Virtual World Addiction and Problematic Consumption: The Distortive Effects of Addiction on Perceptions of Cognitive Absorption and Subsequent Usage Outcomes

摘要

This study examines problematic consumer behavior (or what Hirschman (1991: 4) calls "...consumption gone wrong") by focusing on a novel context: consumer addiction to virtual worlds. The present study examines the relationship between virtual world addiction and usage perceptions with problematic consumption outcomes. It examines how user cognition towards information technology (measured through cognitive absorption) is distorted due to addiction to virtual worlds, and how this distorted cognition can, in turn, determine spending intentions and continuance intentions.