watching others play: a uses and gratifications approach ... · through the uses and gratifications...

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Aalto University

School of Science

Degree Programme in Information Networks

Max Sjöblom

Watching others play: a uses and gratifications

approach to video game streaming motives

Master’s Thesis

Helsinki, September 8, 2015

Supervisor: Professor Perttu Hämäläinen

Thesis advisor(s): Juho Hamari, D.Sc.

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Aalto University, P.O. BOX 11000, 00076 AALTO

www.aalto.fi Abstract of master's thesis

Author Max Sjöblom Title of thesis Watching others play: a uses and gratifications approach to video game streaming motives Degree programme Degree Programme in Information Networks

Thesis supervisor Professor Perttu Hämäläinen Code of professorship T-111 Department Department of Media Thesis advisor(s) Juho Hamari, D.Sc. Date 08.09.2015 Number of pages 59 +

15 Language English

Abstract The activity of watching others play video games in real time through online streaming services has grown greatly during the past years. This study aims to answer the question why people choose to watch these video game streaming services. We explore this subject first through a qualitative interview study (n = 19), and then through a quantitative study based on an online survey (n = 1097). Both of these studies focus on the online service Twitch. Through the uses and gratifications theory we examine five distinct types of motivations: cognitive, affective, personal integrative, social integrative and tension release. We investigate the relationship between these motivational factors and four types of usage related to watching video game streams. The four types of usages investigated are hours watched per week, number of streamers watched per week, number of streamers followed and subscription status. We find that tension release, social integrative and affective motivations effect usage significantly. We also find that social integrative motivations are the primary drivers for subscription behaviour based the motivational types investigated.

Keywords uses and gratifications theory, video game streaming, games, esports, media usage, media research, Twitch

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Aalto-universitetet, PB 11000, 00076 AALTO www.aalto.fi

Sammandrag av diplomarbetet

Författare Max Sjöblom Titel Watching others play: a uses and gratifications approach to video game streaming motives Utbildningsprogram Utbildningsprogrammet för informationsnätverk

Övervakare Professor Perttu Hämäläinen Kod för professuren T-111 Institution Institutionen för media Handledare Juho Hamari, TkD Datum 08.09.2015 Sidantal 59 + 15 Språk Engelska

Sammandrag En ny medieform som har vuxit kraftigt under de senaste åren är realtidssändning (eng. streaming) av videospel, ofta kallade spelstreamar. För att skapa en djupare förståelse för varför människor väljer att se på dessa spelstreamar, ämnar denna studie utforska de motivationstyper som styr tittande. Detta görs via två separata studier, fokuserade på Internet servicen Twitch. Den första är en kvalitativ studie fokuserad på intervjuer (n = 19), medan den andra är den kvalitativ undersökning där informationen samlades via ett frågeformulär (n = 1097). Vi undersöker användning i relation till fem huvudtyper av motivation: kognitiva, affektiva, personliga, sociala samt spänningsutlösande motivationstyper. Användning mäts med hjälp av fyra huvudindikatorer: tittningstimmar per vecka, antalet streamare (eng. streamer) tittade på per vecka, antalet följda (eng. followed) streamare per vecka samt prenumerationsstatus. Vi påvisar att användning signifikant kan förutspås via spänningsutlösande, affektiva samt sociala motivationstyper. Dess vidare visar vi att sociala motivationstyper är den mest dominerande motivationstypen av de motivationstyper vi har studerat för förutspående av prenumerationsstatus.

Nyckelord medieanvändning, esport, spel, uses and gratifications theory, streaming, medieforskning

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Acknowledgements.

I! am! deeply! grateful! for! the! immense! amount! of! help,! encouragement! and!

guidance! I! received! from!D.Sc.! Juho!Hamari!during! the! time!which! I! conducted!

this! study.! The! advice! given! to! me! was! of! utmost! importance! in! shaping! this!

study!into!what!it!is.!I!would!also!like!to!thank!Professor!Perttu!Hämäläinen!for!

the! input! I!got!at! the!end!of!writing!this!study.!The! input!helped!further!polish!

the! ideas! brought! forth! by! this! study.! The! 19! initial! interviewees! that!

participated!and!helped!me!further!the!understanding!of!the!subject!also!deserve!

my!gratitude.!I!than!Tracey!from!YouTube!and!Drew!from!Twitch!for!giving!me!

their!time!to!talk!about!the!subject,!and!giving!me!some!new!ideas!to!think!about!

regarding!the!topic!of!video!game!streaming.!

I!thank!Sofie!for!her!great!moral!support!and!practical!ideas!regarding!the!study.!

I! appreciate! all! the! help! I! got!! I! also! thank!my!mother! for! the! encouragement!

received!during!the!way.!

From!Reddit,!Tilo!Frank!deserves!a!big!applaud!for!helping!me!find!avenues!for!

the!survey.!A!special!thank!you!also!goes!out!to!the!mods!of!Reddit!that!helped!

me!propagate!the!survey.!Finally,!a!thank!you!to!all!the!people!that!took!part!in!

the!survey,!all!1097!of!you.!You!helped!elevate!the!study!to!greater!heights!than!I!

had!expected.!!

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Max!Sjöblom,!

Helsinki!8.9.2015! !

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Table.of.Contents.

Introduction*........................................................................................................................*1!Research*problem*......................................................................................................................*1!

Scope*of*the*study*.......................................................................................................................*1!

Methodology*.................................................................................................................................*2!

Structure*of*the*study*................................................................................................................*2!

Definitions*.....................................................................................................................................*3!

Preliminary*study*..............................................................................................................*5!Methodology*.................................................................................................................................*5!

Results*............................................................................................................................................*7!

Research*background*....................................................................................................*10!Research*in*motivation*factors*...........................................................................................*10!

Research*in*video*game*streaming*....................................................................................*12!

Participatory*Research*in*Online*Communities*............................................................*15!

Uses*and*Gratifications*Theory*...........................................................................................*16!

Technology*Acceptance*Model*............................................................................................*18!

Sense*of*Community*...............................................................................................................*19!

Fandom*.......................................................................................................................................*21!

Research*Model*and*Hypotheses*........................................................................................*21!

Methodology*.....................................................................................................................*26!Structure*of*the*questionnaire*............................................................................................*26!

Demographic!information!.................................................................................................................!26!

Usage!...........................................................................................................................................................!26!

Psychometric!factors!...........................................................................................................................!28!

Survey*propagation*.................................................................................................................*34!

Descriptive*statistics*for*survey*.........................................................................................*37!

Validity*and*reliability*...........................................................................................................*39!

Results*................................................................................................................................*42!

Discussion*.........................................................................................................................*45!Tension*release*motivations*...............................................................................................*45!

Affective*motivations*.............................................................................................................*46!

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Cognitive*motivations*............................................................................................................*48!

Personal*integrative*motivations*......................................................................................*49!

Social*integrative*motivations*............................................................................................*51!

Conclusion*.........................................................................................................................*54!Theoretical*implications*.......................................................................................................*54!

Practical*implications*for*video*game*streaming*.........................................................*55!

Limitations*.................................................................................................................................*57!

Further*research*directions*.................................................................................................*58!

Bibliography*.....................................................................................................................*60!

Appendix*A*........................................................................................................................*68!

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1!!

Introduction.

Video!games!have!had!a!certain!spectator!element!to!them!from!their!inception.!

In! the! early! days! of! arcade! games,! people! would! gather! around! the! person!

playing!the!game!to!see!how!they!were!doing!and!cheer!them!on.!When!games!

moved! from!the!arcades! to! living!rooms,!players!were!no! longer!subject! to! the!

stares! of! strangers! when! they! were! playing! their! favourite! games.! In! recent!

years,! technological! advances! in! infrastructure! have! led! to! the! emergence! of! a!

new! way! to! consume! games! among! a! large! number! of! people;! namely! video!

game!streaming.!

This! study! aims! to! uncover! why! so! many! are! choosing! to! watch! others! play!

games!over!the!Internet,!using!services!such!as!Twitch.!This!is!a!very!interesting!

topic!of!study,!as!not!much!research!has!been!done!within!the!field!of!video!game!

streaming.! Furthermore,! the! explosive! growth! of! the! video! game! streaming!

industry!is!yet!another!reason!to!build!a!further!understanding!of!the!topic.!

Research.problem.

It! is! clear! that! a! large! number! of! people! are! choosing! to! spend! a! significant!

amount!of! time!watching!others!play!video!games! (Twitch, 2015).!However,!we!

do!not!have!a!thorough!understanding!of!the!motives!driving!the!consumption.!

This!is!a!problem,!as!understanding!the!motives!behind!why!people!use!services!

such! as! Twitch! would! allow! us! to! build! these! services! with! these! motives! in!

mind.!Hence,!the!main!research!question!of!this!study!is:!

“What&are&the&main&motivational&factors&for&watching&video&game&streams?”&

We!focus!on!identifying!the!central!motivational! factors! in!order!to! further!our!

understanding!of!the!viewing!habits!of!spectators.!

Scope.of.the.study.

This! study! is! limited! to! the! online! video! game! streaming! service! Twitch.! This!

service!was!chosen!due!to!it!being!one!of!the!most!prominent!streaming!services!

in! the! Western! hemisphere.! Actual! data! is! not! available! for! comparison,! but!

Twitch!is!assumed!to!be!the! largest!streaming!service!by!many!sources,!having!

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between! 60! and! 100! million! unique! monthly! users,! depending! on! the! source!

(Twitch, 2015; Quantcast, 2015).!!By!limiting!this!study!to!a!specific!service,!we!are!

able! to! get! a! better! inZdepth! understanding! of! the! users! by! looking! at!metrics!

specific!to!this!very!service,!such!as!the!number!of!streams!the!user!follows!and!

the! number! of! streams! the! user! subscribes! to.! There! are! several! services! of! a!

similar! nature,! including! Hitbox,! Azubu! and! Ustream.! YouTube,! the! world’s!

largest!online!video!platform,!also! launched!the!possibility!to!stream!live!video!

(Salgar & James, 2013).! Recently,! YouTube! launched! YouTube! Gaming! as! a!

service!solely!concentrating!on!video!game!streaming!as!well!as!recorded!videos!

of!games!(Joyce, 2015).!

In!the!context!of!this!study,!we!limit!the!concept!of!watching!video!games!to!live!

Internet!broadcasts.!This!means! that! for! example! television!broadcasts!or!preZ

recorded!videos!available!on!YouTube!are!not!considered!part!of!the!core!for!this!

study.!We!do!this!as!a!way!to!define!the!activity!of!watching!video!game!streams!

and!confining!it!to!a!particular!service,!in!our!case!Twitch.!

Methodology.

In!this!study!we!primarily!focus!on!quantitative!research!done!through!an!online!

questionnaire.!To!serve!as!a!base! for!our!understanding!of! the!subject,! a! small!

number!of! informal! interviews!were!conducted!with!users!of! the!Twitch!video!

streaming! service.! These! interviews! enable! us! to! build! a! better! questionnaire!

that! then!serves!as!the!main!source!of!data! for!this!study.!The!questionnaire! is!

primarily! based! on! psychometric! theory! (Nunnally, 1978).! The! data! is! then!

analysed!with!the!SEMZPLS!algorithm!using!the!SmartPLS!3.0!software.!

Structure.of.the.study.

This!introductory!chapter!aims!to!provide!an!overview!of!the!subject!at!hand!and!

introduce! definitions! critical! for! understanding! the! research! topic.! The! rest! of!

the!study!is!split!into!two!main!parts.!The&preliminary&study!serves!as!a!separate!

entity! and! discusses! the! informal! interviews! conducted! at! the! start! of! the!

research!process.!Study&two!focuses!on!the!questionnaire!constructed!to!serve!as!

the!main!data! source! for! this! study.! Study! two! is! split! into! sections!as! follows.!

The!research&background&covers!previous!research!conducted!within!the!field!of!

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video!game!streaming,!and!also!motivational!factors!on!a!more!general!level.!Our!

hypotheses! are! also! introduced! in! this! chapter.! The! methodology! chapter!

discusses!the!methods!used!for!this!study!and!delves!into!more!detail!about!the!

individual!constructs!used!in!the!survey.!We!then!look!deeper!into!our!survey!in!

the!results!and!discussion!chapters.!Finally,!the!conclusions&chapter!takes!a!look!at!

how!the!results!can!help!us!with!further!research!within!the!field!of!video!game!

streaming.!

Definitions.

Esports!–!Commonly!also!noted!as!eSports!or!eZsports,!alternatively!written!out!

in!its!full!form!as!Electronic!Sports.!Wagner!(2006)!defines!esports!as!“an&area&of&

sport&activities&in&which&people&develop&and&train&mental&or&physical&abilities&in&the&

use& of& information& and& communication& technologies” (Wagner, 2006, p. 438).&

Wagner!builds!on!the!definition!of!sport!as!set!forth!by!Tiedemann!(2004).!

Follow!–!Spectators!can!follow!streamers!they!are!interested!in!and!then!receive!

notification! in! the! service! or! through! eZmail!when! these! streamers! begin! their!

broadcasts.!Following!can!be!seen!as!a!nonZfinancial!way!to!support!a!streamer!

that!the!spectator!enjoys.!

Stream!–!A!single!entity!of!a!streamer!broadcasting,! from!start!to!finish.!These!

are!often!available!for!later!viewing!in!Twitch’s!video!on!demand!archive.!

Streamer!Z!An!individual!user!that!broadcasts!content!via!the!Twitch!service.!A!

single! user! always! broadcasts! from! the! same! URL,! in! the! form! of!

http://twitch.tv/username.!

