Linköping University | Department of Management and Engineering

Master’s Thesis, 30 credits | MSc Business Administration - Strategy and Management in International Organizations
Spring 2021 | ISRN-nummer: LIU-IEI-FIL-A--21/03642--SE

Understanding In-game
Purchase Behavior of
Millennials in Mobile
Battle Royale Games

Teymur Nabili

Bihan Wang

Supervisor: Heiko Gebauer

Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
+46 13-28 10 00, www.liu.se
 English title:
Understanding In-game Purchase Behavior of Millennials in Mobile Battle Royale
Games

Authors:
Teymur Nabili and Bihan Wang

Advisor:
Heiko Gebauer

Publication type:
Master’s Thesis in Business Administration
Strategy and Management in International Organizations
Advanced level, 30 credits
Spring semester 2021
ISRN-number: LIU-IEI-FIL-A--21/03642--SE

Linköping University
Department of Management and Engineering (IEI)
www.liu.se
 Acknowledgments

We want to express our appreciation to all the people that contributed to this thesis. Without their
help and support, we would not have achieved this thesis.

First, we would like to thank our families for supporting us since the very first day.

We also want to express our gratitude to our thesis supervisor, Heiko Gebauer. He has provided us
with valuable guidance and timely help for this research work. We would also like to offer special
thanks to Alexander Flaig for his willingness to provide insights into the research findings. We wish
to thank our fellow students for their helpful feedback in the pre-final seminar.

This thesis, especially this amount of data, would be impossible to collect without video gamers.
Thus, we would like to express our gratitude to the gaming community and its members across the
world.

Linköping, 25th May 2020

Teymur Nabili & Bihan Wang
“Games are unquestionably the single most important cultural form of the digital age”

Cathay Davidson
 Abstract

Title Understanding In-game Purchase Behavior of Millennials in Mobile Battle Royale

Games

Authors Bihan Wang and Teymur Nabili

Supervisor Heiko Gebauer

Date May 25th, 2021

Background The consumer behavior of mobile game players, especially the main consuming
force - millennials, has started to gain more attention as the mobile game industry
has turned into one of the most profitable entertainment fields. Nevertheless, there
is no unified model to understand the in-game purchase behavior of all mobile
games since the strengthening factors in video games are divergent subject to the
game genre. Thus, by examining in-game purchase behavior in the mainstream
mobile game genre - battle royale, the authors contribute to the game research.

Aim As the study's primary objective, the thesis aims to detect the strengthening
factors of purchase behavior through the lens of the theory of consumption values
(TCV) and millennial consumer preferences.

Methodology The authors pursue a deductive approach to conduct a quantitative study in which
a cross-sectional survey method was selected to gather empirical data. A
regression model was created to analyze the structural relationships. SPSS was
used for the analysis of statistical data. A total of 521 responses were collected.

Findings The results suggest that conditional value, emotional value, and monetary value
positively affect the in-game purchase behavior of millennials playing mobile
battle royale games. Furthermore, customization positively moderates the
relationship between conditional value and in-game purchase behavior, whereas
trendiness positively moderates the relationship between emotional value and
in-game purchase behavior. The results also reveal the positive direct effect on
in-game purchase behavior of the proposed moderating variables, namely,
customization, trendiness, and visual quality. Based on the results of this thesis,
the application of TCV has been proved in the gaming field, and the authors give
practical suggestions for game companies.

Keywords Millennials, Battle Royale Games, Aesthetic Items, Theory of Consumption

Values
 Table of Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………..……………………………………………...i
Acknowledgements……………………………………...……………………………………………...ii
Table of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………..vi
Table of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………...vii
List of Abbreviation……………,,,…………………………………………………………………...viii
1. Introduction…………………………..……..…………………...…………….…..………….……...1
1.1 Background…………………………………….…………………………………..…………....1
1.1.1 Mobile Battle Royale Games……………………………….………………..……….....1
1.1.2 Game Monetization and Virtual Items…………………………….……………….....…2
1.1.3 Millenials……………….………………………………………..…………....……...….3
1.2 Prior Work…………………………....……………………………………………………..…...3
1.3 Purpose and Research Question…………………………………..……………………………..5
1.4 Research Contribution………………………………………………………………….………..6
1.5 Disposition………………………………………………………………………………….…....7
2. Theoretical Framework…………………...…………………………………………….……………8
2.1 Experience Economy……………………………………………………………………….……8
2.2 Influencing Factors of Consumer Choice Behavior………………...……..………………….....9
2.2.1 Evolution of Theory of Consumption Values...…………………………………....…….9
2.2.2 Dynamics and issues in the theory of consumption value (TCV)...................................11
2.2.2.1 The application of TCV in gaming field…………………....…………………….11
2.2.2.2 Excluding functional value of TCV in this research process……………………..12
2.2.2.3 Excluding epistemic value of TCV in this research process……………………...12
2.2.2.4 Including monetary value in this research process……………….…………….....13
2.3 Consumer Preferences of Millennials…………………………………...……………………..13
2.4 Conceptual Model…………………………………...…………………………..…….……….14
2.4.1 In-game Purchase Behavior………..………………………………….……………......14
2.4.2 Social Value……………………………………………..……………………….……..15
2.4.3 Conditional Value.………………………………………………………………...……16
2.4.4 Emotional Value…………………………………………………………........………..18
2.4.5 Monetary Value…………………………………………………………...…..………..19
2.4.6 Visual Quality…………………………………………………......…………………....20
2.4.7 Trendiness………………………………………………………………..………....…..23
2.4.8 Customisation…………………………………………………………………………..25
2.5 Proposed Model…………………………………………………………………………….......27
3. Methodology………………………………….………………………………....…………….……28
3.1 Research Philosophy…………………………………………………………………………...29
3.2 Research Approach………………………………………………………………………….....29
3.3 Methodological Choice……………………………………………………....………………...30
3.4 Research Strategy……………………………………………………………………………....30
3.5 Time Horizon………………………………….………………….……………...……………..31
3.6 Population and Sampling……………………………………………………………………….31
3.7 Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………...…….32
 3.8 Operationalisation…………...…………………………...…………………………………….32
3.9 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………..34
3.9.1 Exploratory Factor Analysis…………………………………………………………....35
3.9.1.1 Reliability……………………………………..…………………………………..36
3.9.1.2 Validity………………………………………………………………..……….….36
3.10 Methodological Limitations…………………………………………………………………..36
3.11 Ethics………………………………………...…………………………………...…...……....36
4. Results………………………………………………………………………………………..……..37
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents………………………………………………….37
4.2 Data Examination………………………………………………….…………………..……….38
4.3 Assessing the Reflective Measurement Model………………………………………………...38
4.4 Assessing the Structural Model……….....…………….…………....………………………….41
4.5 Hypothesis Testing………...……………………………….…………………………………..41
4.5.1 Direct Effects…………………………………………...…………..…………………..42
4.5.2 Moderating Effects………………………………………………...…………………...43
4.6 Summary of the Hypotheses…………………………………………………………………...47
4.7 Importance Performance Analysis…………………………………...………………………...49
5. Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………...…...50
5.1 Theoretical Implication…………………………………………………………………...….....51
5.1.1 Consumption Values…………………………………………………………………....51
5.1.1.1 Conditional Value………………………………………………………………....51
5.1.1.2 Emotional Value…...……………………………………………………………...53
5.1.1.3 Monetary Value………………………………………………………………...…54
5.1.1.4 Social Value……………………………………………...………………………..56
5.1.2 Millennial Consumer Preferences…………………………………………………..….57
5.1.2.1 Visual Quality……....………………………………………………………....…..57
5.1.2.2 Trendiness……………………………………………………………………........58
5.1.2.3 Customisation………...………………………………………………………..….59
5.2 Managerial Implications………………………………...……………………………………...61
5.3 Limitations and Directions for Future Research…………….…………………………...…….63
6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..…....65
7. Reference……………………………………………………………………………………….…...66
Appendix A: Additional Figures …………………………………………………………….…….......80
Appendix B: Example of Survey Posts…………………………………………………………...…...81
Appendix C: Questionnaire……………………………………………………………………...…….82
 Table of Figures

Figure 1: The Progression of Economic Value…...………………………………………….…………8

Figure 2: The Five Consumption Values Influence Consumer Choice Behavior...…....……….….….10

Figure 3: Proposed Model with Main Effects...………………………...……………………………..20

Figure 4: H5a, H5b, H5c, H5d…………………………………………...……….……….…………..22

Figure 5: H6a, H6b, H6c, H6d……………………………………………………….………………..24

Figure 6: H7a, H7b, H7c, H7d………………………………………………………….……….…….27

Figure 7: Research Onion……………………………………………………………….……….…....28

Figure 8: Importance-Performance Matrix………………………………………………….……..….49

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 Table of Tables

Table 1: Elements of Theory of Consumption Values with Definitions………….....………..………...9

Table 2: Hypotheses……...……………………………………………………………………...…….28

Table 3: Questionnaire Items………...……………….…………………….………………………….34

Table 4: Standardized loadings, Cronbach’s Alpha, Construct Reliability, Average Variance

Extracted…………….……………………………...………………………………………………....40

Table 5: R2 Values….………………………………………....……………………………………….41

Table 6: Hypotheses Testing for Model Ⅰ……..…………………..………………………………….42

Table 7: Hypotheses Testing for Visual Quality……...…………...…………………………………..45

Table 8: Hypotheses Testing for Trendiness……………...……………………………………………46

Table 9: Hypotheses Testing for Customization……………………………………………………….47

Table 10: Hypotheses Summary…………………………...…………………………………………..48

Table 11: Multicollinearity Results…………………...……………………………………………….50

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 List of Abbreviation

F2P Free-to-Play

IPA Importance-Performance Analysis

PUBG Player Unknown Battle Ground

P2P Pay-to-Play

P2W Pay-to-Win

TCV Theory of Consumption Values

VIF Variance Inflation Factor

viii
 1. Introduction

1.1 Background
Today’s gaming industry is the world’s most extensive entertainment industry, with 2.7 billion
players worldwide (Newzoo, 2021). The industry generated revenues of USD 159.3 billion in
2020, reflecting a 9.3 percent year-over-year rise. Mobile games account for USD 77.2 billion
- nearly half of this income (Newzoo, 2021). With this rapid growth, it is no wonder that
venture capitalists have invested more than USD 9.6 billion in the industry (Dillon, 2020). In
particular, Goldman Sachs’ private equity investment arm confirmed a USD 200 million
investment in Voodoo, a hyper-casual mobile gaming studio, in 2018 (Armfield et al., 2020).
A mobile game studio has drawn the attention of a venerable old financial institution for the
first time with this investment (Armfiled et al., 2020).

The growing need for the mobile game experience has brought tremendous statistics. Mobile
games accounted for 33 percent of all app downloads, 74 percent of all user spending, and 10
percent of all time spent in-app between 2009-2019 (Koh, 2020). Additionally, mobile games
are played by 50 percent of mobile app users, prompting them to be as popular as music apps
such as Spotify and Apple Music and only second to social media apps in terms of time spent
(Koh, 2020). According to the projections, 2.4 billion people will play mobile games
worldwide in 2022, accounting for almost one-third of the global population (Newzoo, 2021).
Interestingly, there is a game genre that has gained immense popularity on mobile phones:
battle royale.

1.1.1 Mobile Battle Royale Games

Battle royale is an online multiplayer video game genre that combines exploration and
foraging elements of a survival experience with last-man-standing gameplay (Choi & Kim,
2018). Battle royale games engage dozens to hundreds of players who begin with limited
equipment and must defeat the opponents while avoiding being stuck outside of a diminishing
“safe area,” with the winner being the last player or team standing.

PUBG Mobile, developed by Tencent, is the most popular mobile battle royale game in the
world, with nearly USD 3.5 billion in revenue as of August 13, 2020 (Orbis Report, 2020).
NetEase’s Knives Out comes in second, followed by Fortnite at third, Garena Free Fire at
fourth, and Activision’s Call of Duty: Mobile at fifth (Orbis Report, 2020).

Battle royale games did not exist prior to September 2017, and even then, not all mobile
battle royale games monetized from the start—Knives Out was the first to do this in
December 2017 (Orbis Report, 2020). Since then, the global top five mobile battle royale

1
games mentioned above have been downloaded 1.9 billion times and generated an estimated
USD 7.5 billion across the App Store and Google Play (Orbis Report, 2020). High demand by
battle royale players for mobile gameplay led Apex Legend, a popular pure console battle
royale game, to officially announce its establishment on mobile phones for the coming years
(Electronic Arts, 2021).

There are two key reasons why there is high demand for battle royale game experience. First,
battle royale games have infinite replay value since each match experience is different from
the last (Schöber and Stadtmann, 2020). Second, the game mechanics are fair for the players
(Shen, 2021). To be specific, battle royale games spawn the players throughout a route that
changes every match, and weapons are scattered along with the virtual map. This case assists
the players with a fair chance of grabbing a gun and killing opponents (Shen, 2021).

1.1.2 Game Monetization and Virtual Items

Mobile battle royale games obtain a free-to-play (F2P) business model in which basic access
to the game is granted without charge, but gameplay enhancing features have to be paid for
(King et al., 2019). In other words, the gameplay experience becomes free, at least up to a
point (King et al., 2019). This case is in sharp contrast to traditional pay-to-play (P2P)
business models in which the game needs to be purchased in order to be played (King et al.,
2019). On account of F2P business models, mobile battle royale game studios generate profit
once the player decides to purchase virtual items (Hamari & Tuunanen, 2014).

Virtual items refer to digital objects such as avatar skins, weapons, potions, and vehicles that
exist within a digital environment (Rachmadi et al., 2019). The items are used as part of the
digital world to fulfill similar social and aesthetic functions as physical commodities are used
in the consumer cultures of the physical world (Rachmadi et al., 2019). Additionally, these
items are bound by the context of the game and do not have any value outside of the digital
environment (Rachmadi et al., 2019).

Virtual items are classified into two categories in the context of functionality (Rachmadi et
al., 2019). The first category is functional items that help the player progress faster through
the game or win more often by providing gameplay advantage (Zendle et al., 2020). Video
games selling functional items are also known as Pay-to-Win (P2W) games (King et al.,
2019). The second category is virtual aesthetic items that provide no functional advantage
(Hamari & Tuunanen, 2014). The items in this category are purely cosmetic and do not affect
the player's abilities in any way (Zendle et al., 2020). In battle royale games, virtual shops
contain only virtual aesthetic items (Zendle et al., 2020). Since this genre was built on an
equal conditions mentality, the game mechanics do not allow the players to purchase
functional virtual items (Zendle et al., 2020).

It is also worth mentioning that the revenue channels of mobile battle royale games are not
limited to aesthetic virtual item trade. Mobile battle royale games also close sponsorship deals

2
with enterprises to generate profit (Ahn, 2017). Nevertheless, the sponsorships are not steady
income and account for 5 percent on average annually (King & Hera, 2020; Heakal et al.,
2020). Mobile battle royale games rely upon aesthetic virtual item trade as the main revenue
channel, on account of the broad customer base (Ahn, 2017). Within this base, the number of
millennial players has drawn remarkable attention. Fortnite and PUBG, the two prominent
mobile battle royale games, attracted 250 million players in less than two years, millennials
being half of this number (Schöber & Stadman, 2020; Shen, 2021). The rate of millennial
players in recently established mobile battle royale games such as Garena Free Fire and
Grand Battle Royale is also considerably higher than the other generational cohorts (Kantar,
2018; Gartner, 2019).

1.1.3 Millenials

Generation Y, or simply millennials, is defined as a group of people born roughly between

1982 and 2000 (Prakash & Tiwari, 2021). Just as other generational categories, such as
Generation X and Baby Boomers who had their own experiences specific to their times, the
millennial label is also considered to have collective characteristics due to the context of the
world they have grown up in (Prakash & Tiwari, 2021).

Millennials born around the same time as computers and the Internet are the first generation
to have widespread access to video games. Two-thirds of millennials play games every
month. In addition, millennials spend more time playing games on their phones than on
personal computers and console games, making phones the most popular gaming devices
(Nielsen, 2019). The purchasing power of millennials who have reached adulthood and are
primarily working and earning a steady income can not be underestimated. On average,
millennials spend USD 112 on video games per month, USD 20 more than Generation Z, and
almost twice as much as Generation X, who only spend USD 59 per month (Nielsen, 2019).

1.2 Prior Work

There has been a growing body of work that encompasses digital game engagement and
millennials (Kurz et al., 2019). It is crucial to understand the scope of current game studies on
this generation for understanding how millennials evolved within a gaming context in the
coming years. It is critical to point out that research pertaining to millennials and digital
games can be divided into two camps: 1) game studies involving education and health 2)
game studies that specifically study the consumer behavior of millennials. The former usually
entails the possible use of video games for health and education. The research of Limperos
(2017) from the first camp examined the efficacy and effectiveness of digital games in
facilitating generational psychological behavior. Another study from the first camp
investigated how interactive games can support young adults educationally (Hoffmann &
Matysiak, 2019).

3
The second camp focuses on the consumer behavior of millennial gamers. A review article
from this camp examined prior studies that included commercial and purpose-built game
technologies (Andy et al., 2020). Moreover, the study of Katherine (2011) highlights in-game
advertising strategies towards millennials. Despite the fact that studies in this camp of game
research have explored millennials, none of them identified the factors strengthening in-game
purchase behavior of millennials in battle royale games.

Studies on the digital gaming industry have been increasingly receiving attention. Around
2007, scholars began to take an interest in virtual goods purchases (Li & Kuo, 2007; Guo &
Barnes, 2007). Studies that focus on behavioral intentions on purchasing digital items use
mainly the digital games played on personal computers (Chernikova & Branco, 2019; Ho,
2014). Moreover, sports games (Sung & Marshall, 2017), role-playing games (Rezaei &
Ghodsi, 2014; Djamaluddin et al., 2017; Järvinen 2018; Wang et al., 2020), and racing games
(Pacheco et al., 2018) have been mainstream topics on behavioral game studies. Ho and Wu
(2012) investigated the factors influencing the intention to purchase virtual products in
role-playing and war strategy games. They propose using the theory of consumption values as
a basis for future research to investigate the reasons for purchasing virtual goods in various
types of games.

It is essential to highlight that the essence of mobile games is distinct from that of console or
personal computer games. They are portable, boot up quickly, and played on the spur of the
moment during the day (PwC, 2012). According to the literature review (Al-Soluiman et al.,
2020; Roessel & Švelch, 2021), the strengthening factors on in-game purchase behavior in
video games are divergent subject to the digital device. In order to prove that, Jeong et al.
(2018) and Kim (2019) reconducted the study of Connor et al. (2017) on the video games
played on personal computers. The scholars (Jeong et al., 2018; Kim, 2019) tested the model
of Connor et al. (2017) on the people playing mobile games. The results confirmed that
in-game purchase behavior on digital devices is not identical. Another study (Lehdonvirta,
2009) also confirms that every digital device has its own gaming experience. Additionally, the
gaming experience shapes consumer behavior resulting in different tastes for in-game
purchases (Lehdonvirta, 2009).

