玩家在大型多人線上角色扮演遊戲（MMORPG）公會中參與行為的影響因素─核心社群共通性觀點

Understanding Why Players Engage in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Guilds: From the Perspective of Core Community Commonalities

研究目的：大型多人線上角色扮演遊戲（MMORPG）玩家以虛構角色在虛擬環境中互動，本研究探討在缺乏真實個人社會線索的MMORPG遊戲社群中，社會影響對遊戲社群成員參與行為的影響效果。研究設計／方法：建立社會認同、核心社群共通性及個人內部、外部動機對參與行為的關係模型分析影響效果。研究結果：社會認同對核心社群共通性有顯著影響，核心社群共通性，尤其是共享責任感，對參與行為有重要正向影響。研究限制／啟發：自我選擇取樣方法及參與者多為台灣大學生可能限制研究結果的類推。理論／實務／社會意涵：虛擬團隊領導者可透過社會認同和核心社群共通性強化團隊成員的參與行為。創見／價值：在虛擬環境中，個人仍受社會影響的規範，甚至超過自利動機的影響力。

Purpose - This study investigates the effects of social influence on members’ engagement behaviors in MMORPG guilds, a goal-oriented community, where members interact with each other in a fictional and dissociative virtual world. In this environment, engagement behaviors are crucial to members’ continuous participation. While most studies focus on players’ pathological engaging behaviors in MMORPGs, little information is available on whether social identity and social influence are still important to players’ engagement behaviors when they are helping and supporting the group and other members in guilds, and whether players are inclined to be more socially motivated or more self-interested when they interact behind fictional masks or personas. Design/ methodology/ approach - This study proposes a theoretical model of social identity and social influence to verify the effects of the core community commonalities and individuals’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on players’ engagement behaviors in MMORPG guilds. An online survey on MMORPG forums was administered to 309 guild players. Findings - The findings reveal that players’ social identity to the guild has a profound impact on three core community commonalities, and these core commonalities, in turn, affect engagement behaviors significantly. Additionally, social influence - especially shared moral responsibility - has a significant positive impact on players’ engagement behaviors than extrinsic motivations. Research limitations/ implications - Self-selected sampling methods and the participants, who were Chinese college students, might restrict generalizations regarding the results. Practical implications/ Social implications - This study demonstrates that social influence in fictional environments can inhibit personal behavior characterized by a good sense of responsibility and social regulations, and that guild leaders can apply their social identity and the core community commonalities to enhance members’ engagement behaviors in a virtual team. Originality/ value - This paper shows that individuals are still motivated by self-interest, which they tend to use in a social manner, when they interact in a dissociative and fictional environment.