Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

How Do Online Game Communities Retain

Gamers? Social Presence and Social Capital
Perspectives

Fan-Chen Tseng
Department of Multimedia and M-Commerce, Kainan University, No.1 Kainan Road, Luzhu Dist., Taoyuan City,
33857, Taiwan

Han-Chung Huang
Ching-I Teng
Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, 259, Wenhua 1st Rd,
Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan

While online game communities have been found to be useful for retaining gamers, the mechanism
underlying this phenomenon is not fully understood. Knowledge about such mechanism enables man-
agers of online games to effectively retain their customers. This study thus investigates how network
convergence and interdependence—2 characteristics of online game social networks—fuel gamers’
continuance intention. Social presence and social capital theories were used for developing the study
hypotheses, and responses from 1,467 online gamers were used in the analysis. The findings indicate
that both network convergence and interdependence are positively related to sense of community and
relational switching cost (coefficients ranging from .20 to .50), which further contribute to gamer
continuance intention (coefficients ranging from .13 to .72).

Keywords: Social Presence, Social Capital, Network Convergence, Interdependence, Continuance

Intention, Social Network.

doi:10.1111/jcc4.12141

Introduction
Social networks in various online media have been widely investigated. Among them, online games
have been a recent focus in both the literature on communication (e.g., Taylor, Jenson, de Castell, &
Dilouya, 2014; Yoon, Duff, & Ryu, 2013) and electronic commerce (e.g., Hsiao & Chiou, 2012; Wu &
Liu, 2007). Focal issues include why gamers continue to play online games, and social aspects have
been verified as providing critical impetus. Specifically, continuance intention of online gamers has
predictors such as gratification (Wu, Wang, & Tsai, 2010), online community position (Hsiao & Chiou,

Editorial Record: First manuscript received on December 8, 2014. Revision received on August 9, 2015. Accepted by
Matthew Lombard on August 18, 2015. Final manuscript received on September 9, 2015. First published online on
November 19, 2015.

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association 601
2012), team participation, compliance to social norms (Teng & Chen, 2014), trust, and enjoyment (Wu
& Liu, 2007). The literature has demonstrated the relevance of social networks to gamer retention,
while leaving the process by which this happens insufficiently studied. Research clarifying the process
can enhance academic knowledge on social network formation in online games, and can provide
a competitive advantage to game service providers by assisting them in the development of social
networks for retaining their customers.
The literature has identified socialization as one major motivation for the playing of online games.
Researchers indicated social interactions are important predictors for continuance intention among
online gamers (Wu et al., 2010), implying that social interactions can help explain continuance inten-
tion among online gamers. However, little research has examined continuance intention among online
gamers by taking into account the social presence (Kim, 2011) and social capital (Hsiao & Chiou, 2012)
theories. Inclusion of these theories can provide a novel framework to clarify how social networks help
retain users within online gaming communities. Therefore, this study adopts the perspective of two the-
ories, i.e., the social presence theory and the social capital theory, to build a theoretical model to explain
whether and how network convergence and interdependence impact gamers’ continuance intention
through sense of community and relational switching costs. This study should deepen the understand-
ing of how gamers’ communication networks retain other gamers. This study also provides insights that
could be valuable to electronic commerce managers in their efforts to capitalize on social networks to
boost users’ continuance intention.
In contrast to a recent study (i.e., Teng, Chen, Chen, & Li, 2012a) that examined the positive rela-
tionship between interdependence and continuance intention (i.e., loyalty in that study), the current
study innovates to clarify the mechanism underlying this relationship. Specifically, the current study
hypothesized that sense of community and relational switching cost play important roles in mediating
the relationship between interdependence and continuance intention. Moreover, one recent study by
Teng and Chen (2014) has examined the relationship between team participation and gamer loyalty (or
continuance intention). Compared with that study, the present study is new in using interdependence,
network convergence, sense of community, and relational switching cost to explain the gamer loyalty.
All of these determinants were not covered in that study (Teng & Chen, 2014).