Subscribe! –! Streamers! who! have! attained! a! certain! number! of! viewers! and!

followers!are!eligible!to!be!Twitch!partners.!This!allows!spectators!to!“subscribe”!

to! the! streamer,! an! activity! that! costs! five! USD! per! month.! In! return! for! this!

financial! investment! the! spectator! can! receive! benefits! as! decided! by! the!

streamer! in! question.! Common! benefits! include! access! to! chat! emoticons!

available!solely!for!subscribers,!a!visual!indicator!in!the!chat!that!tells!others!you!

are!a!subscriber!and!the!possibility!to!take!part!in!special!events!aimed!solely!at!

subscribers.!

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Twitch! –! An! online! service! that! allows! users! to! live! broadcast!while! they! are!

playing!games.!

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Preliminary.study.

At! the! beginning! of! the! research! process! for! this! study,! a! series! of! informal!

interviews!were!conducted!as!a!way!to!further!our!understanding!of!the!topic!at!

hand.!This!chapter!covers!the!methodology!used!in!these!interviews,!along!with!

the!results!obtained!from!them.!

Methodology.

A! total! of! 19! informal! interviews! were! carried! out! in! order! to! build! an!

understanding! of! how! the! users! of! the! Twitch! service! were! using! it.! All! the!

interviews!were!carried!out!online,!via!three!different!mediums,!namely!Skype,!

Facebook!and!IRC.!These!three!were!chosen!as!it!was!easy!to!record!the!intent!of!

the!interviewees!in!exactly!the!form!they!stated!their!thoughts.!Participants!were!

asked!either!directly!or,!in!the!case!of!Facebook!users,!in!a!more!general!post!by!

the! researcher! where! he! asked! interested! persons! to! get! in! contact.! All!

interviewees!were!asked!the!same!two!basic!questions.!These!questions!varied!

slightly! in! how! they! were! written,! as! some! were! interviewed! in! Finnish! and!

others! in! English.! Furthermore,! the! exact! phrasing! of! the! question! was! not!

necessarily!identical!from!one!case!to!the!other,!but!the!aim!was!to!express!the!

intent!of! the!question!as! identically!as!possible! from!one! interview! to!another.!

FollowZup!questions!were!asked!when!appropriate,! such!as!when! the! intent!of!

the! interviewee! was! not! clear! to! the! interviewer.! However,! these! followZup!

questions!were!kept!to!a!minimum,!as!these!interviews!were!not!intended!to!be!

laddered! interviews.! The! two! primary! questions! asked! were,! in! English,! as!

follows.!

Question& 1:& “Could& you& list& reasons& (as&many& as& possible)& that& a& person&watches&

gaming& streams& on&Twitch& or& a& similar& service?&These& can&be& reasons& from&your&

personal&experience,&or&reasons&that&you&might&think&of&as&to&why&another&person&

would&watch&gaming&streams.”&

Question&2:&“Also,&after&that,&could&you&approximate&how&often&you&watch&gaming&

streams,&and&which&games&do&you&watch&the&most.”&

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The! interviewees! were! all! male,! between! 18! and! 37! years! of! age,! and! they!

watched! an! average! of! 6.7! hours! per!week,!with! the!median! being! 4! hours.! A!

wide!variety!of!game!genres!were!present!among!the!streams!the!interviewees!

mentioned!that!they!watched!frequently.!An!attempt!to!get!a!more!heterogenic!

group!was!made,! so!we! sought! interviewees! from! various! geographic! regions.!

The!geographical!distribution!is!presented!in!table!1.!

Country. Finland. Sweden. Belgium. United.States. Indonesia.

Number'of'interviewees' 14' 2' 1' 1' 1'

Table*1*Geographical*distribution*of*interviewees*

After!the!interviews!were!completed,!the!results!were!then!analysed!and!coded!

using! a! spreadsheet! program.! The! answers! were! coded! according! to! the!

researchers! best! understanding! of! the! common! themes! among! the! interviews.!

The!detailed!process!for!coding!the!interviews!worked!as!follows.!Starting!with!

one!interview!log,!coherent!factors!were!noted!down!and!given!a!general!name.!

For!example,!interviewee!number!two!stated!“people&want&to&get&better&at&games,&

and& interacting&with& the& streamer&or&hearing&her& thought&process&may&help&with&

that”,! which!was! then! coded! as! “learning! from! professionals”.! If! a! subsequent!

interview! contained! reasoning! insinuating! at! a! similar! reason! for! watching!

Twitch,! this! was! grouped! along! with! the! first! observation.! Continuing! on! the!

previous!example,!interviewee!number!11!stated!“to&get&better&by&understanding&

the&decision&making&and&strategy&of&established&players&and&commentators”.!This!

was!then!grouped!under!“learning!from!professionals”!along!with!the!statement!

from! interview! number! two.! All! 19! interviewees! were! processed! in! a! similar!

manner,!noting!down!all!interviewee!statements!regarding!reasons!for!watching!

Twitch.!The!results!from!this!process!are!presented!in!the!following!section.!It!is!

worth! noting! that! as! they! aim! of! these! interviews! was! to! build! a! broad!

understanding! of! the! subject,!we! kept! to! a! fairly! high! level! of! abstraction.!We!

wanted! to! identify! larger! themes! and! clear! motives! for! viewing! video! game!

streams,! rather! than!use! the! interviews! to!build!our! final! reasoning.!Hence!we!

understand! that! the! coding!process!did!not! follow!a! rigorous!methodology!but!

rather!a!more!loose!structure!of!association.!

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Results.

The!common!factors!obtained!through!the!coding!process,!as!well!as!examples!of!

statements! related! to! the! factor,! are! presented! below! in! table! 2.! The! count!

signifies! how! many! interviewees! mentioned! that! motivational! factor! in! their!

interview.! The! examples! are! presented! verbatim! when! possible,! but! as! a!

majority! of! interviewees! responded! in! Finnish,! the! examples! have! been!

translated!to!English!by!the!author.!During!the!translation!phase,!care!was!given!

to!portray!the!statements!as!close!to!their!original!form!as!possible.!Translated!

example!statements!are!noted!with!an!asterisk.!The!factors!are!presented!based!

on!frequency!of!occurrence!among!interviewees.!

Motivational.factor. Count. Example.statement.

Learning'from'professionals'

18' "to' get' better' by' understanding' the' decision' making' and'strategy'of'established'players'and'commentators"'

Purely'entertainment'(television)'

14' "purely' entertaining' reason' (compared' to' spectator' sports' /'watching'TV'in'general)"'*'

Interaction'with'community'

11' "in'the'stream'chat'you'can'talk'with'people'similar'to'yourself'live"'*'

As'watching'sports' 10' "you'follor'[sic]'gaming'as'a'competitive'sport"'*'

Learning'about'game'in'general'

9' "I'almost'always' learn'the'basics'of'a'game'through'streaming'before' I' start' playing' it'myself,' so' that' I' can' skip' learning' the'hardway'and'start'out'as'a'player'with'average'skill"'*'

Distraction' 9' "I'think'there'are'people'who'put'Twitch'on'in'the'background,'in' the' same' way' as' you' used' to' put' the' TV' on' just' as'background' noise,' with' the' aim' to' follow' more' closely' if'something'interesting'happens'in'the'stream"'*'

Finding'new'games' 9' "In'practice' the' stream'works'as'a'demo' for' the'demo.' If' you'like'what'you'see,'you'install'demo'and'try'it'out,'and'if'you'like'that'too,'you'buy'the'game."'*'

Witnessing'a'live'event' 5' "I' find' there' to' be' something'magical' about' the' fact' that' the'stream'is'live,'even'though'I'chat'very'little'myself."'*'

Interaction'with'streamer'

7' "to'interact'with'the'streamer'or'his/her'event"'

Can't'play'at'that'moment'

4' "you' can't' play' yourself,' but' it' is' suitable' to' have' on' in' the'background'(for'example'at'work)"'*'

Fandom' 3' "to'follow'the'successes'of'your'favorite'player"'*'

Stream'sniping,'ghosting'(personal'gain)'

2' "gaining' an' edge' through' stream' sniping'might' be' a' relevant'reason'for'some'to'follow'which'streams'are'live"'*'

Can't'afford'game'/'game'mode'

2' "with'MTGO'I'enjoy'watching'because'then'I'don't'have'to'pay'to'play'myself,'and'I'm'a'poor'student"'

Can't'geographically'access'event'

1' "bcause'the'venue'is'too'far'so'can'only'watch'via'twich"'

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Relaxing'to'not'(have'to)'play'yourself'

1' "playing'yourself' is' stressful'and'competitive,'watching'and/or'listening'is'relaxing"'

Follow'streamers'life'outside'the'game'

1' "to'follow'the'lives'of'their'favorite'streamer'outside'the'game"'*'

Nostalgia' 1' "people' are' way' more' likely' to' watch' games' they' have'previously'played,'esp.'in'their'childhood"'

For'the'music' 1' "some' streamers' have' excellent'music' choices,' use' as' a' radio'station"'

Table*2*Motivational*factors*extracted*from*interviews*(**denotes*translated*statement)*

As! we! can! see! here,! learning! is! an! important! motivational! factor,! both! on! a!

general! (learning& about& game& in& general)! and! a! more! detailed! (learning& from&

professionals)! level.!Personal!enjoyment! is!also!mentioned!often,! in! the! form!of!

purely&entertainment!and!as&watching&sports.!The!social!aspect!was!also!notable,!

as! both! interacting! with! the! streamer! and! the! stream! community! were!

mentioned! by! a! high! number! of! interviewees.! There! were! several! factors!

mentioned!by!only!a!small!number!of!interviewees,!but!these!were!also!included!

in!the!list!as!a!way!of!illustrating!the!range!of!motivational!reasons!mentioned!by!

interviewees.!

Using!the!uses!and!gratifications!theory!(UGT)!approach,!we!can!look!at!how!the!

motivational! reasons! mentioned! correspond! to! different! UGT! need! types,!

presented! in! detail! in! table! 3! on! page! 17! (West & Turner, 2010).! Most! of! the!

reasons! related! to! learning! are! covered! by! cognitive! motivations,! while! the!

entertainment! aspects! relate! closely! to! affective! motivations.! Distraction! and!

relaxation! are! also! mentioned! often,! and! those! correspond! to! tension! release!

motivation.!Social!integrative!motivations!encompasses!to!the!factors!relating!to!

interaction!with!the!streamer!and!community.!The!final!main!type!of!motivation!

that! is! not! directly! mentioned! is! personal! integrative! motivation,! often! most!

closely!related!to!the!need!for!respect,!reassuring!status!and!selfZesteem.!Some!of!

the! factors! given! by! interviewees! do! not! directly! fit! into! the! five! UGT! main!

motivational!types.!The!factors!that!fit!into!the!five!motivational!types!are!fairly!

broad!and!many!of!them!applicable!outside!the!context!of!video!game!streaming.!

Contrastingly,!the!factors!not!fitting!into!the!main!motivational!types!are!rather!

narrower,!such!as!not!having!geographical!access.!

9!!

The!results!obtained! from!these! interviews!were!used!as!a!base!when!building!

our!online!survey,!which!we!cover!in!more!detail!beginning!in!the!next!chapter.

10!!

Research.background.

This! chapter! will! cover! motivations! on! a! general! level! and! then! move! on! to!

discuss! motivation! as! it! relates! more! closely! to! the! context! of! video! game!

streaming.!We!will!discuss!the!technology!acceptance!model!(TAM),!a!theoretical!

framework! commonly! used! when! examining! motivations! related! to! new!

technology!use.!We!will! then!discuss!our!main! theory! framework,!namely!uses!

and!gratifications!theory.!

Research.in.motivation.factors.

There!has!been!a!vast!amount!of!research!done!in!the!field!of!motivation.!In!this!

study! we! are! taking! the! SelfZDetermination! Theory! (SDT)! approach,! as!

developed!by!Ryan! and!Deci! (1985).!While!we!will! not! strictly! follow!SDT,!we!

will! use! it! as! a! base! for! our! reasoning! on! motivation.! SDT! is! based! on! three!

concepts!based!around!human!motivation,!namely!competence,!relatedness! and!

autonomy.! Ryan! and! Deci! (2000b)! argue! that! these! three! factors! seem! to! be!

essential!for!human!motivation.!

Ryan!and!Deci!(2000a)!define!intrinsic!motivation!as!“the&doing&of&an&activity&for&

its& inherent& satisfactions& rather& than& for& some& separable& consequence”& and!

extrinsic!motivation!as!“a&construct&that&pertains&whenever&an&activity&is&done&in&

order& to& attain& some& separable& outcome”.! As! the! name! suggests,! extrinsic!

motivation! primarily! stems! from! external! sources,! such! as! our! surrounding!

society! and! social! interactions! we! take! part! in.! Ryan! and! Deci! further! divide!

extrinsic!motivation!into!four!subcategories!according!to!the!level!of!which!it!is!

autonomous.!These!factors!are,!from!a!lower!level!of!autonomy!to!a!higher!level!

of! autonomy:! external& regulation,! introjected& regulation,! regulation& through&

identification&and!integrated&regulation.!Motivation!guided!by!external&regulation!

is!most!often!caused!by!external!demands,!such!as!deadlines!or!having!to!meet!

certain! goals,! and! are! often! experienced! as! being! out! of! one’s! own! control.!

Introjected&regulation!stems!from!the!person!itself,!in!that!it!is!the!person!setting!

a! certain! external! regulatory! limit! on! herself.! ! Ryan! and! Deci! argue! that! ego!

involvement! is! a! type! of! introjected&regulation,!where! a! person’s!motivation! is!