It is noteworthy to examine the game content literature while discussing in-game purchase
behavior. One of the major consequences of trading in-game content is its influence on the
design philosophy of games (Hamari & Lehdonvirta, 2010; Nieborg, 2015). Developers are
no longer merely attempting to code the best game available in the industry; rather, in order to
sell in-game content, game developers try to design the game in such a manner that entices
the consumers to purchase in-game content constantly. This procedure is usually
accomplished by modifying the game based on the players’ behavior and introducing new
content periodically (Alves & Roque, 2007; Hamari & Lehdonvirta, 2010;). Therefore, it is
crucial to understand factors strengthening in-game purchase behavior (Hamari &
Lehdonvirta, 2010).

It is practical to focus on video game genre literature while focusing on game research. Video
games are divided into genres based on their gameplay mechanics or the tasks and rules that

4
players have to follow in the game (Roessel, & Švelch, 2021). These types of variations form
non-identical user motivation (Boot et al., 2013). In other words, the variations between
in-game dynamics of video game genres create different cognition. The prior research
(Admussen, 2016; Gregersen, 2011) suggests that there is a correlation between game genre
and in-game purchase behavior. The central tenet behind the game genre is that every game
genre has its own aesthetic, social, and psychological mechanisms that lead to distinct stimuli
to purchase in-game content (Roessel & Švelch, 2021). While role-playing and racing games
have been well recognized by digital game researchers (Barton & Stacks, 2019; Pacheco et
al., 2018), there is no empirical documentation examining in-game purchase behavior in
battle royale games particularly in the field of consumer behavior.

1.3 Purpose and Research Question

The motivation and inspiration of this research come from the personal interests of the
authors. From a graduate gamer perspective, there has been a comparatively minimal
scholarly focus on mobile battle royale games.

It is impossible to pursue a unified in-game purchase behavior model for all video games
since variations in game dynamics are subject to the game genre and digital device.
Therefore, there have been multiple studies on in-game purchase behavior subject to game
genres and gadgets. Nevertheless, none focused on mobile battle royale games and aesthetic
items in the context of millennials.

Mobile games, especially P2W games, offer premium features in exchange for money. Thus,
there is an apparent reason for purchasing functional virtual items: giving the player a
gameplay advantage or advancing the gameplay. In contrast, virtual aesthetics​ ​items​ are
deprived of gameplay advantage. Despite this fact, virtual aesthetic items are the primary
revenue channel of mobile battle royale games. Interestingly, the factors strengthening
in-game purchase behavior for aesthetic items in mobile battle royale games have been a
research gap in game studies. Nevertheless, the authors decided to narrow down the research
scope more and focus specifically on millennials since this generation is the primary
demographic segment of mobile battle royale game studios.

This thesis also follows the work of Hamari, Hanner, and Koivisto (2020) on the in-game
purchase behavior of players. In the previous study, Hamari et al. (2020) used quantitative
approaches to investigate the perceived value of players to explain the motivations for
purchasing game content in F2P modeled games. Nevertheless, the novelty of the prior study
relies on exploring the differences in the behaviors of three geographic groups of gamers.
Nevertheless, there is no game genre segmentation involved. Hamari et al. (2020) indicate
that further study needs to take a game genre into consideration in order to explore the
behavioral motivations for a specific F2P modeled game genre.

5
In addition, since millennials enter their prime spending years, they are becoming an
increasingly important consumer group (Tadiarus et al., 2020). This shift generates new
dynamics in the market, which now address the different forms of consumer motivations
(Deloitte, 2020). Considering the importance of this generation in the current context, it is
relevant to carry out the study combining the consumer preferences of millennials.

To this end, the authors aim to investigate the factor strengthening in-game purchase behavior
of millennials for virtual aesthetic items in mobile battle royale games from a bottom-up
perspective supported by data rather than from a top-down confirmatory perspective. Firstly,
the authors will propose a regression model to measure the strengthening factors for
purchasing in-game content by quantifying the findings. In order to do that, the following
research question will be answered:

RQ: What factors strengthen in-game purchase behavior?

To answer this question, the authors investigated the related literature in order to build a
proposed model. Ultimately, the theory of consumption values (Sheth et al., 1991) has been
decided to be examined in the study. In order to understand the customer perception of
millennial players for purchasing virtual aesthetic items, consumption values are adopted in
the proposed model.

Additionally, the authors tested the moderation effect of millennial consumer preferences
between consumption values and in-game purchase behavior. Since this thesis focuses on
millennial players, the authors decided to adopt consumer preferences of this generation to
examine if the nature of the relationship between consumption values and in-game purchase
behavior would change.

1.4 Research Contribution

According to Bhattacherjee (2012), scientific research aims to establish scientific knowledge,

which refers to using hypotheses to explain a phenomenon or action of interest applying a
scientific method. Following in Bhattacherjee’s footsteps, examined consumer behavior
towards mobile games, specifically towards battle royale games, by using the proposed model
will bring new knowledge to the scientific community, gain new insight, and lead to better
theories. Exploring the factors that influence the nature of involvement with gamers,
predicting consumer behavior, and analyzing consumer intentions adds to the existing
research on the relationship between digital games and players, providing additional research
foundations for researchers interested in this topic.

This thesis will assist battle royale game studios and developers to understand what factors
strengthen millennial consumers’ purchase behavior so that they can know millennial players
better. Consequently, based on the findings of this thesis, game studios and developers can
provide virtual items according to the strengthening factors of in-game purchase behavior in

6
order to meet millennial players preferences and also boost game revenues eventually.
Furthermore, gaining insights of strengthening factors of in-game purchase behaviors can
help game studios and developers to provide the ideal game experience to players, which is
crucial for the long term development.

1.5 Disposition

Chapter one provides a background story and basic knowledge about the thesis explaining
mobile battle royale games, game monetization, virtual items, and millennials. Then the prior
work about digital games and millennials is presented, leading to the research purpose of this
thesis and the research question. The first chapter ends with the research contribution of the
study.

The second chapter builds a basis for the rigorous analysis of the gathered data. To be
specific, the first part of the theoretical framework shows a relevant research background -
experience economy to provide insights on the research question. Furthermore, this chapter
focuses on the theory of consumption values (TCV). Millennial consumer preferences and
their roles as moderator variables within the proposed model are also mentioned in this
chapter.

The third chapter focuses on the research method used to conduct the study. The reasons
behind choosing exploratory study and survey as a research method are presented in this
section. The authors also discuss the research approach, data collection techniques, and
questionnaire development of this thesis. The description of the target population and the
procedure pursued to reach the respondents are highlighted. The third chapter ends with
methodological limitations and ethical considerations of the study.

The fourth chapter presents the results from the survey through the analysis of the data. This
section assesses the reflective measurement model and structural model. Hypothesis testing is
also highlighted in this section. Finally, the findings of the importance-performance analysis
are brought forward.

The fifth chapter presents the discussion of the main findings in this thesis. From theoretical
and managerial viewpoints, the implications of findings are elaborated. The fifth chapter ends
with the limitations of this thesis and the potential directions for future research.

The sixth chapter concludes the thesis and answers the research question. The chapter revisits
the statistically significant results of the proposed model. The theoretical and managerial
implications of this thesis are shortly summarized in this section.

7
 2. Theoretical Framework

2.1 Experience Economy

Video games are not only electronically manipulated images. They also create unprecedented
and non-identical experiences for players to escape from reality and join a virtual world.
From the perspective of game studios, what they sell is more than the game itself serving as a
product or service; it is a gaming experience (Seo, 2013). Thus, it is reasonable to consider
video games as one of the major players in the experience economy.

The experience economy is basically an economy in which goods and services are combined
and sold to create a memorable experience (Pine & Gilmore, 1998). An experience is not an
amorphous construct; it is as a real offering as any service, good, or commodity (Pine &
Gilmore, 1998). The rise of the experience economy is not a coincidental occurrence but an
unavoidable shift (Pine & Gilmore, 1998). There are three main reasons for this rise:
technology, more discerning customers, and increasing rivalry (Pine & Gilmore, 1998).

Figure 1:The Progression of Economic Value (Pine & Gilmore, 1998)

The experience economy posits that consumers want more than just the delivery of products
and services; they expect that an exceptional, positively charged, and memorable experience
will come packaged with their purchase or use of a commodity (Pine & Gilmore, 1998).
Thus, providing consumers the right experience is a considerable concern of game studios
(Pine & Gilmore, 1998). Managing customer experience is also crucial to foster
differentiation and build customer loyalty (Pine & Gilmore, 1998). In order to be successful
in the experience economy and offer the right experience to players, understanding consumer
choice behavior is substantial (Pine & Gilmore, 1998).

8
Commonly, a certain demographic group of consumers needs to be paid more attention than
others. In the context of the experience economy, millennials are the prominent segment
(Callahan, 2016). 78 percent of this would rather spend money on a desirable experience or
event than physical goods, and 55 percent of millennials claim they are spending more money
on activities and live experiences than ever before (Eventbrite, 2019). In order to fulfill the
expectations of millennials, it is necessary to take their consumer preferences into
consideration (Ordun, 2015).

2.2 Influencing Factors of Consumer Choice Behavior

As it is mentioned earlier (See Section 2.1), understanding consumer choice behavior within
the context of the experience economy is important. Therefore, the authors examine consumer
choice behavior of millennial players through the lens of the theory of consumption values
and adopt components of it in the model. In order to gain an overview of the theory, it is
crucial to discuss how this theory has been applied and developed throughout the years.

2.2.1 Evolution of Theory of Consumption Values

The theory of consumption values explains the drivers of consumer choices (Sheth et al.,
1991). The theory argues that consumer choice behavior is determined by five consumer
values: functional, conditional, emotional, social, and epistemic. Practical applications and
tests support its popularity in more than 200 consumer choice situations for purchasing
durable and nondurable goods, industrial products, and services (Sheth et al., 1991).
Consumption values can be generated in pre-, purchase, and post-purchase stages (Woodruff,
1997; Bettman et al., 1998).

Consumer Choice Behavior Definition

Functional Value The perceived value is obtained from the

functional/utilitarian/physical performance of the product.

Social Value The perceived value is derived from the association with one or
more specific social groups.

Emotional Value The perceived value acquired by the ability of an alternative to

arouse feelings.

Conditional Value The perceived value derived from the specific situations or
circumstances faced by the consumer.

Epistemic Value The perceived value acquired by an alternative’s ability to arouse

curiosity, provide novelty, and/or satisfy a desire for knowledge.

Table 1: Elements of Theory of Consumption Values with Definitions (Sheth et al., 1991)

9
Consumer value delivery has been considered one of the key elements to maintaining a
successful company in the long term (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001; Albrecht & Albrecht, 1992).
From companies’ perspective, meeting customers’ needs is achieved through delivering value
(Hartnett, 1998). From consumers’ perspective, perceived value is the primary driver (Levy,
1999), and consumption decisions are based on perceived value (Jamrozy & Lawonk, 2017).
Zeithaml (1988) believes that consumption values depend mainly on the quality and price of
the items being traded. Some scholars, however, argue that this definition of consumption
values is too narrow and simplistic (Bolton & Drew, 1991). For example, Porter (1990)
argues that the quality, features, and after-sales service can increase the value. Therefore,
Sweeney & Soutar (2001) develop the value measurement framework with four dimensions
as an extension for TCV: emotional value, social value, performance/price, and price/value
for money.

Despite the fact that the theory of consumption values was developed in the 1990s, it is still
widely used and heavily studied in the present century (Sánchez-Fernández & Iniesta-Bonillo,
2007). TCV has been applied in multiple industries and fields. The original model has also
been adjusted and developed according to the empirical context. Perceived values are also
linked with loyalty and commitment regarding the usage of location-based services (Pura,
2005). Particularly, Pura (2005) creates two branches for functional value, namely monetary
value and convenience value. The reason is that functional value is derived from the utility of
a product and the accomplishment efficiency of a task. Additionally, the utility and efficiency
of a product are measured with output/input ratio, availability, and convenience of the
services or goods (Holbrook, 1994). Furthermore, as for the study about ecotourism, the
financial value is separated from functional value as an independent perceived value for
measuring the amount of money paid comparably (Jamrozy & Lawonk, 2017). Moreover,
consumer choice behavior is divided into behavioral intentions to elaborate the adaptation and
diffusion of hedonic digital artifacts—mobile phone ringtones (Turel et al., 2010).

TCV is widely used to understand consumer choice behavior in service markets since services
are more abstract, disembodied, heterogeneous, and perishable than physical products
(Boksberger & Melsen, 2011). The same is true for virtual goods, where consumers are driven
by the simultaneous effects of multiple values (Wang et al., 2020). Therefore, a
multidimensional system of consumption values is more appropriate than a unidimensional
system of consumption values which barely depends on price and quality ratio (Zeithaml,
1988), given the increasing abundance of goods and services in the world today (Boksberger
& Melsen, 2011; Sweeney & Soutar, 2001).

10
 Figure 2. The Five Consumption Values Influence Consumer Choice Behavior (Sheth et al.,
1991, P. 160)

2.2.2 Dynamics and issues in the theory of consumption value (TCV)

The consumption values identified by the theory may influence consumer choice behavior to
a different extent based on the context (Sheth et al., 1991). For instance, when
conceptualizing smartphone usage experience, social, emotional, and epistemic values were
found less important while functional value became an increasingly important driver (Bødker
et al., 2009). It means that as a technology device evaluating from the new product to the
mundane object, the value perceived by consumers has changed (Bødker et al., 2009). As for
the research to determine the influence factors on consumer choice behaviors regarding green
products, conditional value, epistemic value, and emotional value have been supported (Lin &
Huang, 2012). The reason is that these values arouse the consumers’ environmental concerns,
desire for new knowledge, and positive feelings of doing good for society and themselves
(Lin & Huang, 2012).

2.2.2.1 The application of TCV in gaming field

With the rapid development of the online game market, more and more scholars have begun
to pay attention to this field (Granic et al., 2014). Despite the exaggerated negative effects of
gaming, such as game addiction and social problems, online games as a platform include
many players worldwide (Park & Lee, 2011). With the emergence of in-game virtual
products, game players are no longer regarded as mere players but consumers (Lin & Sun,
2007). Hence, it has become an important research issue how the value of in-game virtual
products is perceived by players and what factors strengthen players’ in-game consumption.
Previous research has shown that playfulness, character competency, and requirements of the
quest system have become the primary values, driving players to buy game items (Guo &
Barnes, 2009). As investigated by Lehdonvirta (2009), virtual goods are broadly categorized
into two: functional and aesthetic based on the items’ actual utility, which attributes
functional (through its performance), emotional (through provenance, branding), and social
(through visual appearance, customizability) values.

Moreover, TCV has been widely accepted by the gaming industry. Through conceptualizing it
to fit with different game genres and game platforms, scholars argue that not all components
of TCV are appropriate in the gaming field, and some values should not be underestimated
(Lehdonvirta, 2009; Shang et al., 2012; Ho & Wu, 2012; Wang et al., 2020). For instance,
TCV has been modified according to the specific characteristics of online games so that the

11
theory can be adopted to investigate the perceived value of in-game items. A model with four
independent variables, namely character competency value, enjoyment value, visual authority
value, and monetary value, has been proposed by Park and Lee (2011). The results show that
visual authority and monetary value have a salient impact on consumer choice behavior (Park
& Lee, 2011). Besides, satisfaction with the game and character identification have been
supported within Dota 2 in-game consumption (Djamaluddin & Kindangen, 2017).

2.2.2.2 Excluding functional value of TCV in this research process

Krishnan et al. (2015) created an in-game purchasing theoretical framework that looks at how
in-game spending decisions are made and how the interaction between the game system and
gamers occurs. Gamers download a F2P modeled game and experience the challenges set by
the game system, such as in-game rank, rewards, and competitors. With the pursuit of
immediate victory and consolidation of advantage, players consider in-app items that can
improve fighting strengths to gain a competitive advantage and a victory eventually. After
weighing components belonging to functional value, such as price, frequency of play, and
increased combat ability, the player chooses whether to buy or not, while the game system
gains revenue from the gamer’s behavior. Nevertheless, there is no functional in-game item
for battle royale games to boost players’ power for gaining combat victories but virtual
aesthetic items for visual content (Zendle et al., 2020). For this reason, in order to promote
in-game consumption and revenue growth, most of the virtual items designed by battle royale
game studios are aesthetic items (SZendle et al., 2020). Thus, functional value is excluded in
the research process.

2.2.2.3 Excluding Epistemic Value of TCV in This Research Process

Berlyne (1970) claims that individuals are driven by a desire to pursue or maintain a degree
of stimulation and freshness. However, for battle royal gamers, their quest for stimulation and
freshness has been met in the game due to the replay value and the theme of adventure and
survival, which has delighted players’ curiosity and novelty (Schöber and Stadtmann, 2020).
Park and Lee (2011) argued that epistemic value is not intrinsically appropriate for online
game items. Most of the symbolic decorative virtual items in the digital world do not have
epistemic value (Shang et al., 2012) since they cannot meet consumers’ expectations for
knowledge. Besides, curiosity and novelty aroused by the existing virtual goods eventually
disappear with the launch of the latest goods. As Sheth et al. (1991) claimed, consumers who
are motivated by epistemic value usually return to their regular consumption patterns after the
needs for changes are fulfilled. These feelings, such as curiosity and novelty, could also be
considered as emotions. Consequently, these feelings can be perceived as emotional value for
the in-game items (Kashdan & Silvia, 2009). It is difficult to distinguish these two kinds of
consumption values in the context of virtual items. Therefore, the intention of in-game

12
consumption predicted by epistemic value is vague and general. For this reason, the epistemic
value will not be proposed in this thesis.

As a development of the in-game purchasing framework proposed by Krishnan et al. (2015),

the authors of this thesis designed a survey to investigate players by age, type of game played
to examine what factors strengthen in-game purchase behavior. Therefore, in this thesis,
taking into consideration the features of battle royale games and the mobile platform as well
as the consumer preference of the target players, the authors make some adjustments to the
original model created by Sheth et al. (1991) in order to fit their research better, which will be
elaborated in next part.

