Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life

This paper examines the relationship between virtual identity and virtual consumption in Second Life. More specifically, we investigate the tendency to link the virtual world to reality through the concept of identity, and explore the role consumption and business endeavors play in this process. Inf...

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Autores principales:	Koles,Bernadett, Nagy,Peter
Lenguaje:	English
Publicado:	Universidad de Talca 2012
Materias:	Second life Virtual identity Virtual worlds Virtual consumption Online consumer behavior
Acceso en línea:	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-18762012000200009
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spelling	oai:scielo:S0718-187620120002000092018-10-12Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second LifeKoles,BernadettNagy,Peter Second life Virtual identity Virtual worlds Virtual consumption Online consumer behavior This paper examines the relationship between virtual identity and virtual consumption in Second Life. More specifically, we investigate the tendency to link the virtual world to reality through the concept of identity, and explore the role consumption and business endeavors play in this process. Information was obtained from comments posted on four Second Life forums, focusing on the general themes of virtual avatars, aspects of business activities, and their mutual impact on each other. Qualitative narrative research analysis was employed. From our results, three distinct categories emerged on the basis of residents’ immersion to Second Life; 1) purely virtual, 2) mixed, and 3) realist. We highlight particular characteristics associated with each of these clusters, with suggestions aiming to capture the various demands and preferences of each corresponding group. In terms of business activities, residents appeared quite demanding, identifying high quality products and professional services as the basis for business success in virtual settings. The business approaches most likely identified to lead to success or failure associated with certain businesses confirm that online environments differ substantially from physical and real world markets, with trust being a particularly sensitive issue in these anonym and fully disembodied contexts. Further implications for organizations and scholars are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessUniversidad de TalcaJournal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research v.7 n.2 20122012-08-01text/htmlhttp://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-18762012000200009en10.4067/S0718-18762012000200009
institution	Scielo Chile
collection	Scielo Chile
language	English
topic	Second life Virtual identity Virtual worlds Virtual consumption Online consumer behavior
spellingShingle	Second life Virtual identity Virtual worlds Virtual consumption Online consumer behavior Koles,Bernadett Nagy,Peter Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life
description	This paper examines the relationship between virtual identity and virtual consumption in Second Life. More specifically, we investigate the tendency to link the virtual world to reality through the concept of identity, and explore the role consumption and business endeavors play in this process. Information was obtained from comments posted on four Second Life forums, focusing on the general themes of virtual avatars, aspects of business activities, and their mutual impact on each other. Qualitative narrative research analysis was employed. From our results, three distinct categories emerged on the basis of residents’ immersion to Second Life; 1) purely virtual, 2) mixed, and 3) realist. We highlight particular characteristics associated with each of these clusters, with suggestions aiming to capture the various demands and preferences of each corresponding group. In terms of business activities, residents appeared quite demanding, identifying high quality products and professional services as the basis for business success in virtual settings. The business approaches most likely identified to lead to success or failure associated with certain businesses confirm that online environments differ substantially from physical and real world markets, with trust being a particularly sensitive issue in these anonym and fully disembodied contexts. Further implications for organizations and scholars are discussed.
author	Koles,Bernadett Nagy,Peter
author_facet	Koles,Bernadett Nagy,Peter
author_sort	Koles,Bernadett
title	Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life
title_short	Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life
title_full	Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life
title_fullStr	Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life
title_full_unstemmed	Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life
title_sort	virtual customers behind avatars: the relationship between virtual identity and virtual consumption in second life
publisher	Universidad de Talca
publishDate	2012
url	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-18762012000200009
work_keys_str_mv	AT kolesbernadett virtualcustomersbehindavatarstherelationshipbetweenvirtualidentityandvirtualconsumptioninsecondlife AT nagypeter virtualcustomersbehindavatarstherelationshipbetweenvirtualidentityandvirtualconsumptioninsecondlife
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Virtual Customers behind Avatars: The Relationship between Virtual Identity and Virtual Consumption in Second Life

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