11!!

driven!by!the!need!to!uphold!a!certain!level!of!selfZconfidence!or!feeling!of!worth.!

The! next! step! towards! autonomous! behaviour! is! regulation! through!

identification.! In! this! case,! the!person! identifies!with! the!underlying! reason! for!

doing! something,! accepting! it! as! something! important! for! herself.! The! person!

sees! value! in! the! underlying! reason! and! wants! to! work! towards! it.! The! final!

subcategory! is! integrated& regulation,! which! is! fairly! close! to! being! considered!

intrinsic!motivation.!Ryan!and!Deci! state! that! integrated&regulation!means! that!

the!person!has!accepted!regulations!as!a!part!of!their!other!values. (Ryan & Deci,

2000)!

Ryan!and!Deci!(2000a)!argue!that!these!four!types!of!extrinsic!motivation!should!

not! be! seen! as! a! developmental! continuum,! but! rather! that! they! can! exist! as!

separate! entities.! The!motivation! for! one! task!may! start! as! external! regulation!

and!stay!that!way,!while!the!motivation!for!another!task!may!start!as!regulation!

through! identification! and!move! towards! integrated! regulation.! Ryan! and!Deci!

also!bring!up!the!SDT!concept!of!relatedness,!arguing!that!a!person!is!more!likely!

to! be!motivated!when! a! significant! other! values! the! task.! This! can! be! seen! in!

various! relationships,! such! as! those! between! spouses,! between! student! and!

teach,! and! between! employer! and! employee.! Perhaps! in! the! context! of! video!

game! streaming! this! can! also! be! extended! to! incorporate! the! relationship!

between!spectator!and!streamer.!

Ryan! and! Deci! (2000a)! discuss! the! impact! of! competence! on! extrinsic!

motivation.! If!a!person! is! to!experience!motivation!for!a! task!as!more!than! just!

through!external!regulation,!the!person!needs!to!feel!a!certain!level!of!confidence!

in!her!own!competence!to!perform!said!task.!Ryan!and!Deci!further!theorize!that!

by! supporting! this! need! for! competence! by! structuring! the! task! appropriately,!

one!can!better!facilitate!internalization.!

Related! to! this!general!concept!of!varying! types!of!motivations,!we!will! look!at!

previous! research! done! within! video! game! streaming! in! order! to! further! our!

understanding!of!these!motivation!types!in!the!video!game!streaming!context.!

12!!

Research.in.video.game.streaming.

As! video! game! streaming! is! a! new! phenomenon,! not!much! research! has! been!

conducted! within! the! area.! However,! the! few! studies! that! have! been! done!

provide!great!insight!into!the!world!of!video!game!streaming,!and!help!us!build!a!

theoretical! understanding! for! our! own! research.! Research! has! been! done! on! a!

the! social! implications! of! video! game! streams! (Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne,

2014),!the!esports!aspect!of!video!game!streaming!(Cheung & Huang, 2011; Shaw,

2013),! the! connection! between! esports! streaming! and! broadcasting! (Scholz,

2011)! as!well! as! on! a!more! general! characterisation! level! (Kaytoue,! Silva,! Cerf,!

Meira,!&!Raïssi,!2012).!

The! social! implications! of! video! game! streams! have! been! studied! through! an!

ethnographic!study!and!interviews!of!both!streamers!and!viewers.!The!concept!

of! “hot”! and! “cool”! media,! a! term! coined! by! McLuhan,! is! shown! to! be! highly!

relevant! in! the! context!of! video!game!streaming! (Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne,

2014).! Hot! media! encompasses! high! fidelity! media! components! such! as! video,!

while!cool!media!has!a!lower!grade!of!fidelity!but!a!higher!grade!of!participation.!

Streaming! can!be! seen!as! a!distinctively!mixed!media,! using!both!hot! and! cool!

elements.!The!video!of!the!game!in!progress,!which!serves!as!the!base!for!every!

stream,!is!a!hot!element,!while!the!chat!functionality!is!a!cool!medium!that!allows!

participation!(Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014).!This!mix!of!media!allowed!for!

a! highly! interactive! experience,! with! the! hot!media! serving! as! a! facilitator! for!

interaction! via! the! cool! media! (Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014).! The!

importance! of! social! interaction,! wanting! to! learn! and! shared! history! and!

emotions! are! shown! to! all! be! crucial! elements! of! video! game! streaming!

(Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014).!!

The! spectators! of! the! esports! game! franchise! Starcraft! have! been! studied! in!

order! to! answer! who! the! spectators! are,! and! why! they! spectate! (Cheung! &!

Huang,! 2011).! In! relation! to! our! study,! the! Starcraft! game! franchise! is! highly!

relevant,!as!it!is!one!of!the!most!popular!games!on!the!Twitch!service.!It!is!worth!

noting! that!spectating!as!studied!by!Cheung!and!Huang!can!manifest! itself!also!

outside!of!video!game!streaming,!so!the!results!of!this!study!are!not!expected!to!

be! fully! comparable! with! those! of! the! earlier! study! (Cheung! &! Huang,! 2011).!

13!!

However,! we! feel! that! the! field! is! so! closely! related! that! it! can! be! considered!

reliable!for!our!understanding!of!the!field!of!study!of!video!game!streaming.!Nine!

distinct! viewer! personas! are! identified,! each! with! their! own! traits! and!

motivations! for!watching!Starcraft,! among! them!“The&Pupil”,! “The&Inspired”!and!

“The& Entertained”.! The! study! shows! that! one! of! the! key! aspects! that! make!

Starcraft!spectating!enjoyable! is! the!concept!of! information&asymmetry&(Cheung!

&!Huang,! 2011).! In! this! context,! information! asymmetry! can!manifest! itself! in!

several! different! forms,!where! the! player,! the! spectator! or! both! are!missing! a!

crucial! piece! of! hidden! information.! Cheung! and! Huang! note! that! it! is! most!

commonly! information! asymmetry! that! leads! to! exciting! turns! and! drama! in!

games.!

The! characterization! of! the! video! game! streaming! community! is! another! topic!

that! has! been! previously! researched! through! an! automated! web! crawling!

technique!to!gather!data!(Kaytoue,!Silva,!Cerf,!Meira,!&!Raïssi,!2012).!A!majority!

of! the! streams! originated! from! the! United! stated,! accounting! for! 68%! of! all!

streams! (Kaytoue,! Silva,! Cerf,! Meira,! &! Raïssi,! 2012).! Europe! was! the! second!

most! common!origin!of! streams,!with!East!Asia!being! the! third.!An! interesting!

finding!was!that!the!number!of!spectators!fluctuated!in!a!very!even!pattern!each!

day!during! the!week,!most! likely!due! to! time! zone!differences!between! the!US!

and! Europe.! This! meant! there! was! a! peak! when! spectators! in! Europe! were!

actively!using!Twitch,!and!then!another!peak!when!the!same!took!place!in!the!US.!

The!the!number!of!spectators!rose!towards!the!end!of!the!week,!as!most!of!the!

large!events!on!Twitch,!such!as!international!tournaments,!take!place!during!the!

weekend! (Kaytoue,! Silva,! Cerf,! Meira,! &! Raïssi,! 2012).! Another! discovery! was!

related!to!games!attention,!that!is!to!say,!which!games!are!being!streamed!most!

frequently!on!Twitch.!There!were!certain!games! that!continuously!appeared! in!

the! top! 20! games,! while! other! appeared! only! to! vane! in! popularity.! This! was!

partially! explained! by! new! games! getting! released,! as! these! games! were!

extremely! popular! during! their! launch! but! during! each! week! after! this,! the!

popularity! sank! (Kaytoue,! Silva,! Cerf,! Meira,! &! Raïssi,! 2012).! A! contributing!

factor! is! that! many! spectators! are! potential! customers,! and! watch! streams! to!

build!a!better!understanding!of!whether!to!purchase!the!game!themselves!or!not!

(Kaytoue,!Silva,!Cerf,!Meira,!&!Raïssi,!2012).!

14!!

Stream!popularity! roughly! followed! the!Pareto!Principle,!with! 10%!of! streams!

accounting!for!88%!of!viewers!(Kaytoue,!Silva,!Cerf,!Meira,!&!Raïssi,!2012).!This!

ratio! was! further! skewed! when! considering! streamers! instead! of! individual!

streams,! as! then! 10%! of! individual! streamers! accounted! for! 95%! of! views!

(Kaytoue,!Silva,!Cerf,!Meira,!&!Raïssi,!2012).!This! is!highly!significant!as!we!can!

see!there!are!certain!individuals!who!can!be!considered!almost!celebrities!in!the!

Twitch!ecosystem,!gathering!a!huge!percentage!of!all!viewers.!

The!motivations! and! consumption! behaviours! of! esports! spectators! have! been!

studied! using! both! the! Sports! Fan! Motivational! Scale! (SFMS)! and! the!

Motivational! Scale! for! Sports! Consumption! (MSSC).! Among! the! SFMS! factors,!

entertainment!and!drama!were!the!most!important!factors!for!esports!spectators!

(Shaw, 2013).!On!the!MSSC,!player!skill!was!the!most!important!factor!impacting!

spectator!motivations.!This!would!suggest!that!spectators!enjoy!watching!games!

where!both!players!are!of!a!similar!high!skill!level,!leading!to!a!close!match!and!

the!drama!associated!with!it.!This!coincides!with!the!importance!of!information!

asymmetry!and!drama!as!mentioned!by!Cheung!and!Huang!(2011).!

The! connection! between! esports! and! broadcasting,! in! the! context! of! the! game!

Starcraft!2,!has!also!been!studied.!An!integral!part!of!the!spectating!experience!is!

the!fact!that!it!is!taking!place!realZtime,!and!that!there!is!an!opportunity!for!social!

interaction! (Scholz, 2011).! Social! interaction! is! shown! to! be! of! upmost!

importance!to!many!spectators,!a!fact!also!seen!in!other!research!within!the!field!

(Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014; Scholz, 2011).!!

These! previous! research! endeavours! go! to! show! that! there! are! a! variety! of!

motivational! factors! at! work! when! examining! why! an! individual! chooses! to!

watch! video! game! streams.! The! importance! of! social! interaction! is! present! in!

several!of!the!studies,!which!our!exploratory!study!also!found!to!be!an!important!

factor!mentioned!by!many!people!(Hamilton,!Garretson,!&!Kerne,!2014;!Scholz,!

2011).!Due!to!the!importance!of!the!social!aspects,! later!in!this!chapter!we!will!

more!deeply!delve! into! the!notion!of! sense!of! community.!Learning,!one!of! the!

other!major! factors!mentioned!by!many!of!our! interviewees! in! the!preliminary!

study,! is! also! a! recurring! factor! in! these! previous! studies! within! video! game!

streaming! (Hamilton,! Garretson,! &! Kerne,! 2014;! Cheung! &! Huang,! 2011).! The!

15!!

previous! research! regarding! esports! shows! entertainment! to! be! an! important!

factor,!if!we!simplify!the!situation!by!equating!esports!spectating!to!video!game!

spectating!(Shaw,!2013).!In!the!next!section!we!will!continue!our!exploration!of!

motivation!research!within!the!online!community!context.!This!will!help!us!build!

a!broader!understanding!of!important!motivation!factors!not!only!in!the!realm!of!

video!game!streaming,!but!from!a!broader!perspective.!

Participatory.Research.in.Online.Communities.

The! motivational! factors! driving! participation! in! the! online! photo! sharing!

community!Flickr!have!been! studied! through! two! types!of! intrinsic!motivation!

and!two!types!of!extrinsic!motivation!to!explain!behaviour!(Nov,!Naaman,!&!Ye,!

2010).! The! types! of! intrinsic! motivation! are! enjoyment! and! commitment! to!

community,!and!the!two!types!of!extrinsic!motivation!are!selfZdevelopment!and!

reputation.!Within! these! pairs,! the! first!motivation! type! is! directed! at! the! self,!

while!the!other!is!directed!at!others.!The!amount!of!artefact!sharing!was!found!to!

decrease! with! tenure,! but! community! involvement! to! increase.! This! was!

theorized!to!be!due!to!the!social!aspect!of!the!community!growing!with!time!and!

contributing! to! increased! participation!within! the! service! as! the! tenure! grows!

(Nov,! Naaman,! &! Ye,! 2010).! An! interesting! finding! was! that! selfZdevelopment!

motivation! and! artefact! sharing! had! a! negative! relation.! This! was! attributed!

partially! to! the! concept! of! quality! over! quantity,! where! the! users! are! very!

focused! on! the! quality! if! selfZdevelopment! is! a! driving! factor,! and! hence!

contribute!fewer!total!artefacts!to!the!service.!No!correlation!was!found!between!

enjoyment!and!sharing!of!photos!or!metadata,!which!is!partially!explained!by!the!

notion!of!two!separate!acts!of!creation!and!sharing!(Nov,!Naaman,!&!Ye,!2010).!A!

user!might!get!a!great!deal!of!enjoyment!from!creating!the!photograph,!but!the!

activity! of! sharing! may! be! secondary! and! only! create! a! small! amount! of!

enjoyment.!

For!the!social!music!service!LastFM,!it!was!shown!that!community!participation!

was!one!of!the!driving!forces!behind!subscription!behaviour!(OestreicherZSinger!

&!Zalmanson,!2013).!Contrary! to!popular!belief,! the!consumption!of!music!had!

less! of! an! effect! on! subscription! behaviour! compared! to! active! community!

involvement.! The! perceived! economical! value! was! shown! to! be! an! important!

16!!

driving!factor!for!willingness!to!subscribe!for!other!social!media!sites!(Vock,!van!