Theoretical Background and Hypotheses

Social Presence Theory

Social presence theory explains how individuals communicate with each other in communication media
and indicates that social presence assists such media to achieve successful outcomes (Richardson & Swan,
2003). Presence, as the core in the social presence theory, should be firstly provided by Heeter (1992).
Short, Williams, and Christie (1976) and Heeter (1992) defined social presence to be the feeling of being
there, particularly between two communicating parties through a communication medium.
Social presence plays a central role in online communication behavior (Kim, 2011). The prevalence
of high-speed Internet and the advancement of multimedia technologies make online games vivid com-
munication media through which gamers can experience strong social presence.
Drawing on the literature on social presence theory, Kim (2011) enriched the definition of social
presence to be the perception of links and affiliation among the users. Kim (2011) proposed four dimen-
sions of social presence, i.e., (1) a sense of community, (2) mutual attention and support, (3) open
communication, and (4) affective connectedness. Among these four dimensions, sense of community,
i.e., how users perceive a sense of group membership, should be highly relevant in online games, as
stronger sense of community may increase gamer loyalty (Hsu & Lu, 2007).

602 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association
 In online game communities, gamers often share their friends or social networks, a phenomenon
called “network convergence,” defined as the extent to which people develop a common social circle
(Parks & Floyd, 1996). Hence, the more online gamers share their friends, the greater the network conver-
gence is likely to be. The sharing of friends increases interpersonal relationships and common interests,
and subsequently sharing a sense of membership as a group, i.e., a sense of community among online
gamers (Blanchard & Horan, 1998). Thus, network convergence leads to a sense of community, and the
present study hypothesizes:

H1: Network convergence positively contributes to sense of community.

Interdependence is the degree to which members in a community rely on each other to make deci-
sions and take actions (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Online gamers often form teams or guilds to solve missions
or to achieve common goals, or rely on other members’ feelings and opinions to shape their avatar out-
looks or social interactions with others. That is, gamers depend on each other for opinions and support.
Such mutual interdependence among members is one of the most essential elements of community
(Rovai, 2002). Thus, the present study hypothesizes:

H2: Interdependence positively contributes to sense of community.

Furthermore, a sense of community motivates gamers to become strongly affiliated to other mem-
bers in the same community. Consequently, if gamers switched to other games, they would lose contact
with the members they are strongly affiliated to, resulting in a significant relational switching cost (Lin,
Cheng, Wang, & Chang, 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). Thus, the present study hypothesizes:

H3: Sense of community positively contributes to relational switching cost.

A sense of community also has an impact on the continuance intention toward computer/Internet-
mediated communication systems such as social network services and web-based bulletin board systems
(Zhang, 2010).
As a high-quality communication system, online games provide a virtual world where gamers com-
municate with each other by using rich interactive multimedia. This would facilitate communication
among online gamers and enhance the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships.
Since individuals have an innate need in developing and maintaining interpersonal links to other per-
sons, online gamers would have strong intention to continue engaging in online games to maintain the
sense of community. Therefore, this study hypothesized a positive link from sense of community to
continuance intention.

H4: Sense of community positively contributes to continuance intention.

Social Capital Theory

Social capital is a construct which describe the resources owned by social organizations (Putnam, 1995);
such resources should foster coordination and cooperation to increase mutual benefit (Putnam, 1995).
These resources include norms and social trust, reside in the relationship networks formed by the mem-
bers in a group (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Therefore, social capital can be defined as the resources an
entity can obtain from the relationship networks (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998).

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 As Internet gained increasing popularity, it is believed that social capital also exists in cybernetworks,
i.e., social networks in cyberspace (Lin, 1999). Social capital theory thus has been applied to cyberspace,
including social networking sites (Lin & Lu, 2011). Social capital helps builds mutual trust (Coleman,
1990), and promotes social participation (Guillen, Coromina, & Saris, 2011). Therefore, we use this the-
ory, i.e., the social capital theory, for exploring how social networks affect continuance intention in online
gaming communities.
In social networks, individuals likely share friends, and thus increase the extent to which users have
common friends. Such an extent is defined as network convergence (Parks & Floyd, 1996). Individu-
als who have common friends develop relationships more easily and quickly than those who do not
(Davis, 1967). Moreover, the number of shared friends is typically related to the number of total friends,
which can strongly predict perceived social support. Gamers devote time and energy to interact with
friends within a certain game to build their social capital, and thus stronger network convergence should
imply more social capital. Gamers would possibly lose such social capital if they decided to switch to
another game. That is, gamers may incur relational switching costs. Such costs in online games should
be the losses accompanied with the breaking of the bonds that have been formed with other gamers
(Lin et al., 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). As a gamer accumulates more social capital with more network
convergence, the gamer may incur more relational relationship losses when switching to another game,
because the social networks in one game may not be easily carried over to another. Hence, this study
hypothesizes:

H5: Network convergence is positively related to relational switching cost.

