“Friendship comes with
success!” as children interviewed say). According to Bachmann et al. (1993), children are
more subject to their friends’ influence when considering products consumed publicly.
It is really important for the child to choose the best product that suits the group image
and is “validated” by the others, as everybody sees it. In online gaming communities this
group conformity is also expressed through power acquisition and children wanted to
demonstrate that they are the best:
I like it because I am more powerful than the others and I kill them all […] The goal is to
obtain as many points as possible […] I prefer attacking than defending which is for losers
[…] I like this game: we have to play with the keys and that’s difficult! When I am strong,
I prefer playing one against the others because otherwise it’s too easy (Loïc, 10).

Differences in the motivational typology comparing children to adults

As the data so vividly illustrate, these children will begin to display an increased
“teamwork” component of social motivations to participate in online gaming communities
somewhat similar to adults. But there are some differences. Normally, children are not
IJRDM used to playing in teams and do not appreciate the concept of sharing the same goals with
44,11 other players. These children have the developmental capacity to understand the
concepts outlining such motivations, which are in fact related to relationship building
with other community members (Cole, 1996; Rogoff, 2003; Selman, 1980). But this capacity
is more developed for children somewhat older than the ones we have interviewed
(see Rubenstein, 2012). Therefore, although these children now spoke about wanting to be
1142 part of a group, a team, an online community, rather than playing as individuals they also
had some unique reasons for doing so. When asked about teamwork and support, almost
every child answered that it would help in reaching his or her goal, a very individualistic
point of view.

Gender differences in children’s overall motivations to participate in online gaming

As discussed earlier, research, right from the 1980’s to date has revealed some
consistent gender differences in several aspects of online gaming for children.
Focus groups clearly bring to the fore gender differences among young participants
to online games. When asking what is their favourite game or their dream game, not
surprisingly, boys are especially attracted to games involving fighting, weapons and
blood, while girls favour role-playing games. Girls would rather spend their time
creating things instead of destroying things; enjoying everyday life activities and
metaphors just as much if not more than fantasy adventures. This is illustrated by the
following verbatims:
It’s also a war game […] […] It’s a little bit like the World War II or something like that: you
have to destroy towers for example (Florian, 9, Boys’ focus group).
In the game, there is a girl who owns a store. She has a horse, a pet, a house, a car, and friends.
She can cook, do the meals, dress and wash her horse. There is a park, she can sleep, work, put
make-up, comb her hair, create her parents, adopt a child and go to school. She can do some
exercises, go out, trek, and meet people (Sarah, 9, Girls’ focus group).
Further, girls tend to enjoy games that allow for open-ended play and exploration that
does not necessarily require completion of one goal or level to get to the next (Gorriz
and Medina, 2000). These finding are in line with Subrahmanyam et al.’s (2000) work
indicating that girls tend to prefer games based on reality and boys games based on
action and fantasy. They also seem rather obvious as children live and develop in a
gender-based world (Calvert et al., 2009). They construct their personal identity partly
by being a girl or a boy, which is related to gender-based behaviours, such as play
patterns and choices. Moreover, boys are more likely to play games with a more
dominant, power-based approach whereas girls are more likely to communicate or even
to strike up friendships.

Discussion
The data highlights how current trends and issues in online gaming such as the
increasingly social nature of such games and virtual purchases within online games,
can lead to an extension of such motivations into virtual retail shopping motivations.
Indeed the study findings clearly show that these children will begin to display an
increased “teamwork” component of social motivations to participate in online gaming
communities; although with some differences compared to those hypothesized for
adults. These children have the developmental capacity to understand the concepts
outlining such motivations, which are in fact related to relationship building with other
community members (Cole, 1996; Rogoff, 2003; Selman, 1980), but these children have Children’s
an individualistic reasoning behind displaying these group level motivations as it participation
would help them in reaching their individual goals. Further, they will also begin to
display added value motivations reflected in the growing tendency of online gamers to
in MMORPGs
engage in virtual purchases, due to interpersonal influence within the online gaming
environment, as has been hypothesized for adults. Similar to social motivations these
children are able to apprehend the concepts outlining such motivations, which are in 1143
effect related once again to the social aspects of life, the need for consumption in order
to achieve all that, and finally the role of interpersonal influence in consumption
( John, 1999, 2008). Hence, possessions acquired through virtual purchases seem to be of
primary importance for these children while participating in online games, especially
due to peers’ influences inside online gaming communities. By acquiring objects,
children conform to online peers and feel part of the community, just the way that they
do in the real world. That way, children show their differences from the others who are
not part of the group.
Second this study makes an important contribution as the findings challenge the
current adult motivational typology that has been conceptualized and detailed as
mostly applicable across genders (Yee, 2006). There seems indeed to be a huge
distinction between boys’ and girls’ games preferences, as well as motivations to
participate, as there is coherence between the two aspects.
Gender strongly influences children’s motivations to participate in online gaming
communities as stressed in other cyber psychology research on children (Calvert et al.,
2003; Kafai, 1996; Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 1998). Achievement motives seem to
be of primary importance for children, but the primary motivations are different for
both the genders. Boys need in-game progress and power gains, while girls need social
status enhancement. Similarly, role-playing provides evidence for immersion motives
for boys; whereas it is customization (e.g. through an avatar) for girls. Further, social
motives appear through an increased teamwork dimension, where boys prefer to build
alliances and girls, new relationships, within the game, rather than playing alone.
Added value motives are also displayed through the purchase of virtual tools and
accessories by all children using virtual in-game money. Finally, it can be observed that
achievement motives often underlie the three other types of motives. Hence, although
boys and girls both display added value motives to engage in virtual purchases within
the gaming community, they will engage in different types of purchases due to the
differences in their primary achievement motives as outlined earlier. Children, more
specifically girls, begin to understand the social meanings and status attached to
possessions as explained by impression formation (Baker and Gentry, 1996). They get a
sense of personal achievement through the accumulation of possessions ( John, 1999,
2008). Ultimately, children’s selection of different online games vary according to
gender and this may be well due to differences in what they like doing while playing in
real life that ends up reinforcing gender stereotypes (Calvert et al., 2003).