Dolen,!&!de!Ruyter,!2013).!Users!felt!they!needed!to!get!actual!tangible!benefits!

for!paying!a!premium!subscription!fee!for!a!service.!

For!the!social!networking!site!Twitter,!it!was!found!that!users!were!motivated!by!

a!need!to!feel!connected!with!their!online!peers!in!a!form!of!camaraderie!(Chen,!

2011).! Tenure! within! the! community! was! found! to! be! more! responsible! for!

gratifying! needs! than! hours! spent! on!Twitter! during! an! individual! day.! This! is!

interesting! in! the! context! of! video! game! streaming,! as! spectating! can! be! quite!

intensive!at! times,!with! spectators!devoting!a! large!number!of!hours!per!week!

watching!the!service!(Twitch,!2015).!

Recognition!has!been!shown!to!be!an! important! factor! in! the!online!space.!For!

online! peer! learning,! recognition! was! shown! to! be! an! impactful! factor!

(Hernandez,! Montaner,! Sese,! &! Urquizu,! 2011).! Also! in! the! context! of! online!

video!streaming,!recognition!was!shown!to!be!an!impacting!factor!for!continued!

usage! of! the! YouTube! service! (Chiang! &! Hsiao,! 2014).! In! the! context! of! video!

game! streaming,! we! will! be! investigating! the! impact! of! recognition! between!

peers!on!the!overall!usage!of!the!service.!

For!Free/Open!Source!Software!(F/OSS),!it!was!found!that!contrary!to!academic!

theorizing,! intrinsic! motivation! factors! are! more! important! than! extrinsic!

motivation! factors! when! it! comes! to! contributing! to! F/OSS! (Lakhani & Wolf,

2005).! Furthermore,! reputation! within! the! community! was! shown! to! be! a!

significant!motivation!factors!for!contributors!to!F/OSS!(Lakhani & Wolf, 2005).!

Having! covered!motivations! related! to! specific! communities! and! their! context,!

next!we!will! talk!about!a!more!general! theory!of!media!usage,!namely!the!uses!

and! gratifications! theory.! We! do! this! in! order! to! build! a! broader! theoretical!

understanding!of!why!people!use!various!forms!of!media,!both!online!and!offline.!

This!will!enable!us!to!have!a!more!comprehensive!understanding!of!video!game!

streaming!as!a!phenomena!connected!to!media!usage.!!

Uses.and.Gratifications.Theory.

The!uses! and!gratification! theory! (UGT)! is! an! extension!of!previous!needs! and!

motivations! theory! (Maslow, 1970).! Contrary! to!many! previous!media! theories!

17!!

such! as! mass! society! theory,! UGT! considers! media! to! have! limited! effect,! and!

users! to! be! an! active! audience.! UGT! states! that! the!motivation! behind! using! a!

certain! media! is! a! certain! gratification! that! is! sought! (Ruggiero, 2000; Katz,

Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974).! The! role! of! active! audience! means! that! the! user!

seeks! out! their! media! of! choice,! rather! than! the! media! seeking! out! the! user!

(Wang, Fink, & Cai, 2008).!Furthermore,!UGT!states!that!the!media!competes!for!

gratification! with! others! than! just! other! media! sources! (Katz, Blumler, &

Gurevitch, 1973).!Large!individual!differences!can!exist,!as!UGT!examines!users!as!

individuals! rather! than!a! larger!mass! (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974).!Needs!

within! UGT! are! often! classified! in! five! categories,! presented! below! in! table! 3!

(Katz, Gurevitch, & Haas, 1973; West & Turner, 2010).!

Need.type. Description. Media.examples.

Cognitive' Acquiring'information,'knowledge,'comprehension'

Television'(news),'video'("How'to'Install'Ceramic'Tile"),'movies'(documentaries'or'films'based'on'history'e.g.,'The'Other'Boleyn'Girl)'

Affective' Emotional,'pleasant,'or'aesthetic'experience'

Movies,'television'(sitcoms,'soap'operas)'

Personal'integrative' Enhancing'credibility,'confidence,'and'status'

Video'("Speaking'With'Conviction")'

Social'integrative' Enhancing'connections'with'family,'friends,'and'so'forth'

Internet'(eamail,'chat'rooms,'Listservs,'IM)'

Tension'release' Escape'and'diversion' Television,'movies,'video,'radio,'Internet'

Table*3*Need*categories*in*UGT*(West & Turner, 2010)*

UGT! considers! media! users! to! be! aware! of! their! own! usage,! as! to! be! able! to!

provide! researchers! an! accurate! idea! of! their! media! consumption! habits! and!

motivation (West & Turner, 2010).! UGT! has! been! used! in! research! within! the!

online! context! (Ko, Cho, & Roberts, 2005; LaRose & Eastin, 2004; Whiting &

Williams, 2013; Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2010),! including! online! games! (Wu,

Wang, & Tsai, 2010),! Facebook! (Joinson, 2008),! video! streaming! (Cha, 2014;

Chiang & Hsiao, 2014)! and!Twitter! (Chen, 2011; Johnson & Yang, 2009).! In! this!

study,!we!aim!to! look!at! the!motives! for!watching!video!game!streams!through!

the!lens!of!UGT.!

In!the!case!of!playing!video!games,!UGT!research!found!that!the!social!aspect!was!

an!important!motivational!factor!for!young!people!(Sherry,!Lucas,!Greenberg,!&!

18!!

Lachlan,! 2006).! This! was! slightly! surprising! at! the! time,! as! video! gaming! had!

been! seen! as! having! an! isolating! effect! on! the! social! life! of! adolescents.! Even!

though!video!games!might!not!fit!completely!into!the!classic!view!of!media,!the!

researchers!concluded!that!the!UGT!approach!was!still!applicable!in!this!context!

(Sherry,!Lucas,!Greenberg,!&!Lachlan,!2006).!

As!video!game!streaming! is!highly!technology!dependant,!we!naturally!want! to!

take! the! technological! aspect! into! account! when! constructing! our! research!

model.! Our! primary! theory! framework! focuses! on! the! uses! and! gratifications!

theory,!but!we!also! feel! it! is! important! to!have!an!understanding!of!how!users!

adapt! to! new! forms! of! technology.! Hence! we! will! discuss! the! technology!

acceptance!model!in!the!next!section,!in!an!effort!to!further!this!understanding.!

Technology.Acceptance.Model.

Originally,! the! technology! acceptance!model! (TAM)!was! based! on! the! two! key!

concepts! of! perceived& usefulness! and! perceived& ease& of& use& (Davis, 1989).! Later,!

TAM! has! expanded! to! also! include! perceived! enjoyment! (Davis, Bagozzi, &

Warshaw, 1992).!These!three!factors!are!now!discussed!in!more!detail.!

Enjoyment! is! very! closely! tied! to! the! previously! discussed! notion! of! intrinsic!

motivation.! Davis! et! al.! studied! the! usage! of! computers! in! the!workplace,! and!

from! that! context! define! the! concept! of! perceived& enjoyment! as! “the! extent! to!

which!the!activity!of!using!the!computer!is!perceived!to!be!enjoyable!in!its!own!

right,!apart!from!any!performance!consequences!that!may!be!anticipated”!(Davis,

Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992, p. 1113).!Several!studies!have!shown!enjoyment!to!be!

an! important! factor! driving! participation! in! such! contexts! as! open! source!

software!(Lakhani & Wolf, 2005)!and!online!photo!services!(Nov, Naaman, & Ye,

2010).! Van! der! Heijden! (2004)! has! shown! that! for! hedonistic! information!

systems,! perceived! enjoyment! and! perceived! ease! of! use! are! more! important!

determinants!of!intention!than!perceived!usefulness.!Video!game!streaming!can!

be! considered! a! hedonistic! activity,! and! thus! the! service! used! to! consume! it! a!

hedonistic!information!system.!

Usefulness!is!generally!used!to!describe!the!level!of!use!as!system!is!for!the!user.!

Davis!defines!perceived!usefulness!as!“the!degree!to!which!a!person!believes!that!

19!!

using! a! particular! system! would! enhance! his! or! her! job! performance” (Davis,

1989, p. 320).!In!the!context!of!video!game!streaming,!we!consider!usefulness!to!

encompass!any!type!of! information!extracted!from!the!viewing!experience!that!

has! a! level! of! extrinsic! motivation! attached! to! it.! For! example,! by! watching! a!

stream,! a! spectator! might! get! valuable! information! regarding! a! game,! which!

might!later!guide!their!purchase!decision!for!said!game.!When!studying!the!use!

of! the! Internet,! perceived! usefulness! was! found! as! an! important! factor! in!

Internet!usage!(Teo,!Lim,!&!Lai,!1999).!

Ease!of!use!refers!to!how!the!difficult!the!systems!seem!to!use!from!the!end!user!

perspective.!More!accurately,!Davis!defines!ease!of!use!as:!“the!degree!to!which!a!

person! believes! that! using! a! particular! system!would! be! free! of! effort”! (Davis,

1989, p. 320).!Ease!of!use!has!been!shown!to!positively!correlate!with!perceived!

enjoyment! (Igbaria, Parasuraman, & Baroudi, 1996).! In! the! context! of! this! study,!

we!are!examining!the!ease!of!use!of!the!Twitch!service!as!it!relates!to!watching!

video!game!streams.!We!are!not! extending! this! to! include!other! functionalities!

and! features! within! this! service,! such! as! account! management! and! payments!

within!the!service.!

Sense.of.Community.

Previous!research!within!video!game!streaming!shows!us!that!the!social!aspect!

of!watching!video!game!streams!is!of!importance!(Hamilton,!Garretson,!&!Kerne,!

2014).!Therefore!we!will!delve!deeper!into!the!notion!of!sense!of!community!in!

this!chapter,! in!order! to!build!a!better!understanding!of! the!social!aspects! that!

exist!within!an!active!online!community.!

McMillan!and!Chavis!define!sense&of&community&(SOC)!as!“a!feeling!that!members!

have! of! belonging,! a! feeling! that! members! matter! to! one! another! and! to! the!

group,! and! a! shared! faith! that! members'! needs! will! be! met! through! their!

commitment!to!be!together”!(McMillan & Chavis, 1986, p. 9).!SOC!consists!of!four!

main! elements:!membership,! influence,! integration& and& fulfilment& of& needs! and!

shared& emotional& connection.! Membership! refers! to! the! sense! of! belonging,!

including! personal! investment,! emotional! safety,! common! symbol! systems! and!

boundaries! (McMillan & Chavis, 1986; Abfalter, Zaglia, & Mueller, 2012;

20!!

Rosenbaum, Ostrom, & Kuntze, 2005).! Influence! is! a! bidirectional! concept! that!

refers!to!the!amount!of!influence!the!community!has!on!the!individual,!and!also!

to! the! amount! of! influence! the! individual! has! on! the! community! (McMillan &

Chavis, 1986; Abfalter, Zaglia, & Mueller, 2012).! Integration! and! fulfilment! of!

needs! refers! to! the! notion! that! to!maintain! a! sense! of! togetherness,!members!

must! feel! they!receive!rewards!and!benefits! from!being!part!of! the!community!

(McMillan & Chavis, 1986).!These!needs!for!rewards!and!benefits!can!be!fulfilled!

through! status! of! membership,! success! of! the! community! and! perceived!

competence! of! other! members! (Obst, Zinkiewicz, & Smith, 2002).! Shared!

emotional! connection! refers! to! identification!with! a! shared! history!within! the!

group!(McMillan & Chavis, 1986).!This! includes!sharing!experiences!and!having!

positive!interactions!with!others!members!of!the!community!(Abfalter, Zaglia, &

Mueller, 2012).! SOC! has! been! shown! to! be! important! for! community! success!

within! offline! communities,! through! increased! participation! and! feeling! of!

belonging!(Felton & Shinn, 1992)!and!commitment!to!the!community!(Burroughs

& Eby, 1998).!

SOC! has! been! criticized! for! not! fitting! fully! into! the! virtual! space! and! virtual!

communities.!Virtual! communities! are!often! characterized!by! anonymity! and! a!

lack! of! faceZtoZface! communications! (Abfalter, Zaglia, & Mueller, 2012).! Virtual!

communities! can! also! have! considerable! benefits,! as! they! avoid! some! of! the!

problems! that! offline! communities! have,! such! as! the! need! of! synchronousness!

and!physical!proximity!(Abfalter, Zaglia, & Mueller, 2012).!!

In!the!context!of!this!study,!we!are!not!interested!in!measuring!an!overall!level!of!

sense!of!community.!Rather,!we!use!sense!of!community!as!a!base!for!building!an!

understanding!of!social!aspects!regarding!video!game!streaming.!Abfalter!et!al.!

(2012)!studied!a!German!online!community!aimed!at! the!elderly!demographic,!

and! found! that! due! to! the! large! size! and! anonymity! of! the! virtual! community,!

several! elements!of! the!original! SOC!where!not!quite! applicable.!Abfalter! et! al.!

(2012)!identified!that!of!the!four!main!pillars!of!SOC,!influence!was!the!one!that!

showed! the! highest! discrepancy! in! the! virtual! space.! Mysirlaki! and! Paraskeva!

(2010)!studied!SOC!and!players!of!the!game!World!of!Warcraft,!and!found!that!

21!!

the! ability! to! construct! a! community! within! the! game! was! motivation! for! the!

players!in!the!study.!

Fandom.

As! sense! of! community! can! be! seen! to! mostly! apply! to! the! relation! between!

different!viewers,!it!is!also!worth!taking!a!closer!look!at!the!relationship!between!

viewer!and!streamer.!In!many!cases!these!two!people!might!perceive!each!other!

as!equal,!but!there!is!a!potential!for!spectators!to!view!streamers!as!a!celebrity.!

