[AISWorld] European Journal of Information Systems 21(3) is out. 6th article summary 'Towards an understanding of assimilation in virtual worlds: The 3C approach'

[Myriam RAYMOND]

Dear IS colleagues,

http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejis/index.html

The sixth article co-authored by three colleagues from Louisiana State
University: Andrew Schwarz, Sonja Wiley-Patton and Colleen Schwarz along
with Yoohyuk Jung from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
(UNIST) and Benoga Perez-Mira from Northwestern State University entitled
'Towards an understanding of assimilation in virtual worlds: The 3C
approach' discusses factors influencing the non-assimilation on virtual
world platforms with a special emphasis on Second Life. In their study,
the gap of assimilation is practically viewed as the lack of use after
users sign up on a virtual world platform. The research teaches us that
not only the discontinued use of the virtual world technology is
influenced by technology class factors and community class factors, but
also by user class factors, thus leading to three distinct classes (3
C’s). The user class is defined by the authors as the emotional and
thought processes that differ between individuals. This class is
hypothesised to constitute of such constructs as, ease of use,
playfulness, and social presence, which are all three, influenced by the
self-distraction construct. These elements shape a user's attitude and
subsequently influence the intention towards assimilation in virtual
world. The model draws on the TRA (the theory of reasoned action) that
takes into account both the volitional and evaluative components and the
normative influence component that drive the individual's behaviour.  This
article is undoubtedly a beginning in a series of investigations and
research aiming at (a) validating the model by extending it to other
technologies and (b) exploring the comprehensiveness of the suggested
factors in each class of non-assimilation impacting factors.

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Myriam Raymond
Research Assistant & PhD Student
Université de Nantes