2.2.2.4 Including Monetary Value in This Research Process

It is worth mentioning that functional value derives from the alternative’s physical
performance and attributes, such as reliability, durability, and price (Sheth et al., 1991),
categorized into quality and price (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). The former has a positive
impact on the perceived functional value while the latter negatively impacts it (Sweeney &
Soutar, 2001). Despite the fact that quality is not represented in battle royale’s in-game items
(Zendle et al., 2020), price does play an essential role in the player’s decision-making process
as a branch of functional value. Indeed, Jayanti and Ghosh (1996) contend that one of the
most significant factors for repurchasing intentions and regular buy behavior is the perceived
value for the price paid by consumers. Therefore, an economical price can drive gamers to
purchase, and the perceived value is named a monetary value, separating from functional
value (Jamrozy & Lawonk, 2017).

2.3 Consumer Preferences of Millennials

Consumer preference refers to the tendency to choose the characteristics of a product over
other alternatives (Mehra & Singh, 2016; Guo et al., 2020). These preferences have an impact
on the consumption values of customers (Mehra & Singh, 2016). Besides, people have not
only individual consumer preferences but also mutual consumer preferences subject to their
generational cohort (San-Martín et al., 2015). Mutual consumer preferences of each
generational cohort are shaped by their mutual experiences (Meriac et al., 2010).

A generational cohort is a group of people born about the same time or during a specific
period (Smola and Sutton, 2002; Strauss and Howe, 1991). A generation of individuals who
share similar social and world events develops a homogeneous set of expectations, attitudes,
and preferences ( Dinas and Stoker, 2014). Despite the fact that each person has his/her own
life experiences and way of living, the collective identity of individuals tends to shape the
characteristics of the generational cohort (Patterson, 2007). There are five main generations
represented in society: the silent generation (1935-1945), the baby boomer generation

13
(1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1981), Generation Y, also known as the millennials
(1982-2000), Generation Z (2001-2015).

As indicated in the introduction of this thesis (See Section 1.1.3), millennials play a
significant role in the demand side of the gaming industry. Thus, the authors have decided to
examine if millennial consumer preferences moderates the relationship between the
components of TCV and in-game purchase behavior. Multiple studies have demonstrated the
moderating effect of generational preferences (Lamm & Meeks, 2009; Clark et al., 2021).
Nevertheless, there is no predominant framework for the consumer preferences of
generational cohorts, specifically for millennials. Thus, the authors selected three millennial
consumer preferences that are related to the video game context: visual quality, trendiness,
and customization

2.4 Conceptual Model

The proposed model of this thesis is built by using the components of TCV and the consumer
preferences of millennials. Social value, conditional value, emotional value, monetary value,
visual quality, trendiness, and customization are adopted as the independent variables,
whereas in-game purchase behavior is adopted as the dependent variable.

2.4.1 In-game Purchase Behavior

In this thesis, the in-game purchase behavior plays a similar role as consumer choice
behavior, a function of multiple consumption values. In the theory of consumption values,
consumer choice behavior originally refers to the choice of buying or not buying, product
type, and brand in Sheth et al.’s (1991) study. Accordingly, in this case, the in-game purchase
behavior refers to the behavior of game players to make consumption of the aesthetic virtual
goods in mobile battle royale games.

Mobile games, especially F2P modeled games, have become a trend in the gaming industry
(Ho & Wu, 2012). Meanwhile, companies have also responded by offering in-game purchases
for additional features and virtual goods, which are generally blocked in the game and can
only be unlocked if the player pays for them. This practice of selling virtual goods and
earning real money, in turn, is regarded as the game companies’ main source of revenue, other
than selling the game itself (Ho & Wu, 2012). Therefore, game companies need to know what
factors strengthen players’ in-game purchase behavior to promote in-game consumption for
revenue and profit.

The behavior of players purchasing virtual goods can be understood and predicted through a
multidimensional consumption values system (Sheth et al., 1991; Sweeney & Soutar, 2001;
Boksberger & Melsen, 2011), given that consumers are value-driven (Zeithaml, 1988; Levy,
1999). The consumer’s decision-making process regarding purchase is based on the

14
consumer’s previous experience in learning, choosing, buying, and using all the available
products and ranking them according to their pros and cons. Meanwhile, consumers also
consider their own economic level and the cost needed to pay to meet their own needs and
desires through the purchase behavior (Kotler & Keller, 2012).

However, due to the complexity of the reality and the ambiguity of the market information,
consumers cannot make perfect purchase choices as rational economic people (Ariely, 2009;
Morse, 1997). In contrast, a consumer’s buying behavior is constrained by established skills
and habits, cognitions and perceptions, personal preferences and emotions, and conditional
factors. In the view of consumer purchase behavior, the passive view describes the consumers
as impulsive and irrational people who are always influenced by their own interests and the
sales promotion activities of the marketers (Schneider & Currim, 1991). In comparison,
emotional view argues that consumers associate strong emotions and feelings with specific
products and services (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Once the connection is established, the
consumer is strongly motivated by emotion and thus becomes more willing to purchase a
good or service, depending on the experience and moods of the purchase moment (Kotler &
Keller, 2012). It is reasonable to propose that the consumers’ purchase behaviors are
complex, unpredictable, and irrational. Therefore it is important to look at what drives
consumers to spend in games, which can help players understand their own value-driving
force and help game companies be more targeted to potential consumers (players). Hence
through providing virtual products that satisfy players’ needs, game companies can promote
consumption and increase revenue.

2.4.2 Social Value

Social value in TCV is the perceived utility that derives from one or more associated social
groups of an individual. These groups are formed by cultural, demographic, or sociological
factors (Sheth et al.,1991). Since a person exists within groups, the individual needs to gain
acceptance and approval from groups. Therefore, an individual’s choice behavior is
conformed to moral standards and reflected by external social pressures. For example,
individuals perceive what peers think individuals should do (Arvola et al., 2008). The
evidence suggests that social value is highly correlated with social approval and the
enhancement of self-image in the population (Bearden & Netemeyer, 1999). It is well known
that the purchase of certain products can reflect an individual’s identity and status, which has
formed a positive or negative stereotype (Sheth et al., 1991). Nowadays, mobile games have
become an effective channel for people to get to know each other, communicate, share
experiences, and build relationships, which formulate a virtual society. Consequently, it is
reasonable to argue that consumers can socially present themselves in the virtual society
(Wang et al., 2020).

15
Moreover, it is crucial to elaborate on why it is essential to adopt this construct in the
proposed model. The relationship between the social value of virtual items and purchase
behavior has been proved by scientific literature, especially for virtual aesthetic items that are
not functional but merely decorative. Players buy virtual aesthetic items in games to decorate
their characters. While enjoying the display of the aestheticism, these virtual items also help
players express themselves so that others can understand their style (Shang et al., 2012).
Furthermore, buying virtual goods for personal expression and image building can also help
players build relationships with other players in the game's virtual world (Ho & Wu, 2012). In
addition, buying a decorative virtual product and giving it a gift to friends can strengthen their
relationship bonds, which is motivated by social value (Djamaluddin & Kindangen, 2017).

A direct effect of social value on in-game purchase behavior has also been supported by the
anonymity of the virtual world (Shang et al., 2012) and the rarity of virtual products
(Lehdonvirta, 2009). The former provides a singular space for players to socialize, in which
the player may take the opportunity to escape the real situation and see the virtual world as an
umbrella to express oneself heartily by the Internet. In order to enjoy their second life in
virtual reality, including identity, socialization, entertainment, and achievement, players are
willing to buy virtual items in digital games (Shelton, 2010). Virtual items with a national and
cultural identity are popular with players since they obtain symbolic messages about identity
to other players (Shang et al., 2012). For instance, players can show their patriotism in the
mobile battle royale game by wearing skin with their own national identity.

In addition, the latter (the rarity of virtual products) also contributes to in-game purchase
behavior through social value, given that the value of rare virtual items is strongly associated
with its ability to distinguish a group of owners from non-owners (Lehdonvirta, 2009).
Indeed, purchasing virtual game items has been considered a way to differentiate premium
players from regular ones. Especially for F2P games, as the game developer does not charge a
fee for playing the game. Those who spend real money on in-game items can show their
status symbol and respect others in the virtual world (Mäntymäki & Salo, 2015). Social
values such as self-expression, self-image improvement, social interaction embodied in
aesthetic virtual goods service are reasons for players to make in-game purchases (Hu et al.,
2019). Based on these studies, the authors expect the social value to affect in-game purchase
behavior in mobile battle royale games positively. Therefore, the following hypothesis is
formulated:

H1. Social value is positively related to in-game purchase behavior of millennials in mobile
battle royale games.

2.4.3 Conditional Value

Conditional value in the theory of consumption value is the perceived utility derived from the
specific situation or set of circumstances that the choice maker is facing, making consumers
more likely to need and buy a product or service. In other words, this particular context

16
provides a premium on the product or service’s value, which drives the consumer to make a
purchase choice (Sheth et al., 1991). Previous studies showed that consumers’ perception and
evaluation of conditional value was influenced by traditional consumption experience (Pura,
2005), individual’s underlying values (Rescher, 1969), and judgment of a particular situation
(Holbrook, 1994). For example, the conditional value of some commodities is reflected in the
corresponding season, such as swimwear in summer; and reflected in the relevant festival,
such as Valentine cards (Sheth et al., 1991). However, except for tangible goods, conditional
value can also be found in virtual goods (Thongmak, 2020).

Moreover, it is essential to discuss why conditional value is needed to include in the proposed
model. Although the previous scholars within the game field have not paid much attention to
the conditional value of virtual items (Park & Lee, 2011; Ho & Wu, 2012; Shang et al., 2012;
Djamaluddin & Kindangen, 2017; Wang et al., 2020), it is not enough to deny the existence of
conditional value within mobile battle royale games since this game genre has not been
studied. Indeed the research has found that the conditional value of virtual items plays a role
in the in-game consumption (Järvinen, 2018), which is opposite to the view that the
conditional value of TCV was inappropriate and irrelative for mobile games since players can
buy in-game items anywhere and anytime (Teng, 2018; Wang et al., 2020).

Similar to how many businesses and stores sell goods, virtual goods in online games also
consider the seasons, festivals, and other factors in the real world and design-related virtual
products around this theme (Hamari & Lehdonvirta, 2010). For example, at Christmas, game
developers launch Santa’s game skin for players to buy for their characters; in different
seasons and other important holidays such as Valentine’s Day, the virtual products’
corresponding themes appear. It is worth noting that these virtual items are usually available
for a certain period, which is similar to the duration of a real-life festival or season. In this
way, game developers exploit the pressure of time constraints to promote consumption and
sales volume. It is easy to make a purchase choice when the holiday and the seasonal
atmosphere are driving because once a particular holiday or season has passed, the in-game
products will be on the shelves, and players will most likely not have the opportunity to
purchase the item again. In other words, time pressure can drive players to increase their
willingness to purchase (Park et al., 1989).

Except for the time-limited offers, consumers are also driven by conditional value to purchase
game skins that are always available. This case can be compared to real-world phenomena,
such as the popcorn at cinemas (Sheth et al., 1991). As for ordinary game items that players
can buy anywhere anytime, gamers may increase purchase due to situations such as a season.
For example, in-game swimsuit skin, which is available all the time, may improve sales as
summer approaches. In a word, either time-limited game items or ordinary game items can
add extra value by particular situations, which would be perceived as conditional value by
consumers. In other words, specific contexts and circumstances add conditional value to
virtual products, which drives players to increase in-game purchase behavior (Castronova,
2006; Lehdonvirta et al., 2009). Based on these studies, the authors expect the conditional

17
value to influence in-game purchase behavior within mobile battle royale games positively.
Thus, the following hypothesis is formulated:

H2. Conditional value is positively related to in-game purchase behavior of millennials in

mobile battle royale games.

2.4.4 Emotional Value

Emotional value in TCV is the perceived utility derived from an alternative’s capacity to
arouse feelings or affective states. Goods or services that cause emotional changes are
considered as having the ability to expose consumers to emotional values, such as a scary
movie; a relaxing piece of music. In addition to intangible goods or services, tangible and
physical goods can also be linked to emotions, such as snacks that evoke childhood
experiences or candlelit dinners that feel romantic (Sheth et al.,1991). Influenced by certain
previous experiences and underlying personal values, consumers generate certain feelings and
emotional fluctuations when purchasing specific products or services. The association
between product and emotion is considered as the emotional value of the good or service
(Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). According to the research about consumer purchase behavior,
once a product or service is strongly linked to an emotion, the consumer’s willingness to
spend on the product or service will increase (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Therefore, consumers
will choose to consume the goods or services driven by emotional value to have a certain
emotion or feeling again. It is worth noting that the appeal of a product or a service is an
amalgam of rational and emotional factors. In a word, emotions play a vital role in every
purchase decision (Mackay, 1999).

Moreover, it is crucial to elaborate on why it is important to incorporate this construct into the
proposed model. Previous studies support the relationship between emotional value and
in-game purchase behavior. In virtual reality, the emotional value of virtual items can be
found within the consumption of in-game items, especially for the aesthetic ones, since those
items usually have a high visual appearance (Sheth et al., 1991), playfulness, and enjoyment
(Kim et al., 2011). Except for pleasure and fun (Ho & Wu, 2012), virtual aesthetic items also
provide a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction through purchasing and collecting them
(Park & Lee, 2011). In the modern world, more and more consumers realize that their
aesthetic sense is satisfied by the products they buy since purchasing decorative goods can be
regarded as a psychological response of aesthetic pleasure (Ho & Wu, 2012).

Similarly, the virtual world is no exception. Aesthetic virtual items such as skins for
characters or guns in games bring pleasure and emotional satisfaction for players to decorate
themselves (Guo & Barnes, 2011) successfully. In a word, the hedonistic factor - emotional
value appears to be the dominant effect for purchasing virtual goods (Lim & Seng, 2010).

18
In addition, the evidence proves that the emotional connection with the game itself can also
increase in-game purchase behavior. To be specific, as the player commits more time to the
game, he or she will naturally create emotional bonds between the game and the characters
within the game. Hence, as the extension of emotional bonds strengthens, players are more
likely to purchase virtual goods (Järvinen, 2018). Furthermore, the play experience and sense
of accomplishment that players acquire are essential factors that make players gain emotional
value about the game and motivate them to make a purchase (Wang et al., 2020). Due to the
invested time and generated emotion, the willingness of players to buy in-game items is
increased (Järvinen, 2018; Wang et al., 2020). Based on these studies, the authors expect the
emotional value to influence in-game purchase behavior within mobile battle royale games
positively. Therefore, the following hypothesis is formulated:

H3. Emotional value is positively related to in-game purchase behavior of millennials in

mobile battle royale games.

2.4.5 Monetary Value

Although monetary value did not exist as an independent variable in TCV, price, also known
as the value of money, could be regarded as an essential component for functional value. Plus,
price does play an important role in the consumers’ purchase decisions (Sheth et al., 1991;
Sweeney & Soutar, 2001). Thus, many scholars have chosen to distinguish the value of
money from functional value as an influential variable and named it as monetary value (Park
& Lee, 2011) or financial value (Jamrozy & Lawonk, 2017). Despite the fact that monetary
value is a relatively new factor compared with the values mentioned before, it has already
been touched upon by Turel et al. (2010) and Whang & Kim (2005). Based on the research
mentioned above, monetary value in this thesis refers to purchasing virtual items because they
are reasonably priced, cost-effective, viewed as promising investments, or other economic
reasons (Whang & Kim, 2005). In other words, monetary value refers to the utility derived
from the paid items in which the short or long-term costs are reduced perceiving by
consumers (Wang et al., 2020).

Moreover, it is important to discuss why it is needed to include monetary value in the

proposed model. First, it is related to the dependent variable in the proposed model.
Specifically, the previous studies have found that consumers harbor a positive attitude toward
goods and services when they perceive that price is more economical than their expected cost
(Choe & Kim, 2018; Lai, 2015). In other words, the more favorable the price, the higher the
consumer’s purchase intention (Kim et al., 2011). Second, virtual items’ monetary value plays
a vital role in game consumption in the virtual world. Especially for purely decorative virtual
products, since they are not functional, it is easier for players to consider the cost of the price
when they make a purchase decision (Järvinen, 2018).

Despite the research on consumer purchase behavior showing that consumers are often
irrational and impulsive, this does not mean they are willing to spend too much money on

19
in-game virtual products. Therefore, fair and reasonable prices and effective costs are the
necessary factors to promote in-game consumption willingness (Park && Lee, 2011).
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that some virtual products in the game are only available
for a certain period, such as festivals or seasons, and once missed, the consumer is likely to
have no chance to buy. As a result, some players view this kind of promotional activities of
the game company as a business opportunity, and the purchase of a virtual holiday or
seasonal-limited product as an investment, which could in the future be sold for more than the
original price to players who wanted the product badly but missed the duration (Lin & Sun,
2007). The phenomenon mentioned above is common in mobile battle royale games. Thus, it
could be argued that the reasonably priced, cost-effective, and viewed investments of virtual
items are perceived as monetary value for players, which is driving them to do such in-game
purchase behavior. Based on prior work, the authors expect the monetary value to influence
in-game purchase behavior positively. Therefore. The following hypothesis is formulated:

H4. Monetary value is positively related to in-game purchase behavior of millennials in

mobile battle royale games.

Figure 3:Proposed Model with Main Effects

2.4.6 Visual Quality

The term visual quality refers to the integration quality of individual visual elements that
combine to promote communication (Moshage & Thielsch, 2010). Photographs, video films,
videotapes, paintings, sketches, comics, prints, illustrations, and three-dimensional objects
encompass visual quality (Bleichmar & Schwartz, 2019). Due to the scope of this thesis, the
authors focus on visual quality only on digital devices.

20
Visual quality is a remarkable aspect of millennial consumer preference. This generation is
generally marked by elevated usage of and familiarity with the Internet, mobile devices, and
social media, which is why they are sometimes termed digital natives (Taylor, 2018). With the
rise of the Internet, mobile devices, and social media, digital visual content and digital visual
information have become more accessible and prevalent (Taylor, 2018). As the first
generational cohort growing up with these phenomenons, millennials started to adapt digital
visual content and digital visual information. Consequently, millennials have started to prefer
digital visual content and digital visual information over verbal content and verbal
information (Taylor, 2018). Ultimately, this shift has led to visual quality as a millennial
consumer preference on digital devices (Jurado et al., 2018).

Millennials expect the technological advancement of video games to contribute to the

sensation of presence, which has received scholarly attention by game study researchers (
Eastin & Griffiths, 2006; Bracken, 2005). The study of Nielsen (2019) revealed that 74
percent of millennials would eliminate high price perception if the video game is immersed in
interactive, movie-like experiences. This rate is lower than 50 percent for Baby Boomers and
Gen X. The primary motivation for older generations to play video games is the thrill of
competition (Nielsen, 2019). In order to enjoy this type of experience, millennials always
demand high-quality visuals (Roy & Gauzente, 2012). However, this request is not only for
video games. Millennials are the key elements of the current visual culture age (French,
2014). Their craving for visual communication is more demanding than the preceding
generations (Berger, 2017). Commercial companies pursue visual marketing strategies with
high quality to catch the attention of this generation (Taylor, 2018).