In!this!section!we!will!take!a!short!look!at!research!relevant!to!this!notion.!

Commonly,! two!distinct! types!of! celebrity! appreciation!or!worship! are!defined!

(McCutcheon,!Lange,!&!Houran,!2002).!The!first!type!is!mild!or!nonpathological!

forms! of! celebrity!worship,! including! fan! clubs.! This! type! of! celebrity!worship!

has!been!shown!to!be!prevalent!among! introverts!and! intuitives (Stever, 1995).!

The! second! is! extreme! or! pathological! forms! of! celebrity! worship,! including!

stalking! (McCutcheon, Lange, & Houran, 2002).! In! this! study! we! are! mainly!

focusing!on! the!nonZpathological! forms!of! celebrity!worship,! as! exemplified!by!

interactions! between! spectators! and! streamers.! We! can! consider! certain!

streamers! to! have! a! celebrity! status! within! the! video! game! streaming!

community,! as! shown! by! the! skewed! distribution! of! viewers! among! streams!

(Kaytoue, Silva, Cerf, Meira, & Raïssi, 2012).!This!viewer!distribution!implies!that!

certain! streamers! have! a! strong! following! among! viewers,!while! others! gather!

only! a! handful! of! viewers,! creating! a! clear! distinction! between! two! types! of!

streamers:!the!celebrity!and!the!nonZcelebrity.!

Research.Model.and.Hypotheses.

Based!on!the!theories!presented!in!this!chapter,!along!with!results!obtained!from!

the!preliminary!study;!we!present!our!research!model!and!a!series!of!hypotheses!

in!this!section.!For!this!analysis!our!research!model!consists!of!five!constructs!as!

per!the!UGT!definition!of!need!types,!presented!earlier!in!table!3!(Katz, Gurevitch,

& Haas, 1973; West & Turner, 2010).! As! reference,! the! five! need! types! are!

cognitive,! affective,! personal! integrative,! social! integrative! and! tension! release.!

The! subZconstructs! that! the! main! constructs! comprise! of,! along! with! their!

specific!items,!are!presented!in!the!following!chapter!on!research!methodology.!

22!!

Figure!1!presents! the! research!model!based!on! these! five!main! constructs! and!

their!relation!to!the!dependant!variable!usage.!

As!we!will!be!using!the!partial!least!squares!structural!equation!modelling!(PLSZ

SEM)!approach! for!analysis,! the!visual! representation!of!our! research!model! is!

based! on! PLSZSEM.! PLSZSEM! is! componentZbased! and! gives! us! a! way! of!

calculating!an!estimate!that!maximises!the!variance!explained!of!the!dependant!

variable,!in!this!case!usage!(Hair,!Ringle,!&!Sarstedt,!2011;!Anderson!&!Gerbing,!

1988;!Chin,!1988).!While!our!research!model!is!fairly!simple!in!its!structure,!PLSZ

SEM!is!well!suited!for!analysing!complex!relationships!between!the!constructs!in!

the!model!(Hair,!Ringle,!&!Sarstedt,!2011).!PLSZSEM!uses!an!iterative!algorithm!

to! achieve! convergence!when!measuring! the! relation! of! the! latent! variables! in!

the! model! (Anderson! &! Gerbing,! 1988;! Hair,! Ringle,! &! Sarstedt,! 2011).! We!

discuss! the! merits! and! advantages! of! PLSZSEM! in! more! detail! later,! when!

covering!validity!in!the!chapter!on!research!methodology.!

!

Figure*1*UGT*research*model*

23!!

Here,! the! five! main! UGT! constructs! are! depicted! as! latent! variables.! Usage!

includes! four! activities! linked! to! actual! usage! of! the! service,! namely! hours!

watched,! streamers! followed,! streamers!watched! and! streamers! subscribed! to.!

Each! of! the! four! types! of! usage!will! be! individually! investigated! in! the! results!

section.!For! the! sake!of! clarity! the! four! types!of!usage!have!been!grouped! into!

one!in!the!visualisation!of!the!research!model,!as!the!relationships!between!the!

UGT!needs!and! four! types!of!usage!are! identical! to! the!more!general!notion!of!

usage.!

Based! on! this! research! model! and! theory! presented! earlier! in! this! study,! we!

present!five!hypotheses.!

H1:&Increased&levels&of&affective&motivation&will&predict&an&increased&level&of&usage.&

Based!on! the! importance!of!entertainment!seen! in!our! initial! study,!along!with!

supporting!evidence!in!previous!research!(Hamilton,!Garretson,!&!Kerne,!2014;!

Hanson!&!Haridakis,! 2008;!Papacharissi!&!Mendelson,!2010;!Cheung!&!Huang,!

2011),!we!consider!hours!watched!to!be!particularly!affected!by!an! increase! in!

affective!motivation.!As!the!entertainment!aspect!of!affective!motivation!is!surely!

provided!by!a!certain!subset!of! streamers!rather! than!all! streamers,!we!expect!

streamers!followed!and!streamers!watched!to!be!positively!affected!by!increased!

levels!of!affective!motivation.!We!expect!a!smaller!effect!on!subscription!than!the!

other! types!of!usage.! Subscription! compared! to! the!other! three! forms!of!usage!

does!likely!not!offer!enough!of!a!payoff!compared!to!the!cost!for!a!person!driven!

by!affective!motivations.!

H2:&Increased&levels&of&cognitive&motivation&will&predict&an&increased&level&of&usage.&

Many!of!our! interviewees!stated!the! importance!of! learning! for!watching!video!

game! streams,! which! is! also! supported! by! previous! research! in! other! online!

media!contexts!(Hamilton,!Garretson,!&!Kerne,!2014;!Whiting!&!Williams,!2013;!

Papacharissi! &! Mendelson,! 2010).! We! predict! that! cognitive! needs! such! as!

acquiring!information!will! lead!to!an!increased!usage!of!the!service.!Of!the!four!

types!of!usage,!we!hypothesise!that!especially!hours!watched!will!be!impacted!by!

an! increased! level! of! cognitive!motivation.! By!watching! for! a! larger! amount! of!

hours,! we! hypothesise! that! the! learning! experience! crucial! for! cognitive!

24!!

motivation!will!be!enhanced.!We!expect!the!other!three!types!of!usage!to!also!be!

positively!impacted!by!an!increase!in!cognitive!motivation.!

H3:& Increased& levels& of& personal& integrative&motivation&will& predict& an& increased&

level&of&usage.&

We!hypothesise!that!primarily!hours!watched!and!streamers!subscribed!to!will!

be!positively!affected!by!an!increased!level!of!personal!integrative!motivation.!In!

the! context! of! video! game! streaming,! we! predict! a! certain! level! of! social!

interaction!will!be!required!to!achieve!a!level!of!personal!integrative!fulfilment,!

especially! as!we!are! focusing!on! recognition! received! through! the!usage!of! the!

service.! ! Hence! social! aspects! such! as! streamers! followed! are! expected! to! be!

positively!affected!by!an!increase!in!personal!integrative!motivation.!We!expect!a!

small!positive!effect!on!subscription!as!we!see!it!impacting!received!recognition!

in!a!certain!level.!!

H4:&Increased&levels&of&social&integrative&motivation&will&predict&an&increased&level&

of&usage.&

The!social!aspect!of!spectating!was!mentioned!frequently!as!an!important!factor!

for!spectating!in!our!interviews,!and!supported!by!previous!research!(Hamilton,!

Garretson,!&!Kerne,!2014;!Whiting!&!Williams,!2013;!Chen,!2011;!Pai!&!Arnott,!

2013;!Sherry,!Lucas,!Greenberg,!&!Lachlan,!2006;!Scholz,!2011).!Our!hypothesis!

is! that! especially! hours! watched! and! streamers! followed! will! be! positively!

impacted!by! an! increase! in! social! integrative!motivation.! Subscription! furthers!

social! connections! and! a! sense! of! belonging! within! the! video! game! streaming!

community!on!many!levels.!As!such,!this!is!also!the!motivational!factor!where!we!

consider!subscription!to!be!the!most!impacted!by!an!increase!in!motivation!level,!

as!many!of!the!benefits!acquired!via!subscribing!are!tied!to!social!aspects!of!the!

service!(OestreicherZSinger!&!Zalmanson,!2013).!

H5:&Increased&levels&of&tension&release&motivation&will&predict&an&increased&level&of&

usage.&

The! notion! of! tension! release! and! escape! from! day! to! day! activities! as! an!

impactor!on!use!were!mentioned!by!our!interviewees,!and!also!a!topic!brought!

up! in! previous! motivation! research! within! online! communities! (Whiting! &!

25!!

Williams,! 2013;! Hanson! &! Haridakis,! 2008;! Papacharissi! &! Mendelson,! 2010;!

Courtois,!Mechant,!De!Marez,!&!Verleye,!2009;!Lin,!2002).!We!hypothesise! that!

especially!hours!watched!will! be!positively! impacted!by!an! increase! in! tension!

release!motivation,!but!also!that!streamers!watched!and!streamers!followed!will!

be! positively! impacted.!We! expect! a! large! effect! for! hours!watched,! as! tension!

release!motivation!is!so!closely!linked!to!spending!time!with!an!activity!in!order!

to!achieve!a!certain!level!of!escapism.!We!expect!a!small!effect!for!subscription,!

as!it!should!not!be!impacted!heavily!by!tension!release!motives.!

.

26!!

Methodology.

This! chapter! covers! the! research!methodologies! used! in! this! study,! along!with!

corresponding! literature! regarding! the! methodology.! We! discuss! the! main!

questionnaire,!how!it!was!constructed!and!how!the!survey!was!administered.!We!

then! go! into! more! detail! and! discuss! key! descriptive! statistics! and! validity!

calculations!for!the!study.!!

Structure.of.the.questionnaire.

This!section!delves!into!more!detail!regarding!the!structure!and!construction!of!

the!questionnaire!that!served!as!the!main!data!source!for!this!study.!The!aim!of!

this!section!is!to!describe!how!the!results!from!the!preliminary!study!were!used!

while! constructing! the!main! questionnaire! for! study! two.! The! questionnaire! is!

divided! into! three! sections.! The! first! section! covers! demographic! information!

such!as!age,!sex!and!geographic!location.!The!second!section!focuses!on!previous!

use! of! the! Twitch! service,! including! various! activities! performed! through! the!

service.!The!third!section!examines!psychological!factors!that!have!an!impact!on!

motivational! factors.! For! each! construct,! we! will! give! a! brief! overview! of! the!

subject!and!the!measurement!scale!used!for!that!construct.!

Demographic.information.

We!have!chosen!to!include!commonly!used!demographic!details!such!as!age,!sex,!

country,!education!and!income.!These!can!then!be!used!as!moderating!variables!

in!further!analysis!of!the!data.!Furthermore,!the!demographic!data!serves!as!an!

overview!of! the!reliability!of!our!collected!data.!Additionally,!we!have! included!

Internet! connection! speed,! as! it! is! a! very! relevant! factor! when! watching! high!

fidelity!media!such!as!live!video!streams.!

Usage.

In!this!section!of!the!questionnaire,!we!are!interested!in!how!respondents!have!

used!Twitch!previously.!We!ask!quantitative!questions!such!as!number!of!hours!

used! per!week,! as!well! as! qualitative! questions! using! a! 7Zpoint! Likert! scale.! A!

value! of! one! indicated! “strongly! disagree”! and! a! value! of! seven! indicated!

27!!

“strongly! agree”.! The! questions! associated! with! this! part! of! the! questionnaire!

serve!as!dependent!variables,!and!are!presented!below,!in!table!4.!

Table*4*Questions*regarding*usage*

We!examine!the!number!of!hours!spent!both!watching!and!playing!video!games!

per! week! as! dependant! variables.! We! also! consider! the! number! of! streams!

watched,! the! number! of! streams! followed! and! the! number! of! stream!

subscriptions! as! variables! tied! to! the! commitment! to! the! Twitch! service! and!

community.!We!look!at!the!types!of!game!genres!watched!in!an!effort!to!find!ties!

between! certain! genres! of! games! and! motivational! factors.! Furthermore,! we!

Question. Answer.type.

Have!you!registered!an!account!on!Twitch?! Yes/No!

How!many!hours!per!week!do!you!watch!Twitch?! Number!

How!many!hours!per!week!do!you!play!video!games?! Number!

How!many!different!streamers!do!you!watch!per!week?! Number!

How!many!different!streamers!do!you!follow!on!Twitch?! Number!

How!many!streamers!do!you!subscribe!to!on!Twitch?! Number!

How!many!months!have!you!used!Twitch?! Number!

Have!you!acted!as!a!streamer!on!Twitch?! Yes/No!

I!watch!Twitch!to!get!better!at!the!games!I!play!myself.! Likert!1Z7!

I! watch! Twitch! to! gain! a! personal! edge! over! the! person!streaming!(often!called!stream!sniping!or!ghosting).!

Likert!1Z7!

I!watch!Twitch!to!interact!with!the!streamer.! Likert!1Z7!

I!watch!Twitch!to!interact!with!the!community.! Likert!1Z7!

I! watch! Twitch! to! get! more! information! about! games! I! am!interested!in!purchasing.!

Likert!1Z7!

I!watch!Twitch!to!follow!esports!tournaments!and!events.! Likert!1Z7!

How! often! do! you! watch! the! following! game! genres! on!Twitch?![list!of!genres]!

Frequency! (never,! once! a! year,!once! a! month,! once! a! week,!daily)!

How!often!do!you!use!the!following!devices!to!watch!Twitch?![list!of!devices]!

Frequency! (never,! once! a! year,!once! a! month,! once! a! week,!daily)!

