Personality Facets and Customer Loyalty in Online Games

Online games have attracted numerous customers and brought stable revenues to game providers. However, some customers frequently switch to other games, and thus, it is important to identify which customers are likely loyal customers. The literature has identified openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion as predictors for loyalty in online games (Teng, Huang, Jeng, Chou, & Hu, 2008). However, the three broad traits contain multiple facets. Thus research addressing the three broad traits may mix the influences of multiple facets. Thus this study investigates the influences of personality facets on online game customer skill, challenge, flow experience, and loyalty. The sample comprised 994 online gamers. This study employed structural equation modeling for analysis, and found that (1) ideas and achievement striving are positively related to skill, (2) achievement striving, competence, and excitement-seeking are positively related to challenge, (3) gregariousness is positively related to interdependence, (4) fantasy, skill, challenge, and interdependence are positively related to customer likelihood of experiencing flow, and (5) experienced flow is positively related to customer loyalty. The study findings suggest managers improve gamer skill and challenge when gamers are in their early stages in online games, boosting their likelihood of experiencing flow and thus building their loyalty. Managers are also suggested to target individuals who are high in personality facets such as ideas, achievement striving, competence, excitement- seeking, to effectively build a loyal customer base. Educators are also suggested to notice students who are high in those personality facets, because these students may continuously play online games when they begin to play