In online games, gamers likely form interdependent relationships because through cooperation they
can overcome challenges, which in turn are related to gamers’ continuance intention toward a game
(Teng, 2013). In interdependent relationships, users consult and respond to each other when making
decisions (Parks & Floyd, 1996). The responsiveness is reciprocated and creates upward spirals of respon-
siveness, fueling quality relationships (Canevello & Crocker, 2010). Such interdependent relationships
are members’ social capital since they can utilize them to achieve goals (Lin, 2001). If gamers switch to
other online games, they will lose such social capital (highly responsive partners and quality relation-
ships), incurring a relational switching cost (Lin et al., 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). Therefore,

H6: Interdependence is positively related to relational switching cost.

Relational switching cost comprises the friendships and relationships users would lose if they
switched to other service providers (Lin et al., 2012; Tseng & Teng, 2014). Friends are resources in
social networks that can help members achieve goals; therefore, friends can comprise members’ social
capital, accordingly (Lin, 2001). Social capital should be valuable to gamers and thus they are motivated
to retain it, leading them to play an online game continually. Hence,

H7: Relational switching cost positively contributes to continuance intention.

Figure 1 illustrates the research framework. Hypotheses were ordered according to the underlying
theories. That is, H1 to H4 were developed using the social presence theory. H5 to H7 were devel-
oped using the social capital theory. Such an approach helps achieve brevity and connectedness between
hypotheses.

604 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association
Figure 1 Research Framework

Methods

Sample, the Process of Collection, and the Data

This study is a cross-sectional one. This study collects the data by utilizing an online questionnaire.
The invitations had been posted on popular online gaming forums and community websites during 5
weeks. Therefore, the sampling population was online gamers who visited those forums and community
websites. The researchers selected gaming forums and community websites that are famous and popular
among online gamers. More than 20 forums were chosen among www.gamer.com.tw, www.ptt.cc, and
www.gamebase.com.tw. Gamers from these forums and websites indicated that their favorite online
games are (one gamer nominated one game): League of Legends (40.4%), Baseball Online (15.8%),
Diablo (9.2%), Dungeon & Fighter (8.7%), Lineage (2.5%), World of Warcraft (2.2%), and others.
Notably, most of them are multiplayer games.
Prospective respondents were directed via an online link to the online questionnaire, which indicated
that this study would focus on gamer evaluation of online games. When respondents completed and
submitted their responses, those who submitted a valid response had the opportunity to join in a lottery,
which involved 50 winners and a US$7 gift certificate for each winner. The lottery was held to express
gratitude for gamers’ participation.
In total, 1,650 responses were obtained. Among them, 183 were judged as invalid and excluded.
Table 1 lists the criteria and associated number of invalid responses. After the screening process, 1,467
gamers provided valid responses and generated a valid ratio of 88.9%.

Table 1 Data Validity Criteria and Associated Number of Invalid Responses

Criterion #

Had not played online games for the past month 8

Did not provide meaningful game names 36
Did not provide meaningful role/race/occupation of the main avatar 19
Gave “12 or more months” in answer to the question “played the game for ___ years 85
and ___ months”
Spent 0 hours per week playing their favorite online game 1
Spent 168 hours or more per week playing their favorite online game 3
Did not provide meaningful birth year 4
Were aged 10 years or younger 2
Provided email address that had the same English character repeated prior to the @ sign 19
Submitted multiple responses from the same IP address within 5 minutes 6
Note. # denotes number of invalid and excluded responses.

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Table 2 Summary of Number of Measurement Items

Construct # original items # deleted items # resultant items

Network convergence 7 2 5
Interdependence 5 2 3
Sense of community 4 0 4
Relational switching cost 4 1 3
Continuance intention 7 2 5

The high ratio of valid responses to total responses may be owing to several reasons. First, only inter-
ested gamers were attracted to click through the link and gain access to the study questionnaire. Second,
the online questionnaire enabled automatic checking of whether all the study items were completed.
Third, the associated lottery served as an incentive for providing accurate and sincere responses.

