Innovating and diffusing Internet commerce through user engagement: an empirical study of massively multiplayer online games

By embedding marketing tools in systems, this study investigates the effect of user engagement on the innovation and diffusion of online games. The associated marketing tools are related sets of toolkits, which are basic building units that empower users to operate interfaces efficiently, thus making the interfaces user-friendly. The distinct types of engaging toolkits (trial-and-error, solution-space, user-friendly, module library, translation and diffusion) promote online performance by enhancing word-of-mouth (WOM) reputation and versioning speed. A widely used social networking website in Taiwan dedicated to online games, www.gamer.com.tw, is investigated in this study. The results indicate that WOM reputation is higher for online games that have engaged players by providing more module-library, translation and diffusion marketing toolkits compared to those with fewer toolkits. Moreover, versioning speed was higher for online games embedded with more trial-and-error, solution-space, user-friendly and translation toolkits compared to those with fewer toolkits. These results reveal the unequal efficacy of embedded marketing tools for user engagement in the online context and have implications for research and practice related to online product development and Internet service marketing strategies. These results can be referenced in strategies for creating interfaces that facilitate user-generated creativeness, innovations and communications.