Visual quality was originally hypothesized as an independent variable that leads to generated
intensity in presence experienced by media consumers (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). Higher
visual quality also contributes to a high degree of presence. Cross (2005) used high-resolution
and low-resolution video games to test the reactions of console players. The game with high
visual quality resulted in increased levels of presence (Bracken, 2009). Participants who
played the high-resolution game rated it remarkably more credible, leading to increased
emotional value to purchase the game than those who played the low-resolution game
(Bracken, 2009).

Multiple studies on consumer behavior studies show evidence that customers’ consumption
values are positively affected when they want to purchase online (Natarajan et al., 2012;
Garver et al., 2018; McCabe et al., 2018; Tao & Xao, 2018). In the study focusing on online
purchase behavior in e-commerce, the moderation effect of product avatar visual quality was
tested on the relationship of emotional value, perceived price, and customer service with
purchase behavior (Natarajan et al., 2012). The results revealed that visual quality positively
moderates the relationships between the independent variables and purchase behavior
(Natarajan et al., 2012).

In another consumer behavior study, Garver et al. (2018) studied the influence of game
character visual quality on direct effects for PC in-game purchase based on social value,

21
conditional value, and game genre. The results show that visual quality positively moderated
the relationship of social value, conditional value, and game genre with the in-game purchase
based on PC games (Garver et al., 2018). The article also suggests adopting visual quality as
moderating effects in further in-game purchase studies (Garver et al., 2018).

In the study of McCabe et al. (2018), the moderation effect of the visual quality of computer
graphics was tested on the relationship of social value, conditional value, and brand with
purchase behavior. The results show that higher visual quality of computer graphics increases
social value, conditional value, and brand to purchase personal computers (McCabe et al.,
2018).

Tao and Xu (2018) measure the drivers of purchasing decisions in the online Asian fashion
industry. They adopt emotional value and monetary value to measure the effects of the
proposed independent variables on online purchase behavior. The study also adopts the digital
visual quality of outfits as a moderator. The results state that visual quality positively
moderates the relationship of emotional value and monetary value with online purchase
behavior. Considering the theoretical supports from prior work, the authors propose the
following hypotheses:

H5a. Visual quality positively moderates the relationship between the in-game purchase
behavior and social value

H5b. Visual quality positively moderates the relationship between the in-game purchase
behavior and conditional value

H5c. Visual quality positively moderates the relationship between the in-game purchase
behavior and emotional value

H5d. Visual quality positively moderates the relationship between the in-game purchase
behavior and monetary value

22
 Figure 4: H5a, H5b, H5c, H5d

2.4.7 Trendiness

Trend is a general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are
behaving (1910). Psychology of trend has been extensively studied in social psychology
(Speed & Gangestad, 1997; Korman, 1968). Wyckoff (1910) suggests that following a trend
is a phenomenon of the human psyche, a manifestation of the Keynesian (1936) “animal
spirits” that percolate from the depths of our beings. According to Wyckoff (1910), following
a trend is instinctive, adaptive, and transformative – a burst of conformity in response to
innovations in our immediate surroundings. Society has always been trend followers of
music, art, clothing, and fundamental world-views (Manago, 2015). Due to social and
historical conditions, certain generations are more vulnerable to following trendiness
(Manago, 2015).

Social media has had a significant impact on the extent of new trends (Manago, 2015). As a
generation growing together with the rise of the Internet, millennials’ collective attention
ultimately focuses on traditional trends and contemporary trends (Manago, 2015). Following
influencers or recording a video to join video trends has become popular among the
generations that have grown up with the Internet (Gangadharbatla et al, 2014). Despite the
fact that trendiness is also considered a consumer preference of Gen Z (Gyan & Jyostna,
2020), this thesis will focus only on millennials’ perspectives due to the scope of this study.

Video game players follow virtual game item trends (King & Hera, 2020). Video game
streamers are considered promoters of trendy virtual game items (King & Hera, 2020).

23
(Zendle et al., 2020). Thus, game items by famous players tend to become trendy (Zendle et
al., 2020).

Multiple consumer studies are confirming the positive moderating effect of trendiness on
purchase intention (Khan et al., 2019; Moen et al, 2017; Wang et al., 2019; Kim & Min,
2014). Nevertheless, the study of Moen (2017) rejects the positive moderating effect of
trendiness. The study’s findings reveal that trendiness does not positively moderate the
relationship of product type and consumer reviews with online purchase behavior in Asian
countries (Moen, 2017).

In the study of Khan et al. (2019), the proposed model consists of three direct effects, namely,
social value, monetary value, and brand, moderating effect of trendiness, and the dependent
variable of online purchase behavior. Empirical results reveal that the trendiness of the
product moderates the relationship of social value, monetary value, and brand with purchase
behavior in social media marketing (Khan et al., 2019).

In Moen et al’s (2017) study, trendiness is stated to positively moderate the relationship of
social value, monetary value, and product type with online purchase behavior in the
e-commerce industry (Moen et al., 2017). Despite the fact that the direct effect of product
types is statistically insignificant, social value and monetary value have positive direct effects
on online purchase behavior (Moen et al.,, 2017). The positive direct effects are also
positively moderated by trendiness Moen et al., 2017).

Kim and Min (2014) adopt trendiness as a moderating effect in the study. The study also uses
social value, conditional value, and advertisement type for online purchase behavior. Despite
the fact that all three direct effects are statistically significant, trendiness only positively
moderates the relationship of social value and conditional value with purchase behavior (Kim
and Min, 2014). Considering the literature support, the authors proposed the following
hypotheses:

H6a. trendiness of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship between the in-game
purchase behavior and social value

H6b. trendiness of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship between the in-game
purchase behavior and conditional value

H6c. trendiness of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship between the in-game
purchase behavior and emotional value

H6d. trendiness of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship between the purchase
behavior and monetary value

24
 Figure 5: H6a, H6b, H6c, H6d

2.4.8 Customization

Customization can be interpreted as how well the company’s offer is adapted to

heterogeneously meet customers’ needs (Tilhonen & Felfernig, 2017). It is important to avoid
confusion with personalisation (Felfernig & Tiihonen, 2017)During customization, consumers
deliberately discloses their preferences to the company (Tilhonen & Felfernig, 2017).

Management scholars ( Petrescu et al., 2018; Gurău, 2012) state that millennials are the
driving force for the growth of mass customization. One of the primary reasons why
millennials care for customisation is that this generation has grown up in an environment
where technology provides a platform for customisation and instant gratification in all aspects
of life (Jacquine et al., 2014). Another reason is that millennials have a higher level of
selective attention compared to prior generations (Gurău, 2012). Multiple studies also confirm
that customisation is a millennial consumer preference (Moreno et al., 2017; Ordun, 2015;
Lim & Parker, 2020).

In the context of digital games, customisation is the process of providing virtual item
functionality, features or information based on the preferences of the gamers as well as
providing the users the freedom to tame the experience of the game to their interests (Turkay
& Kinzer, 2016). The advancement of technology provides opportunities for video game
players to customise their gaming experience (Turkay & Kinzer, 2016). Today, video game
players can create their own customised characters and compete with Conor McGregor or
play one-on-one with Cristiano Ronaldo.

25
Customising the character also encourages the players to invest time into the overall game
since they create their own adventure by leading themselves into a virtual story that interests
them (Hamari et al., 2017). In the digital world, gamers can explore and experiment with the
dynamic nature of identity by interacting with and through their virtual items (Hamari et al.,
2017). The customisation of virtual items provides gamers with an expression of personality
and the ability for expanded identity creation (Kafai, Fields, & Cook, 2010).

Consumer studies contains researches adopting moderating effects of customisation (Cuthbert

et al., 2019; Marinkovic & Kalinic, 2017; Zhang et al., 2020; Squire et al., 2009). Cuthbert et
al., (2019) test customisation and player experience as the moderator variables in virtual
reality study. The study also adopts emotional value, conditional value and game genre as
independent variables to measure in-game purchase behavior. The results reveal that
customisation positively moderates the relationship of emotional value, conditional value and
game genre with in-game purchase behavior. Nevertheless, moderating effects of player
experience are statistically insignificant for interactions with emotional value, conditional
value and game genre.

In another study, Marinkovic and Kalinic (2017) adopt customisation as the moderating
variable. Monetary value, social value, online review and service quality are proposed as
direct effects to measure the change on purchase behavior (Marinkovic & Kalinic, 2017). The
results reveal that customisation positively moderate the relationships except for service
quality and purchase behavior (Marinkovic & Kalinic, 2017).

Zhang et al. (2020) proposed a linear equation model to measure the loyalty of consumers in
the hospitality industry. The study adopts customisation as a moderating effect on the
relationship of emotional value, monetary value and location with purchase behavior (Zhang
et al., 2020). The findings state that the direct effects are statistically significant and they are
positively moderated by customisation (Zhang et al., 2020).

The research of Squire et al. (2009) states that customisation positively moderates the
relationship of emotional value, conditional value and durableness with purchase behavior in
the household good market. The study reveals positive significant moderating effects of
customisation on the relationship between emotional value, conditional value and durableness
with purchase behavior. Squire et al. (2009) also states to adopt customisation as moderator
variable for the relationship between emotional value and purchasing intention for
non-household goods. Considering the literature support, the following hypotheses were
proposed:

H7a. Customised game character positively moderates the relationship between the in-game
purchase behavior and social value

26
H7b. Customised game character of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship
between the in-game purchase behavior and conditional value

H7c. Customised game character of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship
between the in-game purchase behavior and emotional value

H7d. Customised game character of aesthetic items positively moderates the relationship
between the in-game purchase behavior and monetary value

Figure 6: H7a, H7b, H7c, H7d

2.5 Proposed Model

On the basis of the formed hypotheses, a regression model was built (See Figure 6). The table
below serve as a framework to interpret the data:

Hypothesis Independent Effect Dependent Variable/The Relationship the expected

Variable/Moderator moderator

H1 Social Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H2 Conditional Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H3 Emotional Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H4 Monetary Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

27
H5a Visual Quality Moderation (+) Social Value - In-game purchase behavior

H5b Visual Quality Moderation (+) Conditional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H5c Visual Quality Moderation (+) Emotional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H5d Visual Quality Moderation (+) Monetary Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6a Trendiness Moderation (+) Social Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6b Trendiness Moderation (+) Conditional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6c Trendiness Moderation (+) Emotional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6d Trendiness Moderation (+) Monetary Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7a Customization Moderation (+) Social Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7b Customization Moderation (+) Conditional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7c Customization Moderation (+) Emotional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7d Customization Moderation (+) Monetary Value - In-game purchase behavior

Table 2: Hypotheses

3. Methodology

28
 Figure 7: Research Onion

3.1 Research Philosophy

Research philosophy focuses on the source, nature, and development of knowledge (Hudson
and Ozanne, 1988). Simply, research philosophy is a collection of beliefs about how data
regarding a phenomenon should be obtained, analyzed, and applied (Hudson and Ozanne,
1988).

Ontology is concerned with determining the general essence of a particular phenomenon

(Carson et al., 2001). This thesis is based on an ontology that is positivist. The authors of the
thesis agree that there is a single objective reality behind any research phenomenon or
circumstance, independent of the researcher’s viewpoint (Hudson and Ozanne, 1988). Thus,
the authors researched a regulated and structured way by specifying a research subject,
developing appropriate hypotheses, and applying satisfactory methodology (Churchill, 1996;
Carson et al., 2001).

As a field of philosophy, epistemology in business research examines the origins of

knowledge (Crotty, 1998). Following the positivist school of thought (Comte, 1848), the
authors believe that only “facts” deriving from the scientific method can be used to make
valid knowledge. Thus, data collection was undertaken based on statistics and large numbers
of participants (Scotland, 2012). This thesis is quantitative, and the authors aim for high

29
levels of generalisability (Neuman, 2011). The authors only accept observable phenomena
based on data and facts as knowledge (Scotland, 2012).

3.2 Research Approach

Approaches to data analysis are critical since they provide a theoretical framework for
practice. In marketing research, deductive reasoning is the most common method (Schut,
2006). A deductive approach entails formulating hypotheses based on existing theory and
then devising a theoretical method to test those hypotheses (Woiceshyn & Daellenbach,
2018). Following this approach, the authors initially proposed sixteen hypotheses derived
from TCV and millennial consumer preferences, then tested the model with the collected
data. In other words, the authors move from a more general level to a more specific one
(Schut, 2006).

Research design is the framework of research methods and techniques chosen by a researcher
(Bhattacherjee 2012). In this thesis, the authors follow an exploratory research design.
Following the principles of exploratory research, the authors aim to investigate millennials'
in-game purchase behavior, which has not been clearly examined.

3.3 Methodological Choice

The preparation of a methodological choice is a crucial step in the research process. A

methodological choice is a concise and logical plan for addressing existing research questions
by collecting, interpreting, analyzing, and discussing data (Baker, 2000).

The authors applied a quantitative technique since the method is more linear and sequential
than qualitative (Baker, 2000). Since the research design is decided to be deductive (See
Section 3.2), this design technique allows the researchers to start with a theory or hypothesis
and then collect quantitative evidence to test the model (Babbie, 2010). The quantitative
method is also useful for observing and testing theories to investigate interactions among
variables (Babbie, 2010). Since the collected data is quantitative, the findings will forthright
and limit the risk of subjectivity and error in this thesis (Eyisi, 2016). Quantitative
methodological choice also lets the authors generalize the findings (Williams & May 1998).

3.4 Research Strategy

The authors use a survey to collect the data from the target through their responses to
questions (Check & Schutt, 2012). This form of research allows for a wide range of
approaches for recruiting participants, collecting data, using different instrumentation
techniques (Jones et al., 2015). The ability to collect vast volumes of data and the use of

30
validated models are both advantages of surveys (Check & Schutt, 2012). Surveys are
adopted in social science since the advantages of this research strategy consist of accepting
large population sizes and, therefore, stronger statistical power and having the availability to
validate models (Jones et al., 2015).

The survey is a structured questionnaire, a set of predetermined questions with a defined

scheme that characterizes the precise wording and order of the questions used to collect data
from respondents (Stanley et al., 2004). Structured questionnaires require a lower cognitive
load from the respondents (Malhotra, 2007). This type of questionnaire minimizes the time
for thinking that the respondents need to fill out the survey (Stanley et al., 2004). This case
typically results in a higher response rate and more reliable data (Jones et al., 2015). The data
from structured questionnaires are more straightforward to code and evaluate for the
researcher (Malhotra, 2007).

The authors worked on Google Form to create an online survey. The main motivation to use
an online survey was to increase the response rate since the respondents could answer
questions on their own schedule at the pace they chose. Additionally, the online survey
provided real-time access to the author.

3.5 Time Horizon

According to Saunders et al. (2007), time horizons are required for the study independent of
the research methodology used. However, due to the time constraint, the authors conducted a
cross-sectional study.

Cross-sectional studies provide a snapshot of the frequency of a disease or other

health-related characteristics in a population at a given point in time (Pandis, 2014).
Cross-sectional studies are observational studies implying that researchers collect data on
their subjects without interfering with the study environment (Juliana et al., 2018). This
design has the advantage of allowing researchers to compare various variables such as age,
gender, and income at a single point in time (Pandis, 2014). Additionally, cross-sectional
studies do not stimulate sleeper effects (Juliana et al., 2018).

3.6 Population and Sampling

In general, a research population is a large collection of individuals or objects that is the

subject of a science query. The population in this thesis is millennials playing battle royale
games on their mobile phones. A sample from the population needed to be analyzed to ensure
that the authors can generalize the findings to the entire population. The data collected with
non-probability sampling techniques; the authors pursued exponential non-discriminative
snowball sampling, convenience sampling, and voluntary response sampling techniques to
collect responses.

31
Determining the sample size was the first task of the authors. When using a regression model,
it is critical to be aware of the sample size (Hair et al., 2010). The statistical algorithms used
in this method may not be accurate if the sample size is small.

Thus, it is crucial to consider the sample size in order to obtain accurate results (Hair et al.,
2010). Wang and Wang (2012) define a sample size of 100 to 150 (N=100 to N=150) as the
bare minimum for performing a regression model and obtaining reliable results. Furthermore,
simulation studies show that a sample size of 150 (N=150) is sufficient (Wang & Wang,
2012). 300 is a commonly used sample size by the majority of researchers using a regression
model (Comrey & Lee, 2013; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). Since there is no widely
recognized formula or equation for calculating sample size in regression models, researchers
and students often use "rules of thumb." For instance, some regression model scholars
consider using the ratio of observations to estimated parameters (N:q) as a guide. Specifically,
Kline (2015) suggests that the N:q ratio should be 20 to 1, or 20 observations (participants)
for each estimated parameter in the model. Others propose that the N:q ratio can be as low as
10 to 1 (Schreiber et al., 2006) or 5 to 1 (Bentler & Chou, 1987). There is a lot of variance
and uncertainty even in guidelines suggested by regression model researchers. Thus, the
authors decided to collect over 500 responses in order to surpass the commonly used sample
size.

3.7 Data Collection

After creating the online survey on Google Form, the authors conducted a pretest. Pretesting
is the stage in survey study when survey questions and questionnaires are tested on the
sample group participants to assess the reliability and validity of the survey instruments
before they are distributed widely (Andrews, 1984). Pretesting the survey is an essential step
to decrease measurement error, lower respondent pressure, determine whether or not
respondents accurately interpret the questions, and ensure that the sequence of questions does
not control how the respondents answer the survey (Belson, 1981). The authors provided the
survey questions to six of the respondents. Additionally, the survey questions were evaluated
by Dr. Heiko Gebauer, the Head of Digital Project Unit Data Mining and Value Creation at
Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economics. The authors
then pinpointed the problem areas and revised the survey items.
Afterward, the authors send out the survey to 6 millennials playing mobile battle royale
games. Following the snowball sampling technique, the authors asked these millennials to
provide multiple referrals. The referrals also assisted the authors in providing several
referrals. With this sampling technique, 140 responses were collected in total.

Following the convenience sampling technique, the authors reached to most accessible
responses - personal connections. With this technique, 259 responses were collected in two
weeks.

32
Lastly, a voluntary response sampling technique was used. The link of the online survey was
posted on game-based Facebook groups and subreddits (Appendix B). In total, the survey
reached 11 game-based online communities, and 122 responses were collected.