Managerial implications
First, children between eight and 12 years of age are active consumers (influencers and
buyers) for all companies and current online games that provide virtual in-game money
for different achievements provide the perfect setting for better understanding of
children’s motivations and behaviour regarding virtual retail shopping. So companies
must allow recognition for success by providing specific and recognizable items that
show power in the case of boys and high status in the case of girls.
IJRDM Second, online gaming companies can benefit by taking into account gender
44,11 differences in children’s motivations and the importance of the games’ social
dimensions and interactions when designing online games. First of all, companies must
make a distinction between boys’ and girls’ games as gender conformity appears
important at this age. Also, noting gender differences in motivations to participate in
online games will allow companies to better meet boys’ and girls’ specific expectations.
1144 Companies must create two distinct games since it will allow more gender specificity
into expectations and motives for participation.

Social implications
Virtual worlds and online games such as MMORPGS move children into a world where
the distinction between real life and simulation may not be clear (Subrahmanyam et al.,
2000). Therefore, the effects of playing violent games or leading a virtual life that
encompasses virtual purchases must be understood, as the boundaries between real
and virtual may be blurred.
As discussed earlier, children begin to understand the social meanings and status
attached to possessions and get a sense of personal achievement through the
accumulation of possessions. Interestingly, such shopping and accumulation is
happening in the virtual world due to peer group influence through the extension of
social motives, where boys prefer to build alliances and girls, new relationships, within
the game, rather than playing alone. So it seems logical that boys are engaging in
virtual purchases to show their power to the rest of the online peer group while girls are
similarly demonstrating their high status. Research states that giving children a sense
of self-worth and accomplishment through other means than consumption may be
an effective antidote to the development of materialism (Chaplin and John, 2007). In
the context of online gaming such as MMORPGs, we observe that children use the
acquisition of goods to enhance their self-esteem, which may potentially be an illusive
pursuit for one trying to achieve intrinsic and enduring happiness. Public policy
officials who are looking into the online gaming industry need to take into account
children’s motivations (and potentially gender differences in motivations) and the
importance of the games’ social dimensions and interactions when monitoring online
games. These are issues that are not only developing children’s abilities are social
actors but may well be promoting excessive materialism aided by the formation of
online peer groups.

Limitations and future research

First, the focus groups and in-depth interviews used to detail the extension of children’s
motivations to participate in online gaming communities are based on 20 children from
France. However, this project’s goal is not the breadth of knowledge about children’s
motivations to participate in online gaming communities, but rather the depth of the
knowing ( Ji, 2002). Therefore, this does not overshadow the study’s merits.
This current investigation has obviously just scratched the surface of an enormous
iceberg. Therefore, some additional insights need to be gained. For instance, we suggest
digging into younger age groups as we realize that online gaming provides access to
virtual retail shopping motivations and consequently, may shape their consumer
behaviours much earlier than in a non-virtual environment. Further, given the focus of
this research, appropriate attention was not paid to all aspects of the process and
consequences of children’s participation in online gaming communities, except for those
related to virtual retail shopping motivations. Future research should examine this Children’s
important issue more comprehensively. Finally, future research is required in other participation
countries and cultural contexts to assess the general applicability of the theory.
We also suggest empirically validating the set of propositions derived from the
in MMORPGs
results of our qualitative studies.

Conclusion 1145
Despite the criticality of examining whether children’s participation in MMORPGs
children’s mind-set and motivations for retail activities in this unique retail setting,
there has been a dearth of empirical research on this issue. This research contributes to
fill this knowledge gap and results show that children’s motivations to participate in
online gaming are getting extended into very gender-specific virtual retail shopping
motivations due to current gaming trends.

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1148
About the authors
Monali Hota is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the IESEG School of Management. She
spent eight years in the Indian marketing and advertising industries, before doctoral studies in
Australia. She conducts research on child consumers, in consumer socialization and public policy
areas, with emphasis on cultural issues and theory building. She has published in Journal of
Advertising Research, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, European
Advances in Consumer Research, Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, as well as
conference proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, the European Marketing
Academy, the Australia New Zealand Marketing Academy, the International Colloquium on Kids
and Retailing, GIKA and CERR. She has also written research proposals and policy notes for
Australian and Indian government agencies such as the NSW Department of Education and
Training and the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Monali Hota is the corresponding author
and can be contacted at: m.hota@ieseg.fr
Maud Derbaix is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Kedge Business School, France
and a Member of the Creative Industries Research Group. She holds a PhD in Business
Administration. Her research interests has focussed on consumer behaviour within the context of
arts and cultural activities including live performances, events and heritage. Her works have
been published in Recherche et Applications en Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, Advances in
Consumer Research and Décisions Marketing.

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