Enocuraging Participation: Facilitators and Inhibitors of Virtual World Acceptance

Much of the promise implicit in virtual worlds depends on a critical mass of virtual world users, making it important to understand how to encourage individuals to participate in virtual worlds. Therefore, the objective of this study is to propose an integrative and parsimonious theoretical framework that is specific to virtual world acceptance. As many existing technology acceptance models have been focused primarily on utilitarian technologies, these models may not be sufficient to explain individual acceptance of virtual worlds because of their unique nature; specifically, virtual worlds may be viewed as both hedonic and utilitarian technologies. Based upon the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and a deep literature review of hedonic influences on acceptance, we parsimoniously identify potential constructs influential in virtual world acceptance by analyzing quantitative and qualitative data using a survey research method designed to elicit feedback from potential adopters. Our proposed model extends UTAUT to include hedonic influences as well as integrating an unexpected finding; acknowledging the role of inhibitors in virtual world acceptance.