The researchers reached a total of 521 millennials playing mobile battle royale games. The
researchers were always present in case of need for help in order to fill out the survey. The
sample was gathered in a period of 29 days (12.03.2021 – 04.04.2021).

The survey included one filter question (Appendix C) in order to exclude non-usable
responses. The question was placed at the end of the online survey asking which games came
to mind of the respondent while filling out the survey. If the answer was not a mobile battle
royale game, then the answer was considered to be unusable.

3.8 Operationalisation

A seven-point Likert scale is used to assess the established indicators associated with each
hypothesis. Participants were asked to rate each argument (item) on a scale of 1 (strongly
disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) except for the demographic questions.

In this thesis, the proposed model is a reflective measurement model. The reflective model
includes the constructs and the reflective indicator under each construct. In the online survey
questionnaire, the constructs can be considered as eight latent variables (five main variables
and three moderator variables), and the measures can be considered items or statements under
each construct (variable).

In order to provide the foundation of knowledge on the topic and identify areas of prior
scholarship to prevent duplication and give credit to other researchers, the authors conduct a
literature review. The articles used in this thesis are from Peer-reviewed journals and
academic publications. Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet, Linkoping University Digital Library,
Google Scholar and Crossref, have been primary sources throughout the writing process.
Apart from articles, this thesis also uses market studies conducted by research companies. All
of the companies are United States-based, and their legitimacy was checked through the
website of American Marketing Association (AMA, 2021). The authors followed two steps to
build the items for the main effects. First, the items selected are based on the articles
mentioned in the table below. Since the items did not entirely fit the study, they were
modified by the articles. In other words, the authors read the articles in the right column in
order to modify the items for the goodwill of this thesis.

Construct Items Based on The authors modified

items by

1. Purchasing paid items is a part of my gaming experience. Well et al. 2011 (Sheth et al., 1991)
(Sheth et al., 1991)
In-game 2. I enjoy the process of purchasing in-game items. Turel et al. 2011 (Ho & Wu, 2012)
Purchase (Wang et al., 2020)
Behavior

33
(IPB)

3. I intend to purchase paid items for my characters. Turel et al. 2011

4. The likelihood that I would purchase a paid item is high. Well et al. 2011

Social Value 1. I like to wear a game skin having my own national symbol. Graham et al. 2009 (Sheth et al., 1991)
(SV) (Ho & Wu, 2012)
(Wang et al., 2020)
2. I like paid items that give me a sense of cultural belonging. Graham et al. 2009

3. I like paid items having my own national symbols. Graham et al. 2009

Conditional 1. I feel satisfied when I have more holiday/season-restricted skins. Munichor 2007 (Sheth et al., 1991)
Value (CV) (Sheth et al., 1991)
(Järvinen, 2018)
2. I like the paid items coming up on New Year. Munichor 2007

3. I like paid items in different seasons. For example, I prefer Munichor 2007
summer concept games skins when it is summer.

Emotional 1. I like paid items that remind me of my childhood. Grant et al. 2011 (Sheth et al., 1991)
Value (EV) (Ho & Wu, 2012)
(Wang et al., 2020)
2. I think paid items create happiness. Grant et al. 2011

3. It is fun to use paid items in the games. Grant et al. 2011

Monetary 1. I like virtual items in the game because they are cost-effective. Vescio et al. 2005 (Park & Lee, 2011)
Value (MV) (Wang et al., 2020)

2. I believe paid items are available at fair prices. Vescio et al. 2005

3. I like paid items having high prices because not everyone can Vescio et al. 2005
afford it.

Visual Quality 1. I appreciate paid items having high resolution. Goel et al. 2011
(VQ)

2. I enjoy seeing displays of products that have superior designs. Goel et al. 2011

3. Wearing skins with superior designs makes me enjoy the game. Goel et al. 2011

trendiness (T) 1. Paid items promoted by influencers are catchy. Doorenbos et al. 2005

2. I like paid items when it becomes popular and purchased by the Doorenbos et al. 2005
majority of players.

3. I like the paid items played by online influencers. Doorenbos et al. 2005

4. If the paid item I use is popular among the majority of players, Doorenbos et al. 2005
then it enhances my playing experience.

Customized 1. I like the game where it is possible to customize the physical

Character characteristics (i.e. hair style, skin color, eye color) of my character. Kafai, Fields, & Hamilton, 2009
(CC)
Cook, 2010

2. I like the game where it is possible to customize the non-physical

characteristics (i.e. guns, outfit) of my character. Kafai, Fields, &
Cook, 2010

34
 3. To me, it is important to customize my character’s physical (i.e.
hair style, skin color, eye color) characteristics. Kafai, Fields, &
Cook, 2010

4. To me, it is important to customize the non-physical

characteristics (i.e. guns, outfit) my character. Kafai, Fields, &
Cook, 2010

5. I think the game has high quality playing experience if it is

possible to customize the physical characteristics of the game. Kafai, Fields, &
Cook, 2010

Table 3: Questionnaire Items

3.9 Data Analysis

The authors built a regression model in order to analyze the data. Regression models
represent a technique to statistical modeling that focuses on the analysis of complex
cause-effect hypotheses (Byrne, 2012). The data was edited, coded, and stored in Microsoft
Office Excel spreadsheets before being imported into IBM SPSS Statistics v.27 statistical
analysis program for further analysis.

While processing the data, the filter questions’ responses helped the authors ensure that
respondents meet the required criteria for subsequent questions and eliminate the results that
do not fit with the research scope (Allen, 2017). The purpose of the first filter question was to
detect the respondents that are not millennials by asking the age. The second question was
adopted to ask which games the respondents recalled while filling out the survey. If the
response to the second filter question is not a game from the battle royale genre, the response
was coded as unusable and then deleted.

In addition, another notable issue is the suspicious responses that include the same answer to
all the questions. In other words, if the respondent chose “strongly disagree” (or 7) for all of
the questions, the response was deleted. This issue, namely straight-lining, requires the
authors who sent the survey to look into all of the answers and check it from top to bottom.

While analyzing the data, the authors determined the R2 of the model. R-squared is a metric
of goodness-of-fit (Hair et al., 2017). This value denotes the percentage of the variance in the
dependent variable that the independent variables describe together (Hair et al., 2017). R2

35
should always be interpreted with the context of the study based on R2 values from similar
studies and models with similar approaches (Hair et al., 2017). Therefore, the study on
in-game purchase behavior of players by Hamari et al. (2020) was taken as a benchmark to
evaluate the R2 values in the proposed model. It is stated that R2 above 0.4 is acceptable.
There are two reasons to choose this thesis as the benchmark. First, this thesis is future
research of the work (Hamari et al., 2019). Second, the research of Hamari et al. (2019) is a
game study.

The authors used two different techniques in order to test the hypotheses. First, the main
effects were tested by the linear regression feature of SPSS. Second, moderating effects were
tested by an interaction model (Ping, 1995).

The importance-performance analysis (IPA) was also conducted for the goodwill of the study.
IPA is an analysis method in regression models that extends the results of the estimated path
coefficient by providing a dimension that examines the average values of the latent variable
scores (Martilla & James, 1997). Regression model research based on IPA findings offers
valuable insights into the role of antecedent constructs and their relevance for management
decisions (Grønholdt et al.,2015; Höck et al., 2010).

3.9.1 Exploratory Factor Analysis

An exploratory factor analysis was conducted in order to examine the validity and reliability
of the data. The exploratory factor analysis is a principal component model that treats the
construct as a perfect linear combination of its measures (items) (Gebauer, 2008). As a
principal factor (reflective) model as proposed in this thesis, the direction of causality is from
constructs to measures (items), while for latent variable (formative) models, the direction of
causality is vice versa (Gebauer, 2008). Thus, testing the measurements of the reflective
model in this thesis led to the decision to use exploratory factor analysis.

3.9.1.1 Reliability

Reliability analysis indicates that the internal consistency of measurement scales is free from
random errors. Cronbach’s alpha scores are examined to assess the reliability of the overall
scales. The purpose of examining Cronbach’s alpha value is to measure how closely related
the sets of the items are as a group (Kaplan, 2009; Kline, 2005). It is suggested to investigate
Cronbach’s alpha values if there are multiple likert questions (Kaplan, 2009). The authors
also calculated the composite reliability scores for each variable. The purpose of composite
reliability is to measure internal consistency in scale items. Composite reliability can be

36
considered equal to the total amount of true score variance relative to the total scale score
variance (Brunner & Süß, 2005).

3.9.1.2 Validity

Validity indicates how precisely a method estimates what it is intended to measure (Kline,
2005). If the study has strong validity, it produces accurate representations of real
characteristics and variations in the physical or social world (Kaplan, 2009). The authors
calculated the average variance extracted (AVE) on SPSS since it has often been used to
assess discriminant validity (Kaplan, 2009). In statistics, AVE estimates the amount of
variance captured by a construct in relation to the amount of variance attributed to
measurement error (Kline, 2005).

3.10 Methodological Limitations

There are methodological limitations that the authors need to mention. The authors were not
able to control the environment since an online questionnaire was used. Additionally, surveys
are not able to fully capture emotions and feelings of respondents. Since the data was
collected at a single point in time, it is difficult to measure changes in the population for
cross-sectional surveys.

3.11 Ethics

The authors followed the ten principles of Bryman and Bell (2007) for ethical consideration:

1.Research participants were not subjected to harm in any way.

2.Respect for the dignity of research participants were prioritized.

3.Full consent was obtained from the participants prior to the study.

4.The protection of the privacy of research participants is ensured.

5.Adequate levels of confidentiality of the research data were ensured.

6.Anonymity of individuals participating in the research is ensured.

7.Any deception or exaggeration about the aims and objectives of the research was avoided.

8.Affiliations in any form, sources of funding, and any possible conflicts of interests were
declared.

9.Communication in relation to the research was done with honesty and transparency.

37
10.Any misleading information and the representation of primary data findings in a biased
way were avoided.

4. Results

4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Demographic information contains evidence on research subjects and is required to determine

whether the respondents in a particular study are a representative sample of the target
population for generalization purposes (Salkind, 2010). In total, 480 useful responses were
collected (Appendix A). The data perfectly represents millennials since the authors collected
responses from each year of the age range (1982 - 2000). The data also shows that males
represent 55.83 percent of the respondents. On the other hand, females represent 44.27
percent of the respondents. The gender difference of the sample population is almost equally
distributed. The authors have gathered the data from all seven continents. Nevertheless, Asia
holds the majority with 50 percent. The data also shows that 303 of the respondents have a
job. 246 of them have full-time jobs, while 57 of them have part-time jobs. This finding did
not surprise the authors since millennials are becoming the main workforce in the world
(Prakash & Tiwari, 2021). 302 of the respondents earn less than USD 50,000 annually. This
finding also overlaps with the current state since this generation is considered to be the
poorest generation in history (MacKenzie & Scherer, 2019). Nevertheless, this generation is
considered to be better educated than prior generations. This case also overlaps with the
findings of this thesis since the data states that 89 percent of the respondents have completed
at least first cycle education (Prakash & Tiwari, 2021). It is also stated that millennials are
staying single more often than previous generations (MacKenzie & Scherer, 2019). The data
also supports this statement; 42.29% of the respondents mentioned that they are single.

4.2. Data examination

Following the way of data collection (See Section 3.7), the survey was distributed to 521
respondents. After examining the answers for the first filter question (See Section 3.9) 18
respondents were removed from the data file since they were not born in the millennial age
range. The second filter question (See Section 3.9) requested the respondents to mention the
battle royale that came to their minds while filling out the survey. 21 responses were deleted
since the answers to the question consist of non-battle royale games. Furthermore, there was
no missing value thanks to the feature of Google Forms that all of the questions in the survey

38
are mandatory and cannot be skipped. In addition, 2 responses were deleted. Due to straight
lining (See Section 3.9). Consequently, 480 responses left for this thesis.

4.3 Assessing the Reflective Measurement Model

Following the way of data analysis (See Section 3.9), the authors conducted exploratory
factor analysis (See Section 3.9.1) to assess the reflective measurement model. The first step
was to examine the indicator loadings (outer loadings). The goal was to test the validity of
each item and eliminate irrelevant items from the theoretically structured framework.
Therefore, the exploratory factor analysis with a varimax rotation was used through the
statistical software, SPSS. The test result for sphericity is 7434.840, and the associated
significance level was lower than 0.001. The result of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO)
measure is 0.923 so it provides further support for the factor analysis. The reason is that no
items exceeded cross-loadings with other factors by more than 0.452. The results of
exploratory factor analysis show that all items can be divided into eight factors based on
loadings. However, complex cross-loadings between emotional value and conditional value
implies a strong correlation between these two perceived values and the potential possibility
for some overlaps. For this reason, it may be an idea to combine these two values into one.
Seeing that defining this ‘value’ would be difficult and blur its research boundary. Thus, the
authors decided to use the exploratory factor analysis again for the two consumption values in
order to reclassify the items contained while retaining two independent values as they should
be. All of the factors within eigenvalues greater than 1 were considered significant and used
in this thesis. The final factor solution contained eight interpretable and relatively
independent factors, explaining 71.969 percent of the common and unique variance and 28
items. According to Hair et al. (2017), the high outer loadings indicate that the selected
loadings have much in common, so this figure can be used to test the indicator reliability.
Since the acceptable range for outer loadings is between 0.40 and 0.70 in empirical research
(Hair et al., 2017), some items with low loadings (below 0.4) were deleted. In detail, IPI3,
SV4, SV5, CV4, CV5, EV3, EV5, MV1, MV3, VP3, VP4, and T4 were removed due to low
loadings, and the rest of the items are kept in constructs to form a adjusted model for further
analysis. As shown in the table below, all of the items' standardized loadings are within
acceptable range from 0.514 to 0.870 (See Table 4), thus all of the reflective indicators are
retained and the degree of confidence of the factor solution is permissible.

The second step is to assess the internal consistency reliability by checking the traditional
criterion, Cronbach’s Alpha, which depicts the intercorrelations of the indicator variable (See
Section 3.9.1.1). Usually, if the value of Cronbach’s Alpha is above 0.7, then it is acceptable.
As shown by the table below (See Table 4), the Cronbach’s alpha values range from 0.738 to
0.877, and are at an acceptable level. In order to ensure that the internal consistency reliability
is not underestimated by Cronbach’s Alpha (Hair et al., 2017), construct reliability was used
as an additional test for reliability, given that both are based on the same threshold value (See
Section 3.9.1.1). If the value of construct reliability is between 0.7 and 0.9, then it is
considered satisfactory. As shown by the table below, all of the items’ construct reliability

39
scores are within the acceptable range. Therefore, the internal consistency reliability of this
measurement model is acceptable.

The third step is to assess convergent validity, which is an indicator of how well a measure
correlates with alternative measures of the same construct (Hair, et al., 2017). Plus the
average variance extracted (AVE) is used by researchers to test the convergent validity (See
Section 3.9.1.2). The acceptable value for AVE is above 0.5, which conveys that the construct
explains at least 50 percent of the variance of its items (Hair, et al., 2017). As shown by the
table below (See Table 4), all of the constructs are considered valid since all of them are
above 0.50.

Constructs and Items Standardized Cronbach’s alpha Construct Reliability Average Variance
Loadings Extracted (AVE)

In-game Purchase 0.877 0.877 0.642

Behavior

IPB1 0.721

IPB2 0.741

IPB4 0.768

IPB5 0.754

Social Value 0.740 0.743 0.508

SV1 0.743

SV2 0.662

SV3 0.781

Conditional Value 0.738 0.745 0.502

CV1 0.666

CV2 0.553

CV3 0.830

Emotional Value 0.760 0.763 0.519

EV1 0.719

EV2 0.514

EV4 0.727

Monetary Value 0.824 0.825 0.612

MV2 0.713

MV4 0.813

MV5 0.717

Visual Quality 0.739 0.743 0.501

40
 VQ1 0.789

VQ2 0.809

VQ5 0.732

trendiness 0.852 0.852 0.591

T1 0.753

T2 0.816

T3 0.870

T5 0.770

Customization 0.856 0.851 0.539

C1 0.729

C2 0.784

C3 0.804

C4 0.733

C5 0.736

Table 4: Standardized loadings, Cronbach’s Alpha, Construct Reliability, Average Variance

Extracted

4.4 Assessing the Structural Model

After fitting the regression model, the authors needed to determine how well the model fits
the data. The R2 levels of in-game purchase behavior is 0.486. That means 48.6 percent of
observed variation can be explained by the data. In other words, 48.6 percent of the data fit
the model. This could be considered to be weak. Nevertheless, when compared to the
previous study, the value of R2 is acceptable in this thesis (See Section 3.9.1.2 )

Construct R2

Emotional Value 0.216

Conditional Value 0.284

Monetary Value 0.383

41
 Table 5: R2 Values

When considering the three constructs - monetary value, emotional value, and conditional
value, they have lower values of 0.216, 0.284, and 0.383 respectively. This result shows that
monetary value explains in-game purchase behavior better than conditional value and
emotional value.

4.5 Hypotheses Testing

The final step to assess the structural model is to examine the path coefficients through
evaluating the proposed hypotheses (Hair, et al., 2017) (See Section 3.9). The range for path
coefficients is from -1 to +1. In other words, from a strong negative relationship to a strong
positive one (Hair, et al., 2017). If the path coefficient is close to 0, then it means that there is
no significant relationship between constructs (Hair, et al., 2017). There are three levels of
typical significance value which correspond to the probability of observing such an extreme
value by chance (Hair, et al., 2017). These levels are: 0.1, 0.05, and 0.001 (Hair, et al., 2017).
In the marketing field, a significance level of 0.05 is the standard level, which is usually
measured by p-values (Hair, et al., 2017). Thus, as for the p-value of the relationship is larger
than 0.05, then people usually conclude that this relationship is not significant (Hair, et al.,
2017).

In this thesis, regression analysis was carried out to test the proposed hypotheses among
independent variables and dependent variables. One of the proposed hypotheses for main
effects in the model is not statistically significant (H1) since the p-value is higher than 0.05
(See Table 6). Thus, the H1 is rejected and the relationship between social value and in-game
purchase behavior is not statistically significant. However, the p-values of H2, H3, and H4 are
below 0.05 which means that there are significant relationships between constructs (See Table
6). In other words, the relationships between conditional value and in-game purchase
behavior, between emotional value and in-game purchase behavior, between monetary value
and in-game purchase behavior are statistically significant. In conclusion, three hypotheses
(H2, H3, and H4) within model Ⅰ were proved to be statistically significant. Thus, H2, H3,
and H4 cannot be rejected (See Table 6).

