The effect of social capital on community loyalty in a virtual community: Test of a tripartite-process model

Be loyal but not addicted: Effect of online game social migration on game loyalty and addiction

“…Online game loyalty indicates players' strong preference toward the game they play (Teng, ). Previous findings showed individual characteristics (age, gender, and personality), game characteristics (game quality, service quality, customization, and innovation), game perception (value and risk), game experience (flow), and social interaction (social behavior, social capital, and social norms) have an effect on online game loyalty (Chen, ; Hsiao and Chiou, , , 2012c; Rezaei and Ghodsi, ; Teng, , ; Teng and Chen, ; Wang, ; Yang et al ., ; Li et al ., ; Wei et al ., ). Among those influential factors, the effect of social interaction (social activity, social capital, and social norms) on game loyalty has received the most research attention.…”

“…Therefore, players must organize themselves into teams to play the game. This team activity can positively affect loyalty (Hsiao and Chiou, ; Teng and Chen, ). In a massively multiplayer online role‐playing game (MMORPG), the team comprised by players is called a guild .…”

“…Players can construct a kind of social capital which is very different from that in real life. The more capital players owe, the higher their loyalty to the game (Hsiao and Chiou, , , 2012c; Lin et al ., ). The reason why social capital can promote loyalty is that players benefit from it: It increases interpersonal trust and improves accessibility of resources.…”

“…The same exists in online games. The more players conform to social norms in an online game, the higher their loyalty to the game (Hsiao and Chiou, ; Teng and Chen, ). The reason why social norms in online games affect loyalty possibly lies in two aspects.…”

“…Players also have offline‐related conversations in the game (Chee, ; Cole and Griffiths, ; Schiano et al ., ; Snodgrass et al ., ). Online game social interaction includes social behavior, social need, and social capital, all of which have a positive impact on loyalty (Hsiao and Chiou, ; Teng and Chen, ). The more players participate in teamwork in a game, the higher their loyalty is (Teng and Chen, ).…”