Measurement Items and Psychometric Properties

The seven items measuring network convergence and the five items measuring interdependence were
adapted from Parks and Floyd (1996). The four items measuring sense of community were adapted from
Kim (2011). The four items measuring relational switching cost were modified from the literature, i.e.,
Lin et al. (2012) and Tseng and Teng (2014). Continuance intention was measured using seven items
that came from Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1996).
To verify the instrument reliability, this study adopted a criterion that item-to-total correlation
should exceed .50, with items that did not meet such a criterion being dropped. Moreover, the instru-
ment validity was verified using a factor analysis. This study dropped items loading on constructs other
than theoretically assumed. Dropping items of poor reliability and validity should improve the overall
measurement quality, and is one commonly used approach in conducting psychological measurements.
The numbers of original items, deleted items and resultant items for every construct are depicted in
Table 2.
As shown in Table 2, this study kept 20 items for measuring five constructs, with at least three items
being retained to measure any one construct. This study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
for directly assessing the psychometric properties, i.e., reliability and validity, of the study items. Table 3
summarizes the results of the CFA. Notably, each construct had items generating a Cronbach’s 𝛼 value
larger than .80. Moreover, the 95% confidence intervals of 𝛼 values have low bounds exceeding .78,
indicating sufficient reliability. Additionally, composite reliability (CR) values were larger than .85 and
average variance extracted (AVE) values were larger than .62, further supporting adequate reliability.
All indicator loadings exceeded .65, indicating sufficient convergent validity. The minimum AVE
(.62) exceeded the maximum squared correlation (.53), indicating sufficient discriminant validity. More-
over, the measurement model fits our empirical data acceptably, supported by the performance of various
fit indices. Specifically, the comparative fit index (CFI) = .97 and the incremental fit index (IFI) = .97, ful-
filling the criteria (CFI ≥ .90, IFI ≥ .90). The nonnormed fit index (NNFI) = .97, satisfying the criterion
(NNFI ≥ .90). The goodness of fit index (GFI) = .90, and the root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA) = .08, indicating sufficient performance of model fit (GFI ≥ .90, RMSEA ≤ .10). This study did
not regard 𝜒 2 and 𝜒 2 /df as critical indices, because they are sensitive to sample size.
Table 4 exhibits how the study constructs are related with each other. The correlations were between
.33 and .73. This study proposed an alternative measurement model by assuming that all constructs could
be explained by common method variance (CMV). The alternative model has a significantly higher 𝜒 2

606 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association
Table 3 Summary of Confirmatory Factor Analyses

Construct-Item M SD 𝜆 𝛼 C.I. of 𝛼 CR AVE

Network convergence 2.91 0.93 .86 [.85, .88] .90 .63

My in-game partners have introduced me to his/her 2.68 1.20 .66
friends and family members, and vice versa.
My in-game partners have introduced me to his/her 2.49 1.14 .72
colleagues, and vice versa.
My in-game partners and I contact a lot of the same 3.14 1.13 .87
people on the Net.
My in-game partners and I are involved with many of 3.05 1.13 .90
the same newsgroups and/or mailing lists.
My in-game partners and I have overlapping social 3.19 1.15 .80
circles online.
Interdependence 3.23 0.87 .80 [.78, .82] .85 .65
My in-game partners and I have a great deal of 3.24 1.02 .86
influence on each other.
My in-game partners and I often influence each other’s 3.41 0.97 .85
feelings toward the issues we’re dealing with.
My in-game partners and I would go out of our way to 3.04 1.10 .69
help each other if necessary.
Sense of community 3.75 0.83 .88 [.87, .89] .91 .72
Even though we were physically in different locations, I 3.69 1.00 .84
still felt I was part of a group of friends in the game.
Online gaming allows me to express my thoughts and 3.69 0.95 .90
feelings, and to learn those of my online game
friends.
I can feel the others in the game tried to create a sense 3.76 0.96 .87
of community, and vice versa.
I work with other members to solve missions and 3.87 0.96 .79
achieve goals in a game.
Relational switching cost 3.51 0.92 .83 [.82, .85] .87 .68
I would miss my fellow players in the present game if I 3.72 1.06 .85
switched to another one.
I feel more comfortable interacting with my fellow 3.47 1.02 .81
players in the present game than I would if I
switched to another game.
The interpersonal ties I have with my fellow players in 3.34 1.12 .82
the present game are my assets, and I don’t want to
lose them by switching to another game.
Continuance intention 3.86 0.77 .86 [.85, .87] .89 .62
Among all online games, this online game is my 3.95 1.00 .67
favorite.
I am willing to spend more time playing this online 3.65 0.97 .65
game.
I am willing to say positive things about this online 4.04 0.88 .87
game to other people.
I would recommend this online game to someone who 4.00 0.95 .89
was seeking my advice.
I would encourage friends and relatives to play this 3.67 1.03 .82
online game.
Note. 𝜆 denotes indicator loading; CR denotes composite reliability; AVE denotes average variance extracted; C.I. denotes 95%
confidence interval.