Besides, in order to ensure the accurate procedure of the subsequent examination for
moderating effects, which is based on Model I, therefore, the statistically insignificant results
will not be involved for the rest of the hypotheses testing. In other words, social value will not
be involved for Model Ⅱ and Model Ⅲ.

Hypothesis Proposed relationship Path P-value Support

for Model Ⅰ coefficients

H1 Social value → In-game purchase behavior 0.046 0.234 No

42
 H2 Conditional value → In-game purchase behavior 0.210*** 0.000 Yes

H3 Emotional value → In-game purchase behavior 0.167*** 0.000 Yes

H4 Monetary value → In-game purchase behavior 0.405*** 0.000 Yes

* p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01

Table 6: Hypotheses Testing for Model Ⅰ

4.5.1 Direct Effects

After the testing hypotheses in model Ⅰ (See Table 6), there are some specific discussions
about the statistically significant path coefficients within the model. According to Hair, et al.
(2017), the path coefficients represent the direct effect a construct has on another construct.
There are also indirect effects that will be analyzed in the next part such as moderating
effects.

Through the hypotheses testing for model Ⅰ, the authors have found that conditional value,
emotional value, and monetary value can be considered as the antecedents of in-game
purchase behavior. The path coefficients for these three values are 0.210, 0.167, and 0.405
respectively (See Table 6), which means that these three kinds of values have different degree
positive effects on in-game purchase behavior. To be specific, monetary value has the
strongest positive effect on in-game purchase behavior, which is followed by conditional
value and emotional value. And conditional value has a slightly stronger positive effect on
in-game purchase behavior than emotional value.

In conclusion, the model displays that the main direct driver of in-game purchase behavior is
monetary value followed by conditional value and emotional value. Since the proposed model
also involves visual quality, trendiness, and customization as moderators to examine whether
the relationships within model Ⅰ have been moderated by these three factors, it is important
to discuss the moderating effects which will be done in the next section.

4.5.2 Moderating Effects

Having achieved the testing for the model Ⅰ (See Table 6), the next step considers the
hypothesized moderator effects for consumer preference of millennials. In this thesis, the
authors applied the interaction model, also known as a product term indicant analysis, in three
steps (See Section 3.9). First of all, the test of main effect for X (independent variable) on Y
(dependent variable) has been shown as Model Ⅰ. The second step added moderator Z as a
main effect on Y, which can be regarded as Model Ⅱ. The third step added an interaction

43
between X and Z, namely XZ for calculating the path estimates of the interaction (Model Ⅲ)
(Gebauer et al., 2011). According to the basic interaction model from Kenny and Judd (1984),
the two latent factors X and Z, both with observed indicators (items), combine into 𝑋𝑖𝑍 to
𝑖
test the interaction towards the indicator Y. In addition, there are two criteria for judging
whether or not Z is a moderator. If Z has a significant effect on Y as the main effect, showing
by path estimate, plus the interaction XZ also shows significant effect on Y, then Z will be
considered as a ‘quasi’ moderator. And if XZ has a significant effect on Y plus the path
estimate of X in Model Ⅰ is higher than that in Model Ⅲ, then Z will be considered as a
moderator. This thesis applied this procedure and compared the moderation effect to each
variable separately and respectively.

The table below (See Table 7) presents the results of the moderator analysis identifying a
moderator variable necessitates determining whether a significant interaction is present
between the hypothesized moderator variable, Z, and the predictor variable, X, by the product
term indicant analysis (interaction model) (by identifying whether model Ⅲ reports a
significant interaction term). Since the proposed model has three moderators, it is relatively
complicated to test all of them together, therefore, the authors decided to do moderating
testing one by one. The first one comes to Visual Quality. In model Ⅰ, the testing procedure
is same to the direct effects measurements. In model Ⅱ, visual quality has been involved as a
direct (main) effect for in-game purchase behavior and the way to test is running linear
regression analysis. In model Ⅲ, three interactions have been involved as direct effects for
in-game purchase intention. It is worth noting that interaction with social value was excluded,
since social value was not a significant factor in model Ⅰ (this procedure is also applied to
the moderating test of trendiness and customizability), so there is no numerical value for SV
in model Ⅱ, for SV and intSVVQ in model Ⅲ, which is why H5a has been rejected. Hence,
three interactions in model Ⅲ are between conditional value and visual quality, between
emotional value and visual quality, between monetary value and visual quality. And linear
regression analysis is used in model Ⅲ as well. Since the p-value of three interactions are
higher than 0.05, they are not considered as statistically significant factors. Thus, H5b, H5c,
and H5d have not been supported.

However, although visual quality does not moderate the relationship between four values and
in-game purchase behavior, it has a directly positive effect on in-game purchase behavior and
the path coefficient of it is 0.093 (See Table 7). It means that the antecedents of in-game
purchase behavior in model Ⅲ are monetary value, conditional value, emotional value, and
visual quality. To be specific, monetary value (0.418) (See Table 7) has the strongest positive
effect on in-game purchase behavior, which is followed by conditional value (0.211) (See
Table 7), emotional value (0.147) (See Table 7), and visual quality (0.097) (See Table 7).
Conditional value has a slightly stronger positive effect than emotional value which has a
stronger positive effect than visual quality. Therefore, it is reasonable to submit that instead of
having a moderating effect within the proposed model, visual quality could be a main effect
for future research.

44
 Dependent Variable (IPB)

Model Ⅰ Model Ⅱ Model Ⅲ

Independents

SV 0.046 (0.038) - -

CV 0.210 (0.043)*** 0.199 (0.043)*** 0.211 (0.045)***

EV 0.167 (0.040)*** 0.143 (0.041)*** 0.147 (0.042)***

MV 0.405 (0.043)*** 0.420 (0.043)*** 0.418 (0.045)***

Moderator

VQ 0.093 (0.033)** 0.097 (0.033)**

intSVVQ -

intCVVQ 0.018 (0.035)

intEVVQ 0.071 (0.036)

intMVVQ -0.006 (0.038)

R square (adjusted) 0.452 0.457 0.460

F 99.625 101.750 59.252

d.f. (4, 475) (4, 475) (7, 472)

p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001

* p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01

Table 7: Hypothesis Testing for Visual Quality

The second one comes to trendiness (See Table 8). In model Ⅰ, the testing procedure is same
to the direct effects measurements. In model Ⅱ, trendiness has been involved as a direct
(main) effect for in-game purchase behavior and the way to test is running linear regression
analysis. In model Ⅲ, three interactions have been involved as direct effects for in-game
purchase behavior. They are interactions between conditional value and trendiness, between
emotional value and trendiness, between monetary value and trendiness. It is worth noting
that interaction with social value was excluded, since social value was not a significant factor
in model Ⅰ, so there is no numerical value for SV in model Ⅱ, for SV and intSVT in model
Ⅲ, which is why H6a has been rejected. And linear regression analysis is used in model Ⅲ as
well. The p-value of three interactions are higher than 0.05, however, the p-value of intEVT is
below 0.1, which indicates that the interaction between emotional value and trendiness is
significant at 0.1 level. Furthermore, trendiness also has a directly positive effect on in-game
purchase behavior and the path coefficient of it is 0.391 (See Table 8). Although the
moderating effect of trendiness is quite weak, shown by its path coefficient (0.085) (See Table
8), the authors still consider it as a ‘quasi’ moderator since the criteria has been met. Thus

45
H6c has been supported while H6b and H6d have not. It means that trendiness positively
moderates the relationship between emotional value and in-game purchase behavior. In
addition, in model Ⅲ conditional value, monetary value, and trendiness can be regarded as
the antecedents of dependent variable. trendiness (0.391) (See Table 8) has the strongest
positive effect on in-game purchase behavior, which is followed by conditional value (0.218)
(See Table 8) and monetary value (0.210) (See Table 8).

It is worth mentioning that with adding trendiness as a main effect in model Ⅱ, emotional
value has not shown significant influence to in-game purchase behavior and the path
coefficient of monetary value is decreased. It indicates that trendiness is more suitable to the
context of this thesis than emotional and monetary value, which explains the dependent
variable better. However, with adding the interaction between emotional value and trendiness
in model Ⅲ, the path estimate of EV (0.053) (See Table 8) is slightly increased but still lower
than that (0.167) (See Table 8) of model Ⅰ, which meets the criteria of moderator.
Nevertheless, since trendiness has shown a direct (main) positive effect on in-game purchase
behavior, the authors consider it as ‘quasi’ moderator.

Dependent Variable (IPB)

Model Ⅰ Model Ⅱ Model Ⅲ

Independents

SV 0.046 (0.038) - -

CV 0.210 (0.043)*** 0.259 (0.040)*** 0.218 (0.043)***

EV 0.167 (0.040)*** 0.002 (0.041) 0.053 (0.047)

MV 0.405 (0.043)*** 0.241 (0.044)*** 0.210 (0.046)***

Moderator

T 0.393 (0.041)*** 0.391 (0.043)***

intSVT -

intCVT -0.070 (0.033)

intEVT 0.085 (0.033)*

intMVT -0.058 (0.034)

R square (adjusted) 0.452 0.530 0.534

F 99.625 136.129 79.365

d.f. (4, 475) (4, 475) (7, 472)

p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001

* p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01

Table 8: Hypotheses Testing for Trendiness

46
The third comes to customization (See Table 9). In model Ⅰ, the testing procedure is the
same to the direct effects measurements. In model Ⅱ, customization has been involved as a
direct (main) effect for in-game purchase behavior and the way to test is running linear
regression analysis. In model Ⅲ, three interactions have been involved as direct effects for
in-game purchase behavior. They are interactions between conditional value and
customization, between emotional value and customization, between monetary value and
customization. It is worth noting that interaction with social value was excluded, since social
value was not a significant factor in model Ⅰ, so there is no numerical value for SV in model
Ⅱ, for SV and intSVC in model Ⅲ, which is why H7a has been rejected. And linear
regression analysis is used in model Ⅲ as well. The p-value of intEVC and intMVC are
higher than 0.05, thus the authors conclude that the interactions between emotional value and
customization, monetary value and customization are not significantly influencing in-game
purchase behavior. Thus H7c and H7d have not been supported.

As for H7b, the p-value of intCVC shows that the interaction between conditional value and
customization is significant at 0.05 level. It means that this interaction has a positive effect on
in-game purchase behavior. Furthermore, customization also has a directly positive effect on
in-game purchase behavior and the path coefficient of it is 0.149 (See Table 9). Hence, the
authors consider customizability as a ‘quasi’ moderator since the criteria has been met. Thus
H7b has been supported. It conveys that customization positively moderates the relationship
between conditional value and in-game purchase behavior. In addition, in model Ⅲ
conditional value, emotional value, monetary value, and customization can be considered as
the antecedents of dependent variable. Monetary value (0.402) (See Table 9) has the strongest
positive effect on in-game purchase behavior, which is followed by conditional value (0.214)
(See Table 9), customization (0.149) (See Table 9), and emotional value (0.127) (See Table 9).

Dependent Variable (IPB)

Model Ⅰ Model Ⅱ Model Ⅲ

Independents

SV 0.046 (0.038) - -

CV 0.210 (0.043)*** 0.197 (0.042)*** 0.214 (0.043)***

EV 0.167 (0.040)*** 0.135 (0.040)*** 0.127 (0.040)**

MV 0.405 (0.043)*** 0.395 (0.042)*** 0.402 (0.042)***

Moderator

C 0.150 (0.035)*** 0.149 (0.036)***

intSVC -

intCVC 0.146 (0.036)**

intEVC -0.052 (0.043)

47
 intMVC -0.056 (0.035)

R square (adjusted) 0.452 0.468 0.474

F 99.625 106.398 62.601

d.f. (4, 475) (4,475) (7, 472)

p-value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001

* p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01

Table 9: Hypotheses Testing for Customization

4.6 Summary of the Hypotheses

After analyzing the hypotheses of this thesis through linear regression in SPSS, the most
important results are summarized in this section. Among 16 hypotheses, 5 have been proved
to be statistically significant as shown below (See Table 10). Data showed that among four
consumption values in the proposed model, except for social value, the other three
(conditional value, emotional value, and monetary value) have statistically direct effects on
in-game purchase behavior. As for indirect effect, trendiness has shown the moderating
effects on the relationship between emotional value and in-game purchase behavior;
customization has shown the moderating effects on the relationship between conditional value
and in-game purchase behavior. Furthermore, the mentioned moderating constructs in the
proposed model (visual quality, trendiness, and customization) all have direct positive effects
on in-game purchase behavior with trendiness having the strongest positive effect (0.391)
(See Table 8). In addition, this thesis confirmed that traditional antecedents of consumer
choice behavior such as conditional and emotional value play an important role in
determining in-game purchase behavior. However, social value has not been proved by this
thesis, which was statistically insignificant to in-game purchase behavior.

Hypothesis Independent Effect Dependent Variable/The Relationship the expected

Variable/Moderator moderator

H1 Social Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H2 Conditional Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H3 Emotional Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H4 Monetary Value Direct Effect (+) In-game purchase behavior

H5a Visual Quality Moderation (+) Social Value - In-game purchase behavior

H5b Visual Quality Moderation (+) Conditional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H5c Visual Quality Moderation (+) Emotional Value - In-game purchase behavior

48
 H5d Visual Quality Moderation (+) Monetary Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6a Trendiness Moderation (+) Social Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6b Trendiness Moderation (+) Conditional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6c Trendiness Moderation (+) Emotional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H6d Trendiness Moderation (+) Monetary Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7a Customization Moderation (+) Social Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7b Customization Moderation (+) Conditional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7c Customization Moderation (+) Emotional Value - In-game purchase behavior

H7d Customization Moderation (+) Monetary Value - In-game purchase behavior

(The red words mean the relationship is insignificant; the green words mean the relationship
is significant.)

Table 10: Hypotheses Summary

The authors are aware of the small number of the proposed hypotheses showing statistically
non-significant results. The audience might argue that the 𝑁 is too small for the size of the
effect. However, the authors believe that sample size does not have an impact on
non-significant results, since the sample size is larger than the proposed size of the regression
model. Different analytic methods can also be a factor, as they have been shown to affect
outcomes even though the same dataset is used (Silherzahn et al., 2018).

4.7 Importance Performance Analysis

49
 Figure 8: Importance-Performance Matrix

Importance-performance analysis (IPA) is considered a useful tool to assess the performance

of a product in relation to the expectation level of the customer. The authors met the three
requirements that are vital for IPA studies. First, the latent variable scores are set to range
between 0 and 100 (Sarstedt & Mooi, 2014). Secondly, all indicator coding has the same
scale direction (Martilla & James, 1977). Third, the outer loadings estimates are positive
(Slack, 1994). If the outer loadings were negative, the latent variable scores would not fall
within the 0-100 range, but would rather be between −5 and 95.

The performance axis of Figure 9 is shown through the average value of the scores of the
constructs, which in this case is the numerical value from each respondent (1 to 7). Further,
the values were multiplied by 100 ÷ 6 in order to put the values in between 0 to 100. The
outcomes indicate that among three main values, conditional value has the highest average
value of the latent variable scores (performance) which is closely followed by emotional
value and monetary value has the lowest performance. As for performance of these three
values, they are within the range between 60 to 80, which means that respondents generally
perceive high conditional value, emotional value, and monetary value of in-game items.
However, monetary value shows the highest importance by estimated path coefficients to the
target construct which in this case is in-game purchase intention. Since monetary has a
relatively high performance with a relatively low performance, it is reasonable to submit that
monetary value has been underestimated. It is possible to argue that monetary value should be
given high priority to improve its performance for increasing the performance of the selected
construct based on the proposed model.

Independent Standardized T-value P-value Collinearity Statistics VIF

Variable/Moderator
Coefficients Tolerance

50
 Beta

Conditional 0.235 5.811 0.000 0.593 1.685

Value

Emotional -0.023 -0.542 0.588 0.536 1.864

Value

Monetary Value 0.247 5.627 0.000 0.502 1.991

Visual Quality 0.047 1.284 0.200 0.717 1.395

Trendiness 0.369 8.280 0.000 0.488 2.050

Customization 0.069 1.851 0.065 0.694 1.442

(Dependent Variable: In-game Purchase Behavior)

Table 11: Multicollinearity Results

According to Sharma et al. (1981), it is crucial to measure whether they correlate with the
independent variables if the moderator variables are shown to be quasi moderators. The IPA
analysis reveals that trendiness has a direct effect on in-game purchase behavior. In order to
examine this issue, the variance inflation factor (VIF) values were examined. Hair et al
(2010) state that if VIF value exceeds 4.0, or deceed 0.2 then there is a problem with
multicollinearity. Considering the VIF value of the results, it is stated that the quasi
moderators do not correlate with the independent variables.

5. Discussion

The aim of this thesis was to find out the factors that strengthen millennial players’ purchase
behavior of aesthetic items in mobile battle royale games through the lens of TCV. The
answers to this question, and the results of this thesis, will be thoroughly discussed from both
theoretical and managerial viewpoints. Besides, the limitations of this thesis will be presented
to provide insights and directions for future research.

5.1 Theoretical Implication

This section will discuss the empirical findings through referring to the background
theoretical framework. From the view of consumption values and millennial consumer
preferences, the authors will elaborate on the theoretical implication made by the results of
this thesis.

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5.1.1 Consumption Values

To answer the research question of this thesis, the authors proposed a model based on the
theory of consumption values with a few adjustments according to the context and gathered
data from the online survey to provide a view on factors that strengthen in-game purchase
behavior of millennials in mobile battle royale games. All the constructs in the proposed
model (except for social value) have significant positive direct effects on in-game purchase
behavior, which can be regarded as drivers (factors) of it. This section will discuss those
factors from TCV in more detail.

5.1.1.1 Conditional value

As theory suggests, the results indicate a significant positive effect of conditional value on
in-game purchase behavior (See Table 6). The findings confirm the claims of TCV made by
Sheth et al. (1991) that support the positive relationship between conditional value and
consumer choice behavior. Thereby, conditional value can be considered as a strengthening
factor of in-game purchase behavior of millennials.

The significant direct effects of conditional value on in-game purchase can be understood for
the following reasons. First of all, experience economy provides a showcase for conditional
value, which aims to bring customers a unique experience by emphasizing differentiated and
personalized goods and services. Looking at game consumption through the experience
economy filter reveals that when players purchase decorative game products such as character
skins, the players can manipulate their characters to wear these skins then fight the enemies in
the game, which can be regarded as a unique experience. For the players, although the game
products are non-physical, the memory and experience brought by products is valuable and
memorable. For example, if a player wears a certain aesthetic skin to fight a battle, then the
joy of victory and the satisfaction of decorative skin can blend into a unique experience for
that player alone. And the scene or situation that gives birth to this kind of experience can
leave a deep impression and perceive as conditional value for the player, which may become
a reason for him/her to make purchase behavior again.

