Extending the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain online game playing among Malaysian undergraduate students

Abstract

As the world moves into the web 2.0 era, everyone can connect virtually, and online game playing has become a trend. Online games are played over computer networks, usually over the Internet. Online games entail a number of advantages, such as the ability to connect to multiplayer games, although single-player online games are also rather popular. This exploratory study focused on modeling the determinants of actual use of online game playing. Many researchers have shown perceived enjoyment and flow experience as important drivers of actual use of online game playing. The theory of planned behavior has been used in this study. Data were collected from 1584 Universiti Sains Malaysia students with different backgrounds using a structured questionnaire. The findings show that perceived enjoyment has the strongest influence on actual use. Other variables found to influence actual usage include the level of perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, attitude, perceived enjoyment, and flow experience. Implications of this research for future researchers will also be discussed. We hope this research will increase researchers’ interest in further development in this sector and that the model will assist the games industry to identify factors that increase actual use by players.