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Table 4 Correlations Among the Study Constructs

1 2 3 4 5

1. Network convergence —
2. Interdependence .61∗ —
3. Sense of community .45∗ .53∗ —
4. Relational switching cost .50∗ .55∗ .73∗ —
5. Continuance intention .33∗ .33∗ .47∗ .43∗ —
Note. ∗ denotes p < .05.

value, i.e., 1941.54 - 1678.58 = 262.96. The test on 𝜒 2 difference is made upon five degrees of freedom,
i.e., 165–160 = 5, which lead to a threshold value of 𝜒 2 of 11.07 (𝜒 2 (𝛼 = .05, df = 5) = 11.07). The 𝜒 2 dif-
ference (262.96) exceeded the threshold value (11.07), indicating our measurement model significantly
explains our empirical data better than an alternative model, i.e., CMV model. Such analytical results
support the minimum of CMV herein.

Results

Demographic Distribution of the Sample

Table 5 summarizes participant profile. Among the participants, most were male (88.1%), aged no more
than 30 years (92.1%), had attended college or university (64.6%), and had a monthly income of either
US$ 200 or less (54.9%) or US$ 1,001 or more (13.1%). Averagely, the participants were 22.07 years
old. Their ages ranged from 11 to 52 years old. Averagely, they played their favorite online game for
2.55 years (SD = 2.48 years) and played the game for 13.64 hours per week on average (SD = 14.68
hours).

Hypothesis Testing
We utilized the structural equation modeling technique for examining the hypotheses. The analytical
results supported all the study hypotheses. Specifically, network convergence positively contributes to
sense of community (path coefficient = .20, p < .05), supporting H1. Interdependence positively con-
tributes to sense of community (path coefficient = .50, p < .05), supporting H2. Sense of community fur-
ther positively contributes to relational switching cost and continuance intention (path coefficient = .72
and .45, p < .05), supporting H3 and H4. Network convergence is positively related to relational switch-
ing cost (path coefficient = .18, p < .05), supporting H5. Interdependence is also positively related to
relational switching cost (path coefficient = .06, p < .05), supporting H6. Finally, relational switching
cost is positively related to continuance intention (path coefficient = .13, p < .05), supporting H7. Table 6
summarizes the testing results.
To increase persuasiveness of the work, this study further included two control variables, i.e., years
of playing the favorite game and hours per week of playing the game and their impact on continuance
intention. As support for including the two variables, the two variables are significantly related to con-
tinuance intention (coefficient = −.07 and .07, p < .05). However, inclusion of these two variables does
not change the analytical results regarding the hypotheses testing, demonstrating the robustness of the
study findings.

608 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association
Table 5 Summary of the Participant Profile

Variable Category Number Percentage

Gender Male 1293 88.1

Female 174 11.9
Age 11-20 years old 623 42.5
21-30 years old 728 49.6
31-52 years old 116 7.9
Education High school or below 519 35.4
College or university 805 54.9
Graduate institute 143 9.7
Monthly income US$ 200 or less 806 54.9
US$ 201-400 183 12.5
US$ 401-600 61 4.2
US$ 601-800 99 6.7
US$ 801–1,000 126 8.6
US$ 1,001 or more 192 13.1

Discussion

Theoretical Implications
Yoon et al. (2013) used the technology acceptance model and found that enjoyment, usefulness, and eco-
nomic value impact gamers’ attitude to online games. While the study of Yoon et al. (2013) emphasized
the economic value of online gaming, this study highlights the social value of online gaming. Specifically,
gamers enjoy social activities with real people within computer-mediated environments to experience
sense of community and build social capital. The relationships with others in such environments are
useful and valuable, implying the loss a gamer would incur when switching to another game (i.e., rela-
tional switching cost). That is, the accumulation of social capital can form significant switching cost for
gamers.