Second, millennials are the generation willing to pay for experience, who gain their reputation
by prioritizing experiences over products (Gherini, 2018). According to the study from Harris
Group, 72 percent of millennials would rather open their wallets based on experiences rather
than on material items. Thus, it is reasonable to argue that the experience economy has a
salient impact on millennials’ purchase behavior. Considering that the mobile game itself is
an intangible product that focuses on the leisure and entertainment experience, the sale of the
in-game items can be regarded as a sale of the specific experience, so it’s not hard to
understand the consumer behavior of millennials in games. In addition, gaming companies
capitalize on the experience economy by focusing on creating unique experiences for players
rather than just aesthetic merchandise. Specifically, in the case of battle royale games, the
game developers not only introduce time-limited offers or ordinary game items but also to

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create a related atmosphere such as about different seasons or festivals for players through
changing the style of the game graphics and sounds in order to bring the players a different
experience. Accordingly, as a player affected by the game screens will be easy to immerse in
the specific conditions and make purchase of the corresponding game items. For instance, in a
summer scenario which is shown by summertime elements in the game like sunshine, beach,
and cold drinks, players are more likely to experience summer conditions and driven by its
value to purchase a swimsuit (ordinary game items) for their character. Furthermore, for
time-limited goods, the experience of time pressure, as well as the context of the specific
situation, can push players to increase the likelihood of buying a limited-time game item,
which is in the line with previous research from Park, Iyer and Smith (1989).

From a theoretical viewpoint, this thesis developed the application of TCV, particularly about
conditional value, in the context of in-game purchase, which has been excluded by previous
studies in the similar gaming field (Park & Lee, 2011; Ho & Wu, 2012; Djamaluddin &
Kindangen, 2017; Wang et al., 2020). The significant result of conditional value provides
some concrete evidence on the importance of different situations such as seasonal or festival
events in the mobile games, thus offering some validation and confirmation to implicit
statements made in earlier studies. Some scholars argued that conditional value is not
appropriate for mobile games since they can purchase game items anytime and anywhere
(Teng, 2018; Wang et al., 2020). Obviously, they ignored the time-limited game items and the
influence of specific circumstances in game. This thesis followed and based on the view of
Järvinen (2018) who applied the TCV in the context of cosmetic virtual item purchase in
World of Warcraft. However, the results from Järvinen’s (2018) research do not support that
conditional value has a salient effect on in-game purchase intention, which is differ from this
thesis. This difference can be partly explained by the difference in the research context, as
World of Warcraft is where most ordinary game items can be obtained by game quests or
tasks. In addition, for time-limited offers, due to the presence of a special event calendar,
players can plan transactions in advance and allocate their budgets appropriately so that they
are usually not affected by time pressure to make a purchase. In battle royale games, however,
players do not know in advance when the game developers will introduce the time-limited
products, so the conditional value of time pressure is one of the drivers of in-game
consumption. In addition, most in-game items in this game genre, even ordinary game items,
still require players to purchase with real money, so under the influence of the scene or
environment, the sales of related ordinary products will also increase. Overall, conditional
value positively influences millennials gamers to purchase aesthetic game items in battle
royale games.

5.1.1.2 Emotional value

As theory suggests, the results convey a significant positive effect of emotional value on
in-game purchase behavior (See Table 6). The findings confirm the claims of TCV made by
Sheth et al. (1991) that support the positive relationship between emotional value and
consumer choice behavior. Thereby, emotional value can be considered as a strengthening
factor of in-game purchase behavior of millennials.

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The significant direct effects of emotional value on in-game purchase can be interpreted by
the following reasons. Firstly, millennials value emotion as they are influenced by the
postmodern educational environment and get used to exploiting their own thoughts and
emotions to explore the world rather than relying solely on rational thinking or visible
information (Moore, 2017). Hence, it is easy for millennials to build an emotional connection
to a product or service that drives them to make a purchase behavior (Salpini, 2017).
According to a study by Fashion Institute of Technology, when millennials choose brands,
they usually seek emotional connections so they are more likely to go for the brand if they
trust or know people behind it. Similarly, in virtual reality, game companies tend to design
virtual products that can easily build emotional connection with players based on the features
of millennials’ consumer behavior. To be specific, in the battle royale game, game developers
introduced the once popular animated character related game products such as character skins
to awaken players’ childhood memories and build strong emotional bonds that drive in-game
spending and boost corporate earnings. Thus, emotional connections can also be found in
games, which adds additional value to the relevant products and received by the millennial
players as emotional value. Indeed, emotional value is a strengthening factor of in-game
purchasing, and the way to establish emotional value for virtual goods depends on the target
audience (Lehdonvirta, 2009).

Secondly, the generation of emotional value is also influenced by the experience economy.
Since millennials are the trendinesssetters of the experience economy, who value experience
over physical objects such as concerts, travel, festivals, and dining out (Callahan, 2016), they
cherish personal experience and emotions that go with it. In their view, physical objects
cannot be carried around forever, but experiences and memories can be stored in the mind
forever, so they are willing to pay for unique experiences. When applying the same logic to
the gaming experience, it is not difficult to see why millennials are willing to pay in-game
items for improving their game experience. As for aesthetic game items, which are able to
arouse emotions through their on-screen representations as well as any animations and sounds
associated with them (Lehdonvirta, 2009), millennials may be attracted and impressed by
their names or labels of goods and any related background fiction or narrative to derive
hedonistic pleasure from experiencing them. Once millennial gamers perceive emotional
value from these compelling aesthetic game items, they are willing to purchase and even do
multiple times.

From a theoretical viewpoint, this thesis extended the application of TCV, particularly about
emotional value, in the context of mobile battle royale games. The significant result of
emotional value to in-game purchase behavior in this thesis is consistent with the previous
studies that observed emotional value is one of the primary drivers to predict players’
in-game consumption behavior (Kim et al., 2011; Shang et al., 2012; Ho & Wu, 2012; Wang
et al., 2020), However, this result contradicts Djamaluddin and Kindangen (2017) findings
that emotional value has no significant effect on customers’ purchase decision of virtual
goods in Dota 2. The partial reason could be the research contexts are different. Dota 2 is a
MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game which has a higher barrier of entry than
battle royale games, thus it is a bit difficult to get started with and requires more time and

54
effort from players. Therefore, it is possible to argue that compared with Dota 2, which is
more technically challenging, battle royale game players are more likely to be immersed in
the game and thus more likely to build an emotional connection to it and then buy in-game
products. In a word, emotional value positively influences millennials gamers to purchase
aesthetic game items in battle royale games.

5.1.1.3 Monetary value

Based on the analysis of this thesis, monetary value has the second strongest direct positive
effect on in-game purchase behavior after trendiness (when trendiness plays as a main effect,
its path coefficient is 0.602, directly influencing in-game purchase behavior) (See Figure 8).
The findings extended and modified the original TCV created by Sheth et al. (1991), which
does not consider monetary value to be an independent variable but a sub-components under
functional value (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001), through supporting that the monetary value has a
significant direct effect on in-game purchase behavior. This positive relationship between
monetary value and consumer choice behavior may need to be paid more attention and given
emphasis by future researchers. Thereby, monetary value can be considered as an important
driver of in-game purchase behavior of millennials.

The significant direct effects of monetary value on in-game purchase (See Table 6) can be
interpreted that the price or value of money of the in-game items play a vital role on
millennial gamers' purchase choice behavior. In other words, monetary value is an important
determinant when considering whether to buy in-game items, thus, a fair or cheaper price
than expected would greatly increase the likelihood of their spending. This purchasing habits
can be proved by the survey from investment outfit T. Rowe Price, the researcher argued that
a more appropriate term to describe millennials might actually be "the Money-Conscious
Generation" as they are better about tracking their spending and sticking to a budget than
Baby Boomers (McGrath, 2015). Meanwhile, the survey found that millennials are saving an
average of 8% of their annual salary towards retirement (McGrath, 2015). According to Kurz
et al. (2019), the unique tastes and preferences of the millennials are often linked to economic
phenomena such as the downturn in the auto industry, the recession in retail stores, and falling
home sales. That has led a growing number of economists to analyze the consumer behavior
of this generation.

Many scholars believe that economic conditions experienced by individuals have long-term
or even permanent effects on consumer behavior, investment decisions, and inflation
expectations (Malmendier & Nagel, 2011). Therefore, different generations with similar
income will have different performance in consumption behavior, as different socioeconomic
characteristics and different income expectations affect consumption and the trade-offs
between labor supply and leisure time (Kurz et al., 2019). Specifically, the millennials, whose
parents are generation X and baby boomers, have witnessed a significant improvement in the
standard of living and family finances. This has undoubtedly enabled millennials to reap the
full benefits of economic growth. As they have not experienced material shortages, the

55
consumption levels of them are relatively upgraded compared with the previous generations.
As millennials approach adulthood, however, they experience the largest worldwide recession
in recent years, followed by a tight labor market and low credit conditions. These
circumstances affect their attitudes to saving and spending. Taking into consideration that
millennials have witnessed the 2008 financial crisis and housing bubble, therefore, they tend
to save more and spend less, concerning more with the fairness of prices. Not to mention that
as for aesthetic game items that have no functional use, millennials will no doubt care about if
the prices are reasonably-priced or cost-effective. Thus, the monetary value perceived through
the economical prices of in-game items will be regarded as a strengthening factor of
millennials in-game purchase behavior.

From a theoretical viewpoint, this thesis modified the TCV through adding another
independent consumption value – monetary value to examine in the context of mobile battle
royale games. And the significant direct effect of monetary value on in-game purchase
behavior within this thesis has proved the importance of monetary value toward original TCV
created by Sheth et al. (1991). As noted earlier, monetary value does not exist as a separate
variable in TCV, but rather as a component under functional value represented by price (Sheth
et al., 1991). Many scholars argued that functional value can be subdivided into performance,
quality, and price and then they applied this framework to study in-game consumption
behavior. The inclusion of price (monetary value) into the TCV previously has yielded mixed
results, with some studies found that price does not affect purchase behavior (Djamaluddin &
Kindangen, 2017), while others found that it does (Park & Lee, 2011; Ho and Wu, 2012;
Järvinen, 2018; Wang et al., 2020). The findings of this thesis support the latter, providing
evidence that monetary value can indeed be used in predicting purchasing intention. So far,
monetary value has been significantly supported by different game genres such as F2P
MOBA game (Wang et al., 2020), MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing
Game) (Järvinen, 2018), and mobile battle royale game. In addition, this thesis can be
considered as an extension of Lehdonvirta’s (2009) study, which only considered
performance and functionality as functional attributes for in-game purchase drivers, ignoring
the effect of monetary value or price on consumption. In conclusion, monetary value
positively influences millennial gamers to purchase aesthetic game items in battle royale
games.

5.1.1.4 Social value

While the theory of consumption values suggests that consumer choice behavior can be
affected by social value (Sheth et al., 1991), it is not the case in this thesis. The findings
convey that social value has an insignificant effect on in-game purchase behavior in the

56
context of mobile battle royale games (See Table 6). Thereby, social value cannot be
considered as a strengthening factor of in-game purchase behavior of millennials.

From a theoretical viewpoint, this thesis contradicts to the findings from previous research,
which interpreted that social value was the primary driver influencing in-game purchase
intention (Park & Lee, 2011; Ho & Wu, 2012; Shang et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2020), while
confirms the findings from Djamaluddin and Kindangen (2017) that social value as one of the
independent variable does not have an effect on customers’ purchase decision of virtual goods
in Dota 2. Similarly, in battle royale games, social value does not affect consumers’ purchase
behavior as well. The reasons could be partially explained as follows. First of all, this thesis
regarded social value as a whole, and this may have played down the effect of social value on
in-game consumption to some extent. This assumption can be partially supported by the
research from Ho and Wu (2012), which split social value into self-image expression and
social support relationship to test their relationship to in-game consumption respectively. The
results from Ho and Wu (2012) showed that social relationship support has a significant effect
on in-game purchase behavior while social self-image expression has not.

Furthermore, the anonymity of the virtual world could lessen the incentive for players to rely
on decorative game items to make social connections and self-expression. Although some
research suggests that anonymity allows players to have their second life in the virtual world,
and to express themselves without the constraints of reality through purchasing decorative
game products. But an important factor that is easy to overlook is the strength of anonymity,
which can be demonstrated by the study by Shang et al. (2012). The effects of
self-presentation motivation on social value may be larger for players who have high
anonymity than those who do not mind revealing their real identities as they usually play with
real friends who knows what you look like in real life, thus it’s less likely to rely on
embellished avatars to express themselves or make social connections. However, as for
players who have high anonymity, they can easily be driven by social value to do in-game
purchasing in order to build self-image and social connections with others. In a word, this
thesis conveys that social value does not influence millennial gamers on aesthetic game items
consumption in battle royale games.

To summarize, this thesis has contributed to presenting scientific knowledge on TCV and its
application and development about specific context - aesthetic game item purchase behavior
of millennials by examining mobile battle royale games. To examine the similar context (e.g.
aesthetic game item consumption in other game genres) more accurately through TCV, the
authors of this thesis make modifications to it. In terms of TCV constructs, purchase behavior
of millennials is influenced by conditional, emotional, and monetary values respectively.
However, the results of this thesis show that the purchase behavior of millennial gamers is
also significantly influenced by visual quality, trendiness, and customization of game items,
which will be elaborated in the next section.

5.1.2 Millennial Consumer Preferences

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The authors tested the moderating effects of consumer preferences between the relationship of
social value, conditional value, emotional value, and monetary value with in-game purchase
behavior. The total of twelve hypotheses derived from the interactions of the proposed model.

5.1.2.1 Visual Quality

Visual quality was used first in the proposed model to test whether the construct plays a role
to moderate the interactions between the elements of TCV and in-game purchase behavior.
Out of four interactions, there was zero statistically significant value observed . Nevertheless,
the quasi role of visual quality emerged in the analysis process (See Table 7).

The direct effect of social value on in-game purchase behavior was tested to be statistically
insignificant in the initial stage of the hypothesis testing (See Table 7). Thus, the p-value of
the interaction of visual quality and social value is not measured (See Table 7). Ultimately,
hypothesis 4a is rejected. As it is discussed before, the study of Garver et al., (2018) states
that visual quality positively moderates the relationship between social values and in-game
purchase behavior in personal computer games (See Section 2.4.6). The study of McCabe et
al. (2018) highlights that visual quality moderates the relationship between social value and
purchase behavior in computer purchase (See Section 2.4.6). Since these studies indicate
statistically significant direct effects of social value on purchase behavior, they facilitate
potential use of moderation effects. Considering the fact that hypothesis 4a is rejected due to
the insignificant p-value of social value, it is not possible to compare the p-value of the
interaction with the studies of Garver et al., (2018) and McCabe et al. (2018) Additionally, the
reason for insignificant p-value of social value is explained in the preceding section (See
Section 5.1.1.4).

Moderating effect of visual quality on the relationship between emotional value and in-game
purchase behavior was tested and the results reveal that the interaction is statistically
insignificant (See Table 7). According to the results, high visual quality may not strengthen
the emotional appeal of virtual aesthetic items for in-game purchase. This finding contradicts
the findings of Tao and Xu (2018) and Natarajan et al. (2012) on the positive moderating
effect of visual quality on the relationship between emotional value and purchase behavior (
See Section 2.4.6). Considering the fact that the articles of Tao and Xu (2018) and Natarajan
et al.(2012) focus on e-commerce, their findings for the moderating effect of visual quality
are inapplicable in in-game purchase behavior of millennials in mobile battle royale games
context.

The proposed hypothesis to measure the statistical significance of the interaction between
visual quality and conditional value was statistically insignificant (See Table 7). The result
reveals that if the aesthetic items have high visual quality, this situation will not increase the
perceived value of time-limited and ordinary items to be purchased by millennial players in
mobile battle royale games. This finding is not supported by the findings of Garver et al.

58
(2018), and McCabe et al. (2018) (See Section 2.4.6). In the study of Garver et al. (2018), the
proposed model uses visual quality to moderate the relationship between conditional value
and purchasing decision on personal computer games. A potential reason for the different
result could be the focus of Garver et al. (2018) on another digital device rather than mobile
phones. Besides, another potential reason why the finding of McCabe et al. (2018) on the
moderating effect of visual quality was not verified in this thesis could be the difference in the
study scopes. Since McCabe et al. (2018) focuses on purchasing virtual items in personal
computer games, their findings for the moderating effect of visual quality are inapplicable in
in-game purchase behavior of millennials in mobile battle royale games context.

Another insignificant finding was reported, indicating that millennials were unable to reduce
their price consciousness when the virtual aesthetic items present high visual quality (See
Table 7). This results shows that millennials do not want to pay a high price for virtual
aesthetics items obtaining high visual quality. While visual quality is considered as one of
millennial consumer preferences ( Eastin & Griffiths, 2006; Bracken, 2005), this preference
is not able to positively moderate the perceived price of millennials and purchase behavior.
This finding contradicts the results of Tao and Xu (2018) and Natarajan et al. (2012) on the
positive moderating effect of visual quality on the relationship between monetary value and
purchase behavior (See Section 2.4.6) Considering that the articles of Tao and Xu (2018) and
Natarajan et al. (2012) focus on e-commerce, the finding on the positive moderating effect of
visual quality does not play a role in-game contexts to influence the perceived price of
millennials.

As mentioned in the findings, visual quality is a quasi moderator (See Table 7). Since visual
quality has never been discussed to support strengthening purchase behavior in battle royale,
the finding is considered a crucial contribution to game studies.

5.1.2.2 Trendiness

The authors used trendiness as a variable in the proposed model to examine whether it
positively moderates the relationship between the four elements of TCV and in-game
purchase behavior. It was expected to observe statistical significance in the interactions.
Nevertheless, only one hypothesis showed statistical significance (See Table 8).

According to the study of Khan et al. (2019), trendiness moderates the relationship between
social value and online purchase behavior in social media marketing. Similarly, Moen et al.
(2017) state that the trendiness moderates the relationship between social value and purchase
behavior in the e-commerce industry (See Section 2.4.7). Considering that this thesis finds no
direct of effect social value for in-game purchase behavior, it is not possible to measure the
p-value of visual quality for moderation between social value and in-game purchase and
compare with the previous studies (See Table 8). Nevertheless,the rejected hypothesis for the
direct effect of social value also leads the authors to reject the moderating effect of trendiness
on the relationship between social value and in-game purchase behavior.

