earticle

영어

Online games are not only tools for enjoyment, they are also the linking pins connecting between the online and the offline worlds. The reason why the researchers have focused on online and offline connections is that online games go beyond the games themselves and have a great
impact on offline, real world behavior. From the positive perspective, online gamers get flow experience and stress relief in playing online games. Negatively, however, they may overindulge themselves in online games, become addicted to them, or even commit suicide. The effects affecting other domains can be termed ‘spillover’. There are two types of spillover: forward
spillover that the existing boundary is expanded into new domains and reverse spillover that new domains ebb into existing domain. The boundary that the scope is expanded from offline to online only means the boundary expansion based on the existing domain. After the boundary was expanded, the behavior displayed at the existing life field would affect that of the new domain. In addition, the behavior enacted at the new domain would impact the existing domain. With the process behaving as forward and reverse spillovers, there are interaction effects on online and offline behavior. However, there is little research dealing with the spillover effects from the offline to the online domain. This study concentrates on the individual behavior of online gamers centering on offline dependence. The flow experience and immersion can be affected by offline dependence as well as by the online game itself. With the purpose of finding the factors affecting both flow and immersion, we are interested in the moderator effects of offline dependence influencing both flow and immersion from social interaction. At the section of literature review, boundary theory/spillover effect, social capital/social interaction, and flow/immersion are covered. With this theoretical background, we developed the research model and eight hypotheses with three independent variables: skills, challenge, and social interaction, and two dependent variables: flow and immersion, and one moderator: offline dependence. For each construct, we used measurement items recognized for reliability and widely used in the
previous research. We slightly modified some items proper to the research context and developed new items for the construct of offline dependence. In turn, we collected the data from one of universities in Korea. Above all, we analyzed 197 valid data points on reliability and validity
and got statistically significant results. The results showed that flow is strongly influenced by skills, challenge, and social interaction, but immersion is only influenced by skills and social interaction and not challenge. The results revealed that the moderating effect of offline dependence affected only the relationship from social interaction to the immersion on the lower offline dependence group. Unexpectedly, we got another significant moderating effect from skill to immersion on the higher offline dependence group. The findings suggest some implications. First, this study empirically tested the spillover effect from offline to online domain and confirmed it. Second, the results showed that the reason why the lower offline dependence group was more addicted to online games than the higher group was the bridging of social capital making friends on the online games. Third, this research confirmed that flow and immersion were mutually exclusive constructs as provided by the two-factor theory. Finally and unexpectedly, the
results showed the higher offline dependence group intended to immerse in online games and provided a possible reasons: achievement motive.