Table 6 Results of Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis Coefficient

H1: Network convergence → sense of community .20∗

H2: Interdependence → sense of community .50∗
H3: Sense of community → relational switching cost .72∗
H4: Sense of community → continuance intention .45∗
H5: Network convergence → relational switching cost .18∗
H6: Interdependence → relational switching cost .06∗
H7: Relational switching cost → continuance intention .13∗
Note. ∗ denotes p < .05. All coefficients are standardized path coefficients.

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 Wu and Liu (2007) utilized the theory of reasoned action to identify subjective norms (what others
expect) as one determinant for continuance intention in online gaming. The present study is in line
with Wu and Liu (2007) in identifying determinants for continuance intention. However, it is unique
in introducing the social presence and social capital theories to identify sense of community and
relational switching cost as two novel mediators for continuance intention in online gaming. Find-
ings of the present study elucidate the fertile opportunities for introducing classic psychological and
communication theories to the further understanding of this issue.
One of the most related studies is that of Hsiao and Chiou (2012), who also investigated how social
networks fuel continuance intention in online gaming. Their study verified that community position is
critical to explaining continuance intention. Findings of our study are compatible with such finding, for
a sense that a gamer in a central position (where the gamer connects with the most other gamers) should
have relatively high levels of network convergence and thus social capital in the community. Therefore,
to avoid huge relational switching cost, such a gamer would have a strong continuance intention toward
the game the gamer is playing. In short, the present study provides an alternative explanation for their
findings.

Implications for Managers and Society

Although some problematic use of online games may cause annoyance and dissatisfaction (Teng, Tseng,
Chen, & Wu, 2012b; Tseng & Teng, 2011), online games are still highly attractive to gamers. As revealed
in the current study, one of the most attractive aspects is the social value offered. Managers of online
games thus can take advantage of our findings to enhance continuance intention among their users.
Four points are illustrated below.
First, sense of community is a strong predictor of continuance intention and positively influences
relational switching cost. Therefore, managers are encouraged to foster a sense of community within
their social networks. Managers can facilitate the sharing of recent statuses among network members
and hold community events to draw members closer.
Second, relational switching cost positively contributes to continuance intention. Therefore, man-
agers may devise various mechanisms to raise such costs to deter users from switching to other social
networks. For example, managers may offer bonuses or privileges to members who have accumulated
significant social capital in the network, so those members realize they might feel a strong sense of loss
should they switch to another social network.
Third, network convergence indirectly contributes to continuance intention, indicating the impor-
tance of mutual friends among network members. Managers thus are encouraged to provide methods
to enlarge the social networks of their members. For example, strategic inclusion of the use of Facebook
or other social networking sites effectively introduces the social network of one member to another to
enhance network convergence.
Finally, interdependence also contributes indirectly to continuance intention. Managers can thus
develop small games within the current game that require collaboration/cooperation to increase
interdependence among members. For example, while playing online games, gamers exert efforts
to achieve challenging missions to earn gaming trophies. To reduce effort and maximize returns,
they often form teams or partnerships for cooperation, thus establishing interdependence (Teng
et al., 2012a).

Limitations, and the Associated Future Research Directions

This study is a cross-sectional study. Such a design should be acceptable for testing relationships among
constructs. However, such a design is known to be limited in directly examining causality, restraining