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The results in the analysis section reveals that trendiness moderates the relationship between
emotional value and in-game purchase behavior (See Table 8). In other words, if the virtual
item is trendy, this situation increases the emotional appeal of virtual aesthetics item to be
purchased by millennials. This thesis also confirms the findings of Kim and Min (2014), and
Wang et al. (2019) (See Section 2.4.7). According to Kim and Min (2014), trendiness of
internet shopping positively moderates the relationship between emotional value and online
purchasing decision. Despite the fact that the study of Kim and Min (2014) focuses on all of
the generational cohorts, their finding is also applicable for millennials playing mobile battle
royale games. Another prior work (Wang et al., 2019) considers trendiness as a moderator
variable on the relationship between emotional value for purchasing fashion products. In spite
of the fact that the study focuses on another industry, the result is applicable to millennials
playing mobile battle royale games.

The proposed hypothesis to measure the statistical significance of the interaction between
trendiness and conditional value was not statistically significant (See Table 8). The result
reveals that if the aesthetic items is trendinessy, this situation does not increase perceived
value of time-limited and ordinary items by millennial players in mobile battle royale games.
This thesis also contradicts the findings of Khan et al. (2019), and Moen et al. (2017). In the
study of Khan et al. (2019), the proposed model uses trendiness to moderate the relationship
between conditional value and purchasing decision on social media shopping. A potential
reason for the different result is that the study of Khan et al. (2019) focuses on another
segment of digital spending. Nevertheless, this result is not relevant to mobile battle royale
players.

As mentioned in the findings, trendiness is a quasi moderator (See Table 8). Since trendiness
has never been discussed to support strengthening purchase behavior in battle royale, the
finding is considered a crucial contribution to game studies.

5.1.2.3 Customization

The findings presented in the current study confirm that customization positively modifies the
intensity of association between millennials' conditional value and purchase behavior (See
Table 9). In other words, time-limited and ordinary game items that are customizable are
more appealing than non-customizable time-limited and ordinary virtual aesthetics items to
millennials. A possible explanation is that millennials want to connect with seasonal -
time-limited aesthetic virtual items with the help of customization. To illustrate, a millennial
player would be glad to reshape, recolor, or resize a Santa Claus skin coming up only on New
Year's Eve. Ordinary items that obtain conditional value are also preferred to be customizable

60
by millennials. For example, battle royale game shops sell summer skins even if it is not
summer. Nevertheless, the conditional value of the skins increases in summer by millennials
players. This result also confirms the findings of Cuthbert et al. (2019) on statistically
significant interaction of conditional value and customization (See Section 2.4.8)
Unexpectedly, a non-significant result was identified wherein millennials appeared unlikely to
reduce their price consciousness upon being offered customizable virtual aesthetic items (See
Table 9). This result reveals that millennials are not eager to pay premium prices for
customizable aesthetic virtual items. Despite the fact that customization is considered one of
the millennials' primary consumer preferences (Moreno et al., 2017; Ordun, 2015; Lim &
Parker, 2020), this preference is not strong enough to positively moderate the perceived price
of millennials and purchase behavior. This result contradicts Zhang et al. (2020) and
Marinkovic & Kalinic (2017) (See Section 2.4.8). A potential reason might be the scope of
this thesis. The authors focus on the gaming industry, and millennials are the only
demographic segments that were analyzed. However, Zhang et al. (2020) and Marinkovic &
Kalinic (2017) focus on the hospitality and mobile commerce markets.

Since social value is statistically insignificant to in-game purchase behavior, its interaction
with customization is also insignificant (See Table 9). The results also reveal that
customization does not moderate the relationship between emotional value and consumer
behavior (See Table 9). In other words, millennials believe that if the virtual is customized, it
does not increase the likelihood of purchasing aesthetic items obtaining emotional value. A
potential reason is that customization is a quasi moderator, and it is independently associated
with purchase behavior. Millennials will still purchase virtual aesthetics items possessing
emotional value. However, the customization of these items possessing emotional value will
not strengthen their purchasing decision. This finding also contradicts the statements of
Zhang et al. (2020) and Cuthbert et al. (2019) on the moderating role of customization over
the relationship between emotional value and purchase behavior (See Section 2.4.8). It is
believed that the reason for the contradiction is the scope of this thesis.
As indicated in the findings, customization is a quasi moderator (See Table 9).

As mentioned in the findings, customisation is a quasi moderator (See Table 8). Since visual
quality has never been discussed to support strengthening purchase behavior in battle royale,
the finding is considered a crucial contribution to game studies.

5.2 Managerial Implication

Game studios need to understand customers since one of the primary reasons game genres
lose their popularity over time is the misinterpretation of consumer behavior( Jung, 2020).
Game studios can analyze the four quadrants of IPA models to understand the customers and
create action plans.

Trendiness is placed in the second quadrant of the performance-importance matrix. It has high
importance and high performance (See Figure 9). While analyzing the IPA results, managers
need to focus on trendiness first since this construct has the highest importance among the

61
attributes of the matrix. Additionally, the players are satisfied on how customization enhances
the delivery of services. Thus, trendiness needs to be sustained and exploited to achieve its
maximum benefits as a potential competitive advantage. This stage is critical to maintaining
an optimum level of resources to suffice maximum benefit of trendiness. In order to do that,
battle royale game studios need to pursue hashtag marketing tactics. It is proven that
successful hashtagging campaigns on a virtual item lead this digital object to become trendy
among the players (Laucuka, 2018).

Streamers, especially those who are followed by millions of gamers, are the celebrities in the
video game industry (King & Hera, 2020). If a mobile battle game studio aims to trend a
virtual item from the product portfolio, it is suggested to close a contract with a famous
streamer to promote the item.

There are five attributes in the performance importance matrix: emotional value, conditional
value, monetary value, visual quality, and customization are rated by millennial players as
low importance with high performance and placed in the first quadrant of the performance
matrix (See Figure 9). Here, the players are satisfied with the perception of emotional value,
conditional value, monetary value, visual quality, and customization of virtual aesthetic items.
Nevertheless, the performance of these attributes could still be enhanced.

Monetary value is the construct with the second-highest importance level but lowest
performance among the attributes of the performance-importance matrix (See Figure 9). This
result reveals that battle royale game studios need to focus on monetary value after
completing managerial plans for the trendiness of virtual aesthetic items. As mentioned in the
results (See Table 6), millennials playing mobile battle royale games are price-conscious. It is
suggested that mobile battle royale game studios offer discounts periodically. Additionally,
the managers can pursue the time-limited scarcity principle of Cialdini by creating
time-limited virtual items (Cialdini, 1993). A blurb stating “Offer Ends in 5 days” or “Special
Discount just for this week” in the game can help managers to trigger the players to buy the
discounted aesthetic virtual items immediately. Moreover, it is suggested to conduct a pricing
survey in order to determine the appropriate pricing before launching a new aesthetic virtual
item (Nasr et al., 2014).

Customization is the third most important attribute of the performance importance matrix
(See Figure 9). It is suggested to focus on this attribute after completing necessary plans for
trendiness and monetary value. In order to improve the performance of this attribute, mobile
battle royale game studios could conduct a product survey in order to understand the
customer expectation in the context of customization (Nasr et al., 2014). Questions could be
asked about what kinds of colors are preferred to customize and which elements of the virtual
aesthetic items need to be customizable.

Another suggestion is to ask for feedback after the player purchased the customizable virtual
items (Nasr et al., 2014). The authors suggest sending a feedback notification a week later

62
from the purchase date. This evaluation needs to include a rating scale to be assigned by value
and an open-ended question for potential suggestions (Nasr et al., 2014).
Visual quality is the third most important attribute and is located in the first quadrant of the
performance-importance matrix (See Figure 9). It is suggested that battle royale tame studios
hire talented game developers to design virtual aesthetic items with high visual quality.
Asking for feedback for the visual quality of the virtual items is also suggested (Nasr et al.,
2014).

Conditional value has low importance and high performance, and this attribute is located in
the first quadrant (See Figure 9). In order to increase the performance of this attribute, it is
suggested that mobile battle royale games studios establish online items before special days
such as New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s.

Lastly, emotional value is the construct located in the first quadrant with high performance
and low importance. Nevertheless, the performance of this attribute can still be improved. In
order to do that, the game studios need to focus more on emotional appeal. It is a known fact
that nostalgia is the driver of emotional value. It was proven that childhood cartoons
positively impact nostalgia (McClennen & Maisel, 2014). For the game studios, the critical
takeaway is that they need to create cartoon-based aesthetic virtual items. Potential
collaboration with these shows for establishing virtual aesthetic items is believed to improve
the performance of emotional value.

5.3 Limitations and directions for future research

Despite following rigorous research methods and statistics, this thesis is subject to certain
limitations that have to be considered when interpreting the results. Meanwhile, these
limitations can be regarded as potential future directions for other research in this field. This
thesis has two main limitations in terms of context: the specific game genre – mobile battle
royale games and the specific age group of players, millennials, instead of all game players.

For the former, it is reasonable to submit that the results of this thesis should only be applied
to mobile battle royale games and mobile games that have battle royale mode since the
influencing factors on in-game purchase behavior in video games are divergent subject to the
digital device and video game genre (Cai et al., 2019; Roessel & Švelch, 2021). Therefore,
extending the results of this thesis to other game genres or other game platforms, such as PC
or console, may not be fruitful. However, future research might be a chance to do a
comparative study between different game genres, providing some crucial insights on how
purchase behavior differs between mobile game types. Ho and Wu (2012) have conducted
such comparative research between role-playing games and war-strategy games. However,
these two games are computer games, suggesting a current lack of knowledge of mobile

63
games. Besides, the differences or similarities in purchase behavior between battle royale
games and other game genres.

For the latter, the present findings are particularly significant in the context of millennials
since the consumer preferences adopted as moderating effects in the proposed model are
highly relevant to the choices of this generation. Subsequently, it is reasonable to submit that
the results of this thesis should only be applied to millennials’ purchase behavior. Thus the
results of this thesis are only applicable to millennials rather than other generations. To be
specific, millennials are conscious of money (McGrath, 2015) and value experience more
than tangible objects (Gherini, 2018). Likewise, millennials follow trends, love
customization, and enjoy high-quality visual items. However, future research might be a
chance to do a comparative study between different generations, providing some critical
insights on how the drivers of in-game purchase behavior differ between different age groups.
The main drivers of in-game purchases for millennials are trendiness, customization, visual
quality, and perceived monetary value, conditional value, and emotional value.

Furthermore, the results of this thesis were gathered from a free-to-play game, in which the
players can download and play the game for free. This might be why millennial players put a
strong emphasis on the trendiness of purchasing aesthetic game items rather than their price.
It is possible to argue that this framework cannot be accurately generalized to pay-to-play
games, which require money paid in advance, such as monthly subscriptions, and put
monetary pressure on the players by default. Therefore, the monetary value might play a more
important role in purchase motivations than free-to-play games. Therefore, a comparative
study focusing on differences in purchase behavior of aesthetic game items between P2P and
F2P games would gain some insights since these two types of games have not been united in
one research of gaming field.

Additionally, the framework used in this thesis is subject to a few further examinations. Half
of the main effects stem from the theory of consumption values have been significantly
proved in this context. Especially condition value was tested as a relatively new addition for
in-game purchasing. Besides, three consumer preferences play the main effect on in-game
purchase behavior, which this context has proved. This indicates that the findings of this
thesis offer some insights on how aesthetic game items can be used for generating primary
income through consumption values perceiving and consumers’ preference satisfying in battle
royale games. However, as for the moderation effects, there were only two hypotheses that
this context has proved among twelve in total, and these two are not pure moderators but
quasi moderators. It means that there are more moderating effects that need to be found by
future research. For example, future research of similar focus like this could use demographic
features of respondents as moderating effects such as gender and annual household income.

Besides, one of the most interesting findings of this thesis was that in-game purchase
behavior is driven by the conditional value of aesthetic game items. Here comes another
research angle since both ordinary game items and time-limited game items have shown their
conditional value. Therefore future research can divide these two kinds of aesthetic items into
two groups and do comparative research. In detail, one is ordinary items that players can

64
purchase anytime and anywhere. The other one is time-limited offers in which in-game items
are only available during specific periods, such as seasonal, festival events. To do so, future
research can focus on these two types of aesthetic game items and see whether the purchasing
drivers for them are same or not, as well as if their relationship with in-game purchase
behavior have still been moderated by customization or any other moderators.

From the perspective of the actual situation, this thesis as a master graduate thesis is subject
to time and money constraints. The former makes the review of the theories and research
background limited and does not cover all the theories and literature in this field. The latter
makes data collection unfunded. In this case, it can be assumed that the data collection
process would be faster and that more data would be collected if money were available as a
reward and incentive for completing the questionnaire, which helps authors spend more time
focusing on data analysis and discussion of results.

In addition, Asian players account for about half of all player data, according to the
distribution of players collected. Therefore, according to the research questions in this thesis,
the Asian players’ views on in-game consumption behavior may be overemphasized. So this
provides the direction for follow-up studies. Future research could make the balance of
players from different continents, making the results more international. In the survey design,
this thesis failed to explore how long respondents played the game and the amount of money
they spent on the game, which has been left for future research. Lastly, another potential
research direction is proposed to be the relationship between playing time and consumer
behavior.

6. Conclusion

The trade of virtual items in the digital world has started to be noticed in game studies due to
the market expansion of video games in recent years. Moreover, selling virtual items has
influenced the design philosophy of games (Hamari & Lehdonvirta, 2010). Game developers
are no longer merely attempting to code the most downloaded game; rather, in order to sell
virtual items, they endeavor to design the game in such a manner that it entices players to
purchase virtual items. They usually accomplish it by modifying the game based on consumer
behavior (Hamari, 2020). This thesis attempted to contribute to this case by focusing on
strengthening factors for in-game purchase behavior in mobile battle royale games from the
perspective of the main segment - millennials. This attempt resulted in a proposed model of
sixteen hypotheses and nine constructs tested by the data of 480 millennial respondents
playing mobile battle royale games. The proposed model intended to capture the
strengthening factors of in-game purchase behavior theorized by consumption values and
millennial consumer preferences.

65
The findings showed that conditional value, emotional value, and monetary value perceived
by consumers were significant indicators that strengthened the purchase behavior of
millennials. Despite the fact that trendiness, customization, and visual quality were proposed
to be pure moderators, the results reveal that they directly affect in-game purchase behavior.
The authors also verified the moderating effect of customization between conditional value
between emotional value and in-game purchase behavior. Additionally, the moderating of
trendiness on the relationship between emotional value and in-game purchase behavior was
statistically significant. The findings also reveal that the trendiness of the items is the main
strengthening factor for millennial players to purchase virtual aesthetic items in mobile battle
royale games. Nevertheless, the authors believe that all the significant constructs in the
proposed model can be considered substantial strengthening factors. They paint a complete
picture of the in-game purchase behavior of millennials in mobile battle royale games
together. Despite the fact that H1, H5a, H5b, H5c, H5d, H6a, H6b, H6d, H7a, H7c, and H7d
are statistically insignificant, they are still considered to be contributions for game studies. To
finalize, the authors have successfully built a regression model to conceptualize strengthening
factors for the in-game purchase behavior of millennials in mobile battle royale games and
ultimately contributed to game studies.

66
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Appendix A: Additional Figures

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Appendix B: Example of Survey Posts

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 Appendix C: Questionnaire

Items for social value ( evaluated from1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

1. I like to wear a game skin having my own national symbol.

2. I like paid items that give me a sense of cultural belonging.

3. I like paid items that have my own national symbols.

4. I think using paid items helps me to feel accepted by others.

5. I don’t think using paid items makes a good impression on other people.

Items for conditional value ( evaluated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

6. I feel satisfied when I have more holiday/season-restricted skins.

7. I like the paid items coming up on New Year

8. I like paid items in different seasons. For example, I prefer summer concept games skins
when it is summer

9. I like the paid items coming up on Valentines

10. I just like to wear seasonal skins. For example, I don't like to wear summer skins in
winter.

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Items for emotional value ( evaluated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

11. I like paid items that remind me of my childhood.

12. I think paid items create happiness.

13. I believe paid items make my real-life dream come true in the game.

14. It is fun to use paid items in the games.

15. I like paid items that make the play enjoyable.

Items for monetary value ( evaluated 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

16. I think prices for paid items are acceptable.

17. I like virtual items in the game because they are cost-effective.

18. I don't think paid items are reasonably priced.

19. I believe paid items are available at fair prices.

20. I like paid items that have a high price because not everyone can afford it.

Items for visual quality ( evaluated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

21. I appreciate paid items having high resolution.

22. I enjoy seeing displays of products that have superior designs.

23. High quality graphics is an important part for high quality paid items.

24. I believe high resolution of the game can bring high quality playing experience.

25. Wearing skins with superior designs makes me enjoy the game.

Items for trendiness ( evaluated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

26. Paid items promoted by influencers are catchy.

27. I like the paid item when it becomes popular and purchased by the majority of players.

28. I like the paid items played by online influencers

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29. It is cool for me to have a game item that has been a trend among majority of players

30. If the paid item I use is popular among majority of players, then it enhances my playing
experience

Items for customisation ( evaluated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly agree)）

31. I like the game where it is possible to customize the physical characteristics (i.e. hair
style, skin color, eye color) of my character.

32. I like the game where it is possible to customize the non-physical characteristics (i.e.
guns, outfit) of my character.

33. To me, it is important to customise my character’s physical (i.e. hair style, skin color, eye
color) characteristics

34. To me, it is important to customize the non-physical characteristics (i.e. guns, outfit) my
character.

35. I think the game has high quality playing experience if it is possible to customise physical
characteristics of the game.

Items for in-game purchase behavior( evaluated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 ( strongly
agree)）

36. Purchasing paid items is a part of my gaming experience

37. I enjoy the process of purchasing in-game items.

38. I cannot imagine playing a game without purchasing a paid item.

39. I intend to purchase paid items for my characters.

40. The likelihood that I would purchase a paid item is high.

Demographic Questions

41.What gender do you identify as? (Male/Female)

42.What is your age (Open-ended question)

43.Which continent are you from? (Africa/Antarctica/Asia/Europe/North

America/Oceania/South America)

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44.What is your annual household income? (Less than $25,000/$25,000 - $50,000/$50,000 -
$75,000/$75,000-$100,000/$100,000+/I don’t want to reveal the information)

45.What is the highest degree or level of education you have completed? (Middle
School/High School/Bachelor's Degree/Master's Degree/Ph.D.)

46.What is your current employment status? (Studying/Employed Full-Time/Employed

Part-Time/Seeking opportunities/Retired/Other)

48.Which of the following best describes your current relationship status? (Single/In a
relationship/Married/Other)

49.Please type down which game(s) came to your mind while filling the survey (Open-ended
question)

50.(Optional, only if you want to join the lottery to win €50) Your email address, name &
surname (Open-ended question)

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