Drivers of mobile game adoption amongst generation Y students

MCom (Marketing Management) at the Vaal Triangle Campus of the North-West University, 2017Mobile games are currently the fastest growing mobile service in the market. The prevalence of traditional video games is dissipating, as mobile games experience much higher growth rates in the industry. The same can be said in South Africa, where mobile gaming revenue is growing at double the rate of traditional video games. The success of mobile games has attracted the interest of various organisations and marketers who wish to use mobile games as platform for advertising. Advertising expenditure in the video games market already exceeds R70 billion, thereby providing evidence of its importance as a marketing medium. Organisations and marketers seeking to exploit the success of mobile games may be wise to target the Generation Y cohort in South Africa. They are individuals born between the years 1986 and 2005, placing them between the ages of 11 and 30 years old in 2016. At 38 percent of the South African population, this age cohort manifests as a sizable market segment. Generation Y individuals are known for their early adoption rates, willingness to be pioneers and tech-savviness. In particular, Generation Y members studying at tertiary institutions are an attractive segment to marketers as they generally have a higher future earning potential and social standing amongst their peers. The primary objective of this study was to propose and empirically test a model of the drivers of mobile games adoption amongst Generation Y students in the South African context. The sampling frame for the study consisted of 26 public registered HEIs located in South Africa. Non-probability judgement sampling was followed to select three HEIs situated in the Gauteng province. The three HEIs comprised a traditional university, a university of technology and a comprehensive university. Lecturers at the participating campuses were contacted and asked for permission to distribute the questionnaires. Once permission was obtained, a sample of 600 students, split equally across the three campuses, was drawn for the study in 2016. Of the questionnaires returned, 502 were useable giving a response rate of 84 percent. The collected data was analysed using an exploratory factor analysis, a descriptive statistical analysis, a correlation analysis, structural equation modelling and a two independent-sample t-test. Structural equation modelling revealed that Generation Y students’ use-context has a significant positive impact on perceived attractiveness, perceived enjoyment, habit and subjective norms. It also revealed that perceived attractiveness, perceived enjoyment and habit have a direct positive impact on flow, with flow having a direct positive impact on attitude. Moreover, subjective norms and attitude were found to have a direct positive impact on behavioural intentions. In terms of the differences between male and female participants, the findings of this study indicate that male Generation Y students have a statistically and practically significant higher perception of attractiveness of mobile games as well as a statistically and practically significant stronger behavioural intention towards playing mobile games. The findings of this study aid marketers in understanding consumer behaviour towards mobile gaming in the South African context. In addition, a proposed model that predicts the drivers of mobile games adoption may assist marketers targeting Generation Y students or other segmented groups. These findings can also open up future opportunities for organisations, both local and international, who wish to directly serve this lucrative market segment in South Africa.Master