610 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association
this study from claiming and examining exact causality among the study variables. Future studies are
encouraged to replicate this study using big data approaches to directly examine the causality of the
relationships observed in our study.
Our study sample mainly included participants in one single country, thus preventing problems
of semantic equivalence among questionnaires of multiple languages and the confounding effects of
cultural variables. However, the single-country sample restrained this study from examining how cul-
tural differences impact the findings and how a specific culture impacts users’ retention intention owing
to social networks. Future studies could replicate this study in other countries and cultures to examine
the above issues.
Participants of this study were asked to rate their favorite game, i.e., one gamer rated one game but not
all gamers rated the same game. Such an approach includes various games, increasing the applicability
and generality of the findings. However, such an approach is restrained from focusing on the uniqueness
of each game. Since gamer interactions may differ among game genres, e.g., World of Warcraft players
and Second Life players are distinctively different, future studies are encouraged to replicate this study
using a specific game genre and further include unique aspects of that genre. This approach can provide
further in-depth understanding of each game genre.
One of the merits of the study of Hsiao and Chiou (2012) was the collection of both subjective
and objective data. This is particularly critical for examining the issue of community position, which
can be both subjective and objective. The present study includes network convergence, which may be
measured using objective data. However, it is unclear how the extent to which one gamer has shared
friends with his/her in-game partner should be measured, e.g., by percentage of shared friends or other
indicators. Moreover, it is also very difficult to obtain valid data by asking a gamer to provide a complete
list of their friends. Therefore, the present study refrained from using objective data to measure network
convergence. Nevertheless, the use of both subjective and objective data is a recommended approach for
future studies.
Although the sample included users of numerous games, the sample was not randomly selected.
Such an approach may suffer from the risk of self-selection bias, representing a limitation. To over-
come such a limitation, researchers are suggested to seek for cooperation with large firms (e.g.,
Blizzard Entertainment) to obtain complete lists of potential participants that enables random
sampling.
This study adopted self-reported data to measure network-related constructs (e.g., interdepen-
dence). Future studies can collect additional objective data. One suggested means is to develop software
(e.g., an ad hoc app) which can collect Facebook friendship data. To successfully undertake this means,
researchers should convince participants to download the app and use it, considering the participants’
concerns of privacy and information security.
This study used two theories to construct the model. However, a model can hardly be exhaustive,
since a complex real-world phenomenon can be explained using a large number of theories. Such a
limitation likely applies to many studies in the literature, showing the fertile ground for future ambitious
researchers to construct a highly comprehensive model to include all known theories regarding a specific
issue and connect their key components.
Intuitively, high satisfaction levels and few quality alternatives likely increase continuance intention.
Such impacts are known in the literature, motivating this study to examine new antecedents and their
impact on continuance intention. However, future studies can examine whether the effects of known
factors (i.e., satisfaction level and quality of alternative) outweigh the effects of new factors (i.e., network
convergence and interdependence) on continuance intention. Such examination should provide further
insight into the findings of this study.

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20 (2015) 601–614 © 2015 International Communication Association 611
Conclusion
Specifically, this study found that network convergence positively contributes to sense of community
and relational switching cost. Similarly, interdependence is positively related to sense of community and
relational switching cost. Moreover, the sense of community further positively contributes to relational
switching cost. Both sense of community and relational switching cost positively contribute to continu-
ance intention. Overall, the results show that the social presence and social capital theories can be applied
to explaining how social networks retain users.
These findings provide useful insights for managers who operate online businesses. Managers should
consider the facilitation of users’ communication in social networks that can enhance the perceived
performance of the medium (i.e., increasing a sense of community, a dimension of social presence).
Moreover, users’ social networks can build switching barriers that hinder users’ switching behavior (i.e.,
increasing relational switching cost). In sum, social networks can effectively boost user retention and
thus create a competitive advantage for managers.
Extant research on social networks has indicated that they can effectively fuel the continuance
intention of online gamers. Our study contributes to the communication literature by elucidating the
underlying mechanism on how social networks retain gamers. That is, gamers in social networks regard
playing games as one way of interacting with real people and appreciate the social networks in games
because such networks satisfy their need for sense of community and social capital. Therefore, online
game providers should consider social networks as useful tools for building loyal user bases and devise
means for fostering the formulation of social networks. In academics, our study lays the ground to assist
future studies that intend to further understand how social networks impact online gamer psychology
and behavior.

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About the Authors
Fan-Chen Tseng (Ph.D., National Taiwan University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Multimedia and M-Commerce at Kainan University, Taiwan. His research focuses on online games and
e-/m-commerce. Address: Department of Multimedia and M-Commerce, Kainan University, Taiwan,
No.1 Kainan Road, Luzhu Dist., Taoyuan City 33857, Taiwan. E-mail: tfckn01@mail.knu.edu.tw.

Han-Chung Huang (Ph.D., Chang Gung University) is a Lecturer in General Education Center at China
University of Technology, Taiwan. His research focuses on consumer psychology and behavior. Address:
Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, 259, Wenhua 1st Rd,
Taoyuan 333, Taiwan. E-mail: t756068@hotmail.com.

Ching-I Teng (Ph.D., National Taiwan University) is a Professor in the Graduate Institute of Business
and Management at the Chang Gung University, Taiwan. His research focuses on online gamer psychol-
ogy and behavior. Address: Graduate Institute of Business and Management, Chang Gung University,
Taiwan, 259, Wenhua 1st Rd, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan. E-mail: chingit@mail.cgu.edu.tw.

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