A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal
Why do people play games? A meta-analysis
Authors: Juho Hamari, Lauri Keronen
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD
Publication year: 2017
Journal: International Journal of Information Management
Journal name in source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Journal acronym: INT J INFORM MANAGE
Volume: 37
Issue: 3
First page : 125
Last page: 141
Number of pages: 17
ISSN: 0268-4012
eISSN: 1873-4707
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.01.006(external)
Abstract
During the last decade games have arguably become the largest form of leisure information systems (IS). However, today games are also increasingly being employed for a variety of instrumental purposes. Although games have garnered a substantial amount of research attention during the last decade, research literature is scattered and there is still a lack of a clear and reliable understanding of why games are being used, and how they are placed in the established utilitarian-hedonic continuum of information systems. To address this gap, we conducted a meta-analysis of the quantitative body of literature that has examined the reasons for using games (48 studies). Additionally, we compared the findings across games that are intended for either leisure or instrumental use. Even though games are generally regarded as a pinnacle form of hedonically-oriented ISs, our results show that enjoyment and usefulness are equally important determinants for using them (though their definitive role varies between game types). Therefore, it can be posited that games are multi-purpose ISs which nevertheless rely on hedonic factors, even in the pursuit of instrumental outcomes. The present study contributes to and advances our theoretical and empirical understanding of multi-purpose ISs and the ways in which they are used. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
During the last decade games have arguably become the largest form of leisure information systems (IS). However, today games are also increasingly being employed for a variety of instrumental purposes. Although games have garnered a substantial amount of research attention during the last decade, research literature is scattered and there is still a lack of a clear and reliable understanding of why games are being used, and how they are placed in the established utilitarian-hedonic continuum of information systems. To address this gap, we conducted a meta-analysis of the quantitative body of literature that has examined the reasons for using games (48 studies). Additionally, we compared the findings across games that are intended for either leisure or instrumental use. Even though games are generally regarded as a pinnacle form of hedonically-oriented ISs, our results show that enjoyment and usefulness are equally important determinants for using them (though their definitive role varies between game types). Therefore, it can be posited that games are multi-purpose ISs which nevertheless rely on hedonic factors, even in the pursuit of instrumental outcomes. The present study contributes to and advances our theoretical and empirical understanding of multi-purpose ISs and the ways in which they are used. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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