28!!

explore! the! idea! of! tenure! within! the! community! by! asking! how! long! the!

respondent! has! used! the! Twitch! service.! To! examine! the! prevalence! of!

streaming,! we! ask! if! the! respondent! has! acted! as! a! streamer! on! Twitch! at! a!

previous!time.!Spectators!are!able!to!watch!video!game!streams!through!a!large!

amount! of! various! devices,! such! as! desktop! computers,! game! consoles,! tablets!

and!mobile!phones.!As! the!way! in!which! the!service! is!accessed!might!have!an!

effect!on!the!individual’s!behaviour,!examining!the!device!used!is!of!interest.!

The! questions! related! to! different! types! of! activities!within! Twitch! attempt! to!

build! an! understanding! of! how! the! different! motivational! factors! relate! to!

different! types!of!service!usage.!Questions!related! to!game!genres!and! types!of!

streams!watched!serve!as!potential!mediating!factors!when!examining!different!

subsets! of! users! in! the! general! population.! These! questions! all! used! a! 7Zpoint!

Likert! scale,! with! one! indicating! “strongly! disagree”! and! seven! indicating!

“strongly!agree”.!

Psychometric.factors.

The! third! section! of! the! questionnaire,! we! look! at! psychometric! factors! that!

explain!behaviour!patterns!among!our!respondents.! In! this!section,!we!present!

the!psychometric!scales!used!for!our!15!constructs.!The!nine!scales!used!for!our!

research!model,!along!with!their!individual!items,!are!listed!in!figure!2.!All!items!

in! this! section! used! the! 7Zpoint! Likert! scale,! with! one! indicating! “strongly!

disagree”!and!seven!indicating!“strongly!agree”.!It!is!worth!noting!that!not!all!15!

constructs!used!in!the!survey!were!part!of!our!main!UGT!research!model.!While!

not!applicable! for! the!UGT!model,! this!was!done! in!an!effort! to!collect!relevant!

data!for!future!research.!Celebrity!worship!was!omitted!due!to!the!poor!fit!with!

the! UGT.! Ease! of! use! and! usefulness!were! omitted! due! to! our! focus! on!media!

usage! rather! than! technology! acceptance,! and! having! constructs! that! partially!

replaced! the! need! for! them.! Likewise,! attitude! and! subjective! norm! from! the!

realm!of!theory!of!planned!behaviour!(Ajzen,!1991)!were!gathered!due!to!their!

general! interest,! but! ultimately! omitted! from! the! research!model! due! to! their!

incompatibility!with!the!UGT!model.!The!notion!of!monetary!gain!did!not!fit!well!

with!our!five!main!types!of!motivation!on!a!theoretical!level,!and!was!therefore!

omitted!from!the!research!model.!

29!!

!

Figure*2*Research*model*with*sub\constructs*and*items*visible*

30!!

To!study!the!attitude!towards!the!video!game!streaming!service!Twitch,!we!use!

the!scale! for!attitude! towards!use! from!Venkatesh!et!al.! (2000).!For! this!study,!

the!scale!was!adapted!from!a!semantic!differential!scale!to!a!Likert!scale!to!better!

conform!to!the!structure!of!the!other!scales.!From!the!field!of!TAM,!we!use!the!

perceived!enjoyment!scale!from!Venkatesh!(2000)!and!the!perceived!ease!of!use!

scale!from!Venkatesh!&!Davis!(2000).!These!two!scales!were!used!as!is,!with!the!

exception!of!replacing!“the!system”!with!“Twitch”!as!applicable.!!

The!commonly!used!perceived!usefulness!scale!developed!by!Venkatesh!(2000)!

was!not!fully!applicable!in!our!context,!as!it!is!primarily!used!in!nonZhedonistic!

contexts.!We!consider!video!game!streaming!to!have!a!strong!hedonistic!aspect,!

and! thus!we! chose! to! develop! a! scale! based! on! the! perceived! usefulness! scale!

from! van! der! Heijden! (2003).! We! approach! usefulness! in! a! highly! general!

manner,!and!then!look!further!by!presenting!scales!covering!three!distinct!facets!

of! usefulness! in! the! video! game! streaming! context:! researching&game&products,!

monetary&gain! and! learning&game& strategies.! For! researching! game! products,! a!

usefulness!scale!from!van!der!Heijden!(2004)!was!used!as!a!base,!and!modified!

accordingly.! For! monetary! gain,! parts! of! the! UGT!monetary& gains! scale! from!

LaRose!&!Eastin! (2004)!along!with!a! custom!created! item!were!used.!To!build!

our! learning!game!strategies!scale,! items! from!the! information&seeking! scale!by!

Papacharissi!&!Rubin!(2000)!along!with!an!item!from!the!van!der!Heijden!(2004)!

usefulness!scale!were!used.!These!items!were!modified!to!fit!the!context!of!video!

game!streaming!and!learning!strategies.!

To!further!explore!the!notion!of!relaxation!within!enjoyment,!a!modified!threeZ

item!version!of! the!UGT! relaxing&entertainment! scale! from!Smock!et! al.! (2011)!

was!used.! Further! scales! from! the! field!of!UGT! research!used! in! this! study!are!

escapism,!companionship!and!habitual&pass&time!by!Smock!et!al.!(2011).!To!study!

the!effect!of! the!novelty!of! the!service!along!with!how!people! important! to! the!

respondent! perceive! it,! a! combination! of! the! UGT! cool& new& trend! scale! from!

Smock!et!al.!(2011)!along!with!the!TAM!subjective&norm!scale!from!Venkatesh!&!

Davis! (2000)!was!used.!The!phrasing!of! the!majority!of! the!UGT!related! scales!

was!changed!to!reflect!the!phrasing!used!in!TAM!scales.!That!is,!statements!of!the!

form!“I!use!Twitch!because!it!relaxes!me”!were!changed!to!“Using!Twitch!relaxes!

31!!

me”.!This!was!done!to!avoid!complications!with!the!questions!regarding!usage!of!

the!Twitch!service,!and!also!in!an!effort!to!unify!the!questions!as!best!possible.!

To! examine! the! social! interaction! between! viewers! and! streamers,! no! current!

scales!are! fully!applicable.!We!feel! the!streamer!exists! inZbetween!the!role!as!a!

pure!celebrity!and!a!member!of!the!streaming!community.!Additionally,!there!is!

increased! flexibility!of! the!concept!of!celebrity,!as!viewers!may!have!streamers!

they!are!very!familiar!with,!which!may!be!their!friends,!and!streamers!which!are!

more! distant! and! considered! celebrities.! Hence,! the! celebrity! attitude! scale!

(Maltby, Day, McCutceon, Houran, & Ashe, 2006)! is! not! quite! applicable! in! our!

context,! as! it! takes! an! approach!where! the!person!being! treated! as! a! celebrity!

exists! at! a! further! social! distance! from! the! viewer.! A! custom! scale! was!

constructed! for! this! study,!using!certain! items! from!the!celebrity!attitude!scale!

from!Maltby!et!al.! (2006)!as!a!base.! Items!chosen!mainly!belong!to!the! intenseR

personal! factor.! Maltby! et! al.! (2006)! emphasize! the! importance! of! using! the!

celebrity! attitude! scale! as! a!whole!when! conducting! research!within! this! field,!

but!we!consider!this!unnecessary!within!our!context.!As!we!are!not!interested!in!

studying! celebrity! worship! among! video! game! stream! watchers! as! such,! but!

rather!seek!to!understand!the!relationship!between!streamers!and!viewers,!we!

feel!that!our!construction!of!the!scale!is!valid!in!this!context.!!

For! the! social! interactions! aspects! of!watching! video! game! streams,!we! utilize!

two! distinct! constructs:! recognition! and! shared! experience.! As! a! base! for!

recognition!we!use! the!recognition&by&peers! scale! from!Hernandez!et!al.! (2011)!

along!with!a!custom!item,!modified!to!fit!our!context.!For!shared!experience,!we!

use! the! Sense! of! Community! Index! 2! (SOCZ2)! shared& emotional& connection!

subscale!from!Chavis!et!al.!(2008).!

All! psychometric! items! along! with! their! appropriate! construct! and! relevant!

theory! framework! are! presented! below,! in! table! 5.! Also! included! are! primary!

sources!and!original!scale!names!for!reference.!

! !

32!!

Construct. Item. Theory.frameLwork.

Original.scale.name.

Source.

Enjoyment! I!find!using!Twitch!to!be!enjoyable.! TAM! Perceived!enjoyment!

Venkatesh!2000!

!! Using!Twitch!is!exciting.! TAM! ! !

!! I!have!fun!using!Twitch.! TAM! ! !

!! Using!Twitch!is!entertaining! TAM! ! !

Ease!of!use! My!interaction!with!Twitch!is!clear!and!understandable.!

TAM! Perceived!ease!of!use!

Venkatesh,!Davis!2000!

!! Interacting!with!Twitch!does!not!require!a!lot!of!my!mental!effort.!

TAM! ! !

!! I!find!Twitch!to!be!easy!to!use.! TAM! ! !

!! I!find!it!easy!to!get!Twitch!to!do!what!I!want!it!to!do.!

TAM! ! !

Usefulness! I!find!Twitch!to!be!an!overall!useful!site.! TAM! Perceived!usefulness!

van!der!Heijden!2003!

!! I!find!Twitch!to!be!a!helpful!site.! TAM! ! !

!! I!find!Twitch!to!be!a!convenient!site! TAM! ! !

!! I!find!Twitch!to!be!an!effective!site! TAM! ! !

Relaxation! Watching!Twitch!allows!me!to!unwind.! UGT! Relaxing!entertainment!

Smock!et!al.!2011!

!! Watching!Twitch!relaxes!me! UGT! ! !

!! Watching!Twitch!is!a!pleasant!rest! UGT! ! !

Escapism! Using!Twitch,!I!can!forget!about!school,!work,!or!other!things!

UGT! Escapism! Smock!et!al.!2011!

!! Using!Twitch,!I!can!get!away!from!the!rest!of!my!family!or!others!

UGT! ! !

!! Using!Twitch,!I!can!get!away!from!what!I'm!doing.!

UGT! ! !

Companionship!

Using!Twitch,!I!don't!have!to!be!alone.! UGT! Companionship! Smock!et!al.!2011!

!! I!use!Twitch!when!there's!no!one!else!to!talk!or!be!with!

UGT! ! !

!! Using!Twitch!makes!me!feel!less!lonely! UGT! ! !

Distraction! Using!Twitch!is!a!habit,!just!something!I!do.!

UGT! Habitual!pass!time!

Smock!et!al.!2011!

!! When!I!have!nothing!better!to!do,!I!use!Twitch.!

UGT! ! !

!! Using!Twitch!passes!the!time!away,!particularly!when!I'm!bored!

UGT! ! !

!! Using!Twitch!gives!me!something!to!do!to!occupy!my!time.!

UGT! ! !

Subjective!norm!

Everybody!else!is!using!Twitch.! TAM!/!UGT!

Subjective!norm!(TAM),!cool!new!trend!(UGT)!

Venkatesh,!Davis!2000;!Smock!et!al.!2011!

!! Using!Twitch!is!cool.! TAM!/!UGT!

! !

33!!

!! People!who!influence!my!behavior!think!that!I!should!use!Twitch.!

TAM!/!UGT!

! !

!! People!who!are!important!to!me!think!that!I!should!use!Twitch.!

TAM!/!UGT!

! !

Attitude! Using!Twitch!is!a!good!idea.! TAM! Attitude! Venkatesh!et!al.!2000!

!! I!like!the!idea!of!using!Twitch.! TAM! ! !

!! Using!Twitch!is!a!wise!idea.! TAM! ! !

!! Using!Twitch!is!pleasant.! TAM! ! !

Usefulness:!researching!games!

Using!Twitch,!I!can!better!decide!which!game!I!want!to!play!than!in!the!past!

TAM! Usefulness! van!der!Heijden!2004!

!! Using!Twitch,!I!am!better!informed!about!new!games!I!consider!playing!

TAM! ! !

!! Using!Twitch,!I!find!games!I!would!not!otherwise!have!found.!

TAM! ! !

!! Using!Twitch,!I!can!better!decide!whether!I!want!to!play!a!particular!game!or!not!

TAM! ! !

Usefulness:!learning!strategies!

Watching!Twitch,!I!am!better!informed!about!new!game!strategies!

UGT! Information!seeking!

Papacharissi,!Rubin!2000!

! Watching!Twitch!helps!me!get!information!on!learning!to!play!games.!

UGT! ! !

! Watching!Twitch!helps!me!look!for!information!on!game!tricks.!

UGT! ! !

! Watching!Twitch!helps!me!see!what!game!tactics!are!out!there.!

UGT! ! !

Usefulness:!monetary!gain!

Using!Twitch,!I!have!a!chance!to!get!products!cheaper!

UGT! Monetary!gains! LaRose,!Eastin!2004!

! Using!Twitch,!I!can!find!bargains!on!products!and!services!

UGT! ! !

! Using!Twitch,!I!can!save!money!on!products!

UGT! ! !

! Watching!Twitch!can!help!me!earn!money!

UGT! ! !

Streamer!as!celebrity!

Keeping!up!with!news!about!my!favorite!streamer!is!an!entertaining!pastime.!

CAS! IntenseZpersonal! Maltby!et!al.!2006!

!! I!enjoy!watching,!reading,!or!listening!to!my!favorite!streamer!because!it!means!a!good!time!

CAS! ! !

!! Learning!the!life!story!of!my!favorite!streamer!is!a!lot!of!fun!

CAS! ! !

!! I!enjoy!following!the!everyday!life!of!my!favorite!streamer!

CAS! ! !

Shared!experiences!

It!is!very!important!to!me!to!be!a!part!of!the!Twitch!community.!

SOC! Shared!emotional!connection!

Chavis!et!al!2008!

!! I!spend!time!with!other!Twitch!community!members!a!lot!and!enjoy!spending!time!with!them.!

SOC! ! !

34!!

!! I!expect!to!be!a!part!of!the!Twitch!community!for!a!long!time.!

SOC! ! !

!! Members!of!the!Twitch!community!have!shared!important!events!together.!

SOC! ! !

!! Members!of!the!Twitch!community!care!about!each!other.!

SOC! ! !

Recognition! I!like!when!other!Twitch!users!take!my!comments!into!account!

SOC! Recognition!by!peers!

Hernandez!et!al.!2011!

!! I!feel!good!when!my!comments!prove!to!other!Twitch!users!that!I!have!knowledge!about!the!game!being!played.!

SOC! ! !

!! I!try!that!my!comments!improve!my!reputation!among!other!Twitch!users.!

SOC! ! !

! I!like!when!streamers!on!Twitch!take!my!suggestions!into!consideration.!

SOC! ! !

Table*5*Psychometric*constructs*and*items*

Survey.propagation.

The! survey! was! administered! through! the! Webropol! service.! The! survey! was!

split! into!six!virtual!pages,!with!demographics!and!usage!constituting!one!page!

each.!The!psychometric!factors!were!split!to!four!pages,!with!items!from!within!

each! construct! spread! out! as! evenly! as! possible! among! the! four! pages.! Items!

within!these!pages!were!then!randomized!per!respondent!by!the!system.!There!

were!approximately!15!items!per!page!in!the!psychometric!section.!

Initially!a!small!sample!of!19!respondents!was!used!to!check!the!validity!of!our!

survey,!and!help!find!potential!problems.!The!interviewees!from!the!preliminary!

study!were!asked!to!answer!the!survey,!along!with!a!small!amount!of!others.!A!

few!minor!corrections!were!done!after!examining!the!results!from!this!initial!test!

run.!An!additional!answer!option!was!added!to!the!question!regarding!Internet!

speed,!two!additional!game!genres!were!added!and!a!new!question!regarding!the!

type!of!stream!content!watched!was!added.!Among!the!psychometric!questions,!

one! item! from! the! subjective! norm! construct! was! removed! as! it! was! in!

discrepancy! with! the! other! four! items,! and! deemed! unclear! by! some! of! the!

respondents.!

After!the!changes!had!been!made!to!the!online!survey,!the!data!was!reset!and!the!

survey! was! launched! on! February! 26th! 2015.! At! launch,! the! end! date! was!

specified!as!the!21th!of!March,!but!was!later!extended!to!the!23rd!of!March.!As!a!

participatory!incentive,!we!offered!the!chance!to!win!one!of!six!video!games!from!

35!!

the!online!store!Steam,!worth!50!USD!or!EUR.!This!raffle!was!conducted!among!

valid!responses!to!the!survey!after!the!survey!had!concluded.!Initially!the!survey!

was!shared!through!the!social!media!sites!Twitter!and!Facebook,!as!well!as!a!few!

forums! dedicated! to! games.! As! the! URL! shortening! service! bit.ly! was! used! to!

generate!a!userZfriendlier!version!of!the!Webropol!survey!URL,!we!also!received!

interesting!analytical!data! through! the!bit.ly! service.!A! total!of!910!clicks!were!

registered!through!the!bit.ly!service,!table!6!helps!illustrate!the!various!sources!

of!traffic.!

Site. Type. Clicks.

Twitter! Social!media!service! 389!

Facebook! Social!media!service! 158!

mtgsuomi.fi! Game!forum! 88!

hearthstone.fi! Game!forum! 15!

www.mtgsalvation.com! Game!forum! 2!

www.worldofminecraft.com! Game!forum! 1!

ervinia.nor.fi! Unknown! 1!

Reddit! Social!media!service! 2!

Unknown!/!direct!referral! Z! 254!

Total! Z! 910!

Table*6*bit.ly*engagement*overview*

As! we! can! see,! Twitter,! Facebook! and! direct! referrals! are! responsible! for! the!

majority!of! traffic.!The!seemingly!small!significance!of!Reddit! is!due! to! the! fact!

that! Reddit! does! not! generally! permit! the! posting! of! URL’s! generated! through!

URL! shortening! services,! and! filters! posts! with! such! URL’s.! Hence! we! were!

unable! to! use! the! bit.ly! URL! for! Reddit! and! had! to! post! using! the! original!

Webropol!URL.!

Twitter! was! one! of! the! more! successful! mediums! for! the! survey! in! the! early!

stages,!and!also!provides!analytical!data!that!is!of!interest!when!looking!at!what!

impacts! the! success! of! acquiring! respondents.!During! a! seven!day!period! after!

the!original!Tweet!asking!for!participants!to!the!study!was!posted,!it!received!a!

total!of!33592!impressions!with!an!engagement!rate!of!1,3%.!This!includes!user!

36!!

profile! views,! favourites! and! retweets! along!with! link! clicks.! From! the!original!

Tweet,! a! total! of! 210! link! clicks! were! registered.! As! we! did! not! have! a! large!

following!on!Twitter,!we!asked!a!number!of!prominent!game!personalities!and!

companies! to! help! spread! the! survey! by! retweeting! the! original! tweet.! Even!

though! very! few!of! the! accounts!we! contacted! responded,!we! found! this! to! be!

extremely! successful.! The! impression! count! for! the! original! tweet! was! over! a!

hundred! times!what! the! author! typically! received! for! other! tweets! during! this!

same!time!period.!

After!the!initial!propagation!of!the!survey!through!the!aforementioned!sites!and!

services,!we! pursued! the! social! news! and! discussion! site! Reddit! as! a! potential!

avenue!for!more!respondents.!Reddit!is!comprised!of!several!subsections!called!

subreddits,!each!devoted!to!a!specific!subject.!We!approached!the!moderators!of!

23! subreddits,! as! not! all! subreddits! allowed! the! posting! of! questionnaires! and!

surveys.!Out!of! the!23!subreddits!contacted,!16!gave!us!permission! to!post! the!

survey.!Approximately!half!of!the!posts!to!subreddits!were!done!during!the!first!

week!of!the!survey,!while!the!other!half!were!done!at!the!end!of!the!survey.!Many!

Reddit!users!offered!us!comments!and!critiques!in!the!comment!sections!of!each!

posts.!This,!along!with!the!“upvote”!number!of!each!post,!can!be!used!to!measure!

how!successful!the!post!was!at!getting!the!attention!of!subreddit!readers.!Table!7!

presents! these! numbers! for! the! subreddits! the! posts! were! made! to,! with!

comment!replies!made!by!the!author!removed.!

Subreddit.name. Comment.count. Upvote.sum.(upvotes.L.downvotes).

/esports! 6! 2!

/DotA2! 3! 0!

/leagueoflegends! 1! 1!

/magictcg! 4! 0!

/globaloffensive! 3! 0!

/samplesize! 0! 8!

/twitch! 15! 21!

/vgstreams! 0! 1!

/gamestream! 0! 1!

/CoDCompetitive! 16! 10!

/CallOfDuty! 2! 3!

/Smite! 12! 19!

37!!

/smashbros! 2! 0!

/halo! 0! 2!

/truetf2! 18! 40!

/tf2! 12! 15!

Table*7*Survey*post*engagement*per*subreddit*

Webropol! offers! no! direct! analytical! data! as! to! the! origin! of! respondents,! but!

based! on! our! observations! we! estimate! that! of! the! 1127! respondents,!

approximately! 70Z80%! came! from! Reddit! while! the! remaining! came! from!

sources!detailed!by!table!6.!We!base!our!estimate!on!the!number!of!respondents,!

as!observed!by!us!daily!during!the!time!that!the!survey!was!open.!As!efforts!to!

get!respondents!were!spaced!out!over!time,!it!also!gives!us!a!better!ability!to!tie!

together!points!in!time!with!traffic!sources.!!This!goes!to!show!the!participatory!

power!of!Reddit!in!research!within!this!field!of!research!as!well!as!similar!fields.!

Descriptive.statistics.for.survey.

After!the!survey!had!ended,!we!exported!the!data!from!Webropol,!using!a!check!

question!we!had! included!to!help! filter!out! invalid!responses.!Furthermore,!we!

removed! entries! with! corrupt! or! faulty! data! and! eventually! had! 1091! valid!

responses!to!the!survey.!As!this!was!only!a!3,2%!decrease!in!respondents!from!

the!raw!data,!we!were!satisfied!with! the!data!collected.!Of! the!valid!responses,!

the! average! age! was! 22,9! (median! =! 22,! SD! =! 5,9).! Female! respondents!

comprised!7,7%!of!our!data.!Of!our!respondents,!93,2%!reported!that!they!had!

registered!an!account!for!the!Twitch!service.!Respondents!had!used!the!Twitch!

service! for! an! average! of! 22,1!months! (median!21,! SD!=!14,6),! and!38,7%!had!

acted! as! a! streamer! at! some! point.! As! for! usage! of! the! service,! respondents!

watched!an!average!of!11,0!hours!per!week!(median!=!7,!SD!=!12,1)!and!watched!

an! average! of! 5,6! different! streamers! per! week! (median! =! 4,! SD! =! 5,0).!

Furthermore,!respondents!followed!an!average!of!26,4!streamers!(median!=!10,!

SD!=!52,1)!and!subscribed!to!an!average!of!0,6!streamers!(median!=!0,!SD!=!2,5).!

These!descriptive!statistics!are!also!available!in!appendix!A.!

As! the! forms!of!usage!varied!greatly!between!respondents! in! size,!we!chose! to!

normalize!our!usage!variables!before!conducting!any!further!analysis.!The!data!

was! grouped! into! five! equal! groups.! The! four!main! usage! variables! are! hours!

38!!

watched,!number!of!different!streamers!watched,!number!of!streamers!followed!

and! number! of! streamers! subscribed! to.! As! subscriptions! were! quite! clearly!

binary,!we!grouped!those!into!two!groups!rather!than!five!groups!like!the!other!

usage!variables.!Notable!about!subscriptions!is!that!it!is!the!only!one!of!the!four!

types!of!usage!that!is!tied!to!a!monetary!transaction.!While!the!other!three!types!

of!usage!do!not!require!a!monetary!commitment,!being!a!subscriber!does!require!

a!minimum!payment!of!$5,!as! that! is! the!sum!required! to!subscribe! to!a!single!

streamer.!Thus,!subscribing!could!also!be!seen!as!measuring! the!willingness! to!

pay!for!the!service!on!a!more!abstract! level.!There!are,!however,!other!ways!to!

spend! money! through! the! Twitch! service,! so! the! situation! is! perhaps! not! as!

simple!as!only!looking!at!subscriptions!to!streamers.!

Obtaining!exactly!equally!sized!groups!was!not!feasible,!as!many!of!the!variables!

had!certain!answers!that!were!extremely!common.!We!decided!not!to!split!these!

answers!into!separate!groups!for!the!sake!of!clarity.!Table!8!shows!the!variables!

as!they!were!grouped,!along!with!corresponding!group!size.!

Group. Hours.watched. Streamers.watched. Streamers.followed.

1! 0Z2!(21,6%)! 0Z2!(19,8%)! 0Z2!(20,3%)!

2! 3Z5!(22,5%)! 3!(18,7%)! 3Z6!(20,0%)!

3! 6Z10!(25,0%)! 4Z5!(30,2%)! 7Z15!(21,9%)!

4! 10,5Z20!(17,1%)! 6Z9!(15,0%)! 16Z39!(19,0%)!

5! 21+!(13,7%)! 10+!(16,3%)! 40+!(18,9%)!

Table*8*Usage*factors*grouped,*notation:*range*(group*percentage*of*whole)*

As! mentioned,! the! final! sample! size! was! 1091! respondents.! For! SEM! with!

constructs! comprised! of! three! or! four! items,! Anderson! and! Gerbing! (1984)!

propose!a!lower!bound!of!150!responses.!Bentler!and!Chou!(1987)!recommend!a!

stricter!lower!bound!of!five!cases!per!observed!variable,!which!in!the!case!of!this!

study!would!mean!290!responses.!A! third! lower!bound!commonly!used! is! that!

the!number!of! responses! should! exceed! ten! times! the! largest!number!of! paths!

(Chin, The partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling, 1988).!The!

third! limit! is!also!exceeded,!as! the! largest!number!of!paths! is! five,! leading! to!a!

lower! limit! of!50! responses.!Our! sample! size! greatly! exceeds! all! three!of! these!

limits,! therefore! we! find! no! problem! with! our! sample! size! in! regards! to! our!

research!model.!

39!!

Validity.and.reliability.

The!main!method!of!analysis!was!the!partial!least!squares!algorithm!(PLSZSEM),!

which!we!conducted!using!the!SmartPLS!3.0!software!(Ringle;Wende;&!Becker,!

2015;! Lowry! &! Gaskin,! 2014).! Traditionally,! coZvariance! based! structural!

equation! modelling! (CBZSEM)! has! a! longer! history! in! research! use,! over! the!

newer!PLSZSEM,!but!for!the!purpose!of!this!study,!PLSZSEM!was!a!better!fit!for!a!

number! of! reasons.! Mainly,! PLSZSEM! is! better! suited! for! studies! looking! at!

prediction! of! relationships,! while! CBZSEM! is! better! when! looking! to! confirm!

structural! relationships! (Hair,! Ringle,! &! Sarstedt,! 2011;! Chin,! Marcolin,! &!

Newsted,! 2003;! Anderson! &! Gerbing,! 1988).! CBZSEM! also! sets! fairly! strict!

restrictions!on!sample!size,!normalization!of!data!and!model! complexity,!while!

PLSZSEM! is! less! restrictive! about! the! distribution! of! the! data,! due! to! its!

nonparametric! nature! (Hair,! Ringle,! &! Sarstedt,! 2011).! Within! the! software,!

latent!variables!were!mapped!to!each!other!according!to!the!research!model!for!

UGT!presented!earlier.!To!confirm!convergent!validity!for!each!main!construct!as!

well! as! their! subZconstructs,! we! calculated! average! variance! extracted! (AVE),!

Cronbach’s! alpha! and! composite! reliability! (CR).! To! determine! discriminant!

validity,! we! calculated! the! FornellZLarcker! criterion! and! heterotraitZmonotrait!

ratio! (HTMT).! AVE! is! expected! to! be! greater! than! 0,5! to! indicate! convergent!

validity,! and! this! was! the! case! for! all! constructs! (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).! In!

similar!fashion,!Cronbach’s!alpha!should!exceed!0,8!to!indicate!reliability!(Straub,

Boudreau, & Gefen, 2004; Nunnally, 1978),! and! for! all! constructs! this! limit!was!

greatly!exceeded.!The!CR!threshold!level!for!reliability!is!0,7!(Fornell & Larcker,

1981),! and! this! is! surpassed! for! each! construct.! The! results! of! these! three!

validations!are!displayed!below!in!table!9.!

Construct. AVE. CR. Cronbach's.alpha.

AFFECTIVE* 0,749* 0,922* 0,887*

COG:!LEARNING!ABOUT!GAME!PRODUCTS! 0,773! 0,931! 0,901!

COG:!LEARNING!ABOUT!GAME!STRATEGIES! 0,761! 0,927! 0,895!

COGNITIVE* 0,550* 0,907* 0,882*

PERSONAL*INTEGRATIVE* 0,715* 0,909* 0,867*

SOC:!COMPANIONSHIP! 0,743! 0,896! 0,826!

SOC:!SHARED!EMOTIONAL!CONNECTION! 0,612! 0,887! 0,840!

40!!

SOCIAL*INTEGRATIVE* 0,537* 0,902* 0,875*

TENSION*RELEASE* 0,541* 0,921* 0,904*

TR:!DISTRACTION! 0,663! 0,887! 0,829!

TR:!ESCAPE! 0,723! 0,886! 0,808!

TR:!RELAXATION! 0,788! 0,917! 0,865!

Table*9*UGT*quality*measurements,*main*constructs*in*bold*

For! the! FornellZLarcker! criterion,! the! square! root! of! the! AVE!must! exceed! the!

correlation!between!the!construct!and!all!other!constructs.!This!was!obtained!for!

all!of!our!main!constructs,!as!can!be!seen!below!in!table!10.!HTMT!expects!values!

below! 0,85! (Kline, 2011)! or! 0,9! (Gold, Malhotra, & Segars, 2011)! to! indicate!

reliability,! and! both! of! these! criteria! were! met! for! our! main! constructs.! The!

results!of!the!HTMT!calculations!are!displayed!below,!in!table!11.!Both!tables!use!

the! same! shorthand! notation! for! constructs.! These! are! AFF! (affective),! COG!

(cognitive),!PI!(personal!integrative),!SI!(social!integrative),!TR!(tension!release).!

Sub! constructs! are! noted! as! “Main! Construct:! Sub! construct”,! for! example! “SI:!

COMP”!notates!the!companionship!construct!belonging!to!the!social! integrative!

main!construct.!

.. AFF. COG:'PROD'

COG:'STRAT'

COG. PI. SI:'COMP'

SI:'SEC' SI. TR. TR:'DIST'

TR:'ESC' TR:'RELAX'

AFF* 0,865* !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

COG:!PROD!

0,431! 0,879! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

COG:!STRAT!

0,486! 0,438! 0,872! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

COG* 0,539! 0,864*& 0,831*& 0,742* !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

PI* 0,474! 0,423! 0,310! 0,436! 0,846* !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

SI:!COMP!

0,496! 0,394! 0,283! 0,402! 0,546! 0,862! !! !! !! !! !! !!

SI:!SEC! 0,631! 0,452! 0,326! 0,463! 0,685! 0,614! 0,782! !! !! !! !! !!

SI* 0,643! 0,477! 0,345! 0,489! 0,696! 0,856*& 0,934*& 0,733* !! !! !! !!

TR* 0,722! 0,455! 0,406! 0,509! 0,455! 0,643! 0,557! 0,660! 0,735* !! !! !!

TR:!DIST!

0,641! 0,410! 0,364! 0,458! 0,389! 0,559! 0,479! 0,573! 0,902*& 0,814! !! !!

TR:!ESC!

0,487! 0,363! 0,289! 0,387! 0,406! 0,596! 0,458! 0,572! 0,817*& 0,603! 0,850! !!

TR:!RELAX!

0,731! 0,405! 0,393! 0,471! 0,395! 0,526! 0,510! 0,576! 0,875*& 0,680! 0,591! 0,887!

Table* 10* UGT* Fornell\Larcker* criteria* (main* constructs* bolded,* notable* values* marked* with*asterisk)*

As!can!be!seen!from!the!table,!the!FornellZLarcker!criteria!are!satisfied!for!all!of!

our!five!main!constructs.!For!some!constructs!this!is!not!immediately!clear,!as!for!

41!!

example!TR:!DIST!exceeds!TR.!However,!the!only!case!where!this!is!true!is!when!

looking!at!main!constructs!and!their!subZconstructs.!As!these!two!are!composed!

of!the!same!items,!this!is!not!a!validity!problem!but!rather!a!choice!to!display!the!

sub! constructs! separately.!The!expected! result! is! that! subZconstructs! and!main!

constructs!should!have!a!high!level!of!correlation,!and!that!is!shown!to!be!true.!

.. AFF. COG:'PROD'

COG:'STRAT'

COG. PI. SI:'COMP'

SI:'SEC' SI. TR. TR:'DIST'

TR:'ESC' TR:'RELAX'

AFF* !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

COG:!PROD!

0,484! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

COG:!STRAT!

0,546! 0,479! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

COG* 0,614! 0,950*& 0,950*& !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

PI* 0,541! 0,478! 0,352! 0,496! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

SI:!COMP!

0,582! 0,457! 0,330! 0,470! 0,640! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

SI:!SEC! 0,739! 0,523! 0,381! 0,540! 0,795! 0,730! !! !! !! !! !! !!

SI* 0,733! 0,538! 0,391! 0,555! 0,795! 0,997*& 1,092*& !! !! !! !! !!

TR* 0,799! 0,507! 0,449! 0,570! 0,516! 0,752! 0,643! 0,743! !! !! !! !!

TR:!DIST!

0,743! 0,476! 0,423! 0,537! 0,456! 0,682! 0,578! 0,671! 1,035*& !! !! !!

TR:!ESC!

0,573! 0,427! 0,338! 0,457! 0,488! 0,732! 0,559! 0,680! 0,966*& 0,729! !! !!

TR:!RELAX!

0,830! 0,462! 0,444! 0,541! 0,454! 0,624! 0,601! 0,661! 0,981*& 0,798! 0,703! !!

Table* 11* UGT* heterotrait\monotrait* ratio* (main* constructs* bolded,* notable* values* marked* with*asterisk)*

The!HTMT!table!shows!that!all!relevant!values!fall!both!beneath!the!0,9!and!the!

0,85!thresholds.!As!with!the!FornellZLarcker!criterion,!there!are!a!few!values!that!

seem! problematic! at! first.! Upon! further! scrutiny,! we! can! see! that! the! 0,9!

threshold! is! exceeded! only! in! cases! involving! a! main! construct! and! it’s! subZ

constructs,! or! between! two! subZconstructs.! These! values! are! noted! with! an!

asterisk!in!table!11.!The!reasoning!behind!this!is!identical!to!the!FornellZLarcker!

criterion!situation,!as!here!again!the!main!constructs!and!subZconstructs!include!

the!same!items.!

As!was! discussed! previously,! the! sample! size! of! 1091! responses! exceeded! the!

three! limits! set! forth! in! previous! literature! (Chin, The partial least squares

approach for structural equation modeling, 1988; Anderson & Gerbing, 1984; Bentler

& Chou, 1987).!Based!on!these!lower!limits!and!the!calculations!presented!here,!

we!find!no!objections!towards!the!validity!of!the!data!gathered!for!this!study.!

42!!

Results.

Our!path!model!accounted!for!25,8%!of!the!variance!for!hours!watched!as!well!as!

21,5%! for! streamers! followed! and! 17%! for! streamers! watched.! For!

subscriptions,!the!path!model!only!accounted!for!3,7%!of!the!variance.!Table!12!

displays!the!results!for!each!of!the!five!UGT!types!of!motivation!in!relation!to!the!

four! types!of! usage.!The! table! also!displays! the! statistical! significance! level! for!

each! of! the! results! in! the! form! of! the! pZvalue! and! both! lower! and! upper!

confidence!levels!combined!as!the!confidence!interval!(CI).!!

From!the!results,!shown!in!table!12,!we!can!see!how!our! initial!hypotheses!are!

supported.!To! test!our!hypotheses!we! started!by! investigating! results!over! the!

commonly!used!significance!threshold!of!0,05,!noted!with!an!asterisk!in!table!12.!

For!results!adhering!to!this!significance!threshold!we!could!directly!examine!the!

results! and!how! they! reflected!upon!our!hypotheses.! For! results! over! the!0,05!

significance!threshold!level,!we!considered!the!size!of!the!effect!in!relation!to!the!

statistical! significance.! For! these! cases! the! effect! was! in! general! quite! small,!

below! the! βZthreshold! of! |0.1|,! thus! furthering! our! view! of! these! results! as!

statistically!insignificant.!Examining!the!confidence!interval!also!backed!this!up.!

Had!we!discovered!a!result!with!a!significant!β,!perhaps!over! the! |0,1|!or!even!

|0,3|!threshold,!further!investigation!would!have!been!required.!In!the!following!

paragraphs! we! examine! the! results,! using! the! same! notation! for! statistical!

significance!as!in!table!12!(*!p!<!0,05,!**!p!<!0,01,!***!p!<!0,001).!Table!13!then!

presents!an!overview!of!each!of!these!hypotheses!and!their!support.!

For! affective! motivations,! three! of! our! four! hypotheses! are! supported,! with!

positive!relations!between!the!motivation!and!hours!watched!(H1a!β!=!0,144**),!

streamers! watched! (H1b! β! =! 0,134**)! and! streamers! followed! (H1c! β! =!

0,152***).!The!relation!to!subscription!was!above!the!threshold!level!of!0,05!for!

statistical!significance!and!thus!we!could!not!establish!a!relation!(H1d!β!=!0,045).!!

!

!!

!!

43!

!Hours&w

atched&Stream

ers&watched&

Streamers&follow

ed&Subscriber&

R2!0,258!

0,17!0,215!

0,037!!

β!P!

CI!β!

P!CI!

β!P!

CI!β!

P!CI!

Affective!0,144**!

0,001!0,058!–!0,224!

0,134**!0,002!

0,048!–!0,216!

0,152***!0,000!

0,068!–!0,235!

0,045!0,298!

;0,041!–!0,130!

Cognitive!0,089**!

0,007!0,023!–!0,155!

0,075*!0,037!

0,007!–!0,147!

0,007!0,851!

;0,062!–!0,074!

;0,028!0,453!

;0,099!–!0,042!

Personal!integrative!;0,177***!

0,000!;0,248!–!;0,107!

;0,105**!0,008!

;0,180!–!;0,030!

0,091*!0,021!

0,016!–!0,169!

0,033!0,407!

;0,044!–!0,112!

Social!integrative!0,132**!

0,004!0,047!–!0,220!

0,120*!0,020!

0,021!–!0,222!

0,213***!0,000!

0,126!–!0,302!

0,150**!0,002!

0,055!–!0,242!

Tension!release!0,319***!

0,000!0,240!–!0,400!

0,217***!0,000!

0,128!–!0,300!

0,080*!0,048!

;0.001!–!0,153!

;0,001!0,984!

;0,095!–!0,093!

Table&12&UGT&results.&*&p&<&0.05,&**&p&<&0.01,&***&p&<&0.001&

&Hypothesis&

Hours&w

atched&(a)&Stream

ers&watched&(b)&

Streamers&follow

ed&(c)&Subscriber&(d)&

H1:!Affective!Y!

Y!Y!

N!

H2:!Cognitive!Y!

Y!N!

N!

H3:!Personal!Integrative!O!

O!

Y!N!

H4:!Social!Integrative!Y!

Y!Y!

Y!

H5:!Tension!Release!Y!

Y!Y!

N!

Table&13&UGT&H

ypotheses&supported.&Y&=&Supported,&O&=&O

pposite&relation&found,&N&=&Statistically&significant&result&not&found&

44"

"

For" cognitive" motivations," we" find" positive" relations" between" it" and" hours"

watched" (H2a" β" =" 0,089**)" as" well" as" streamers" watched" (H3b" β" =" 0,075*),"

supporting"two"of"our"hypotheses."For"both"streamers"followed"(H2c"β""="0,007)"

and"subscription"(H2d"β" "=" H0,028)"our"results"do"not"exceed" the" threshold" for"

statistical"significance."This,"coupled"with"the" low"effect"value,"goes"to"show"no"

relevant"relation"present.""

Personal"integrative"motivations"are"of"particular"interest,"as"we"find"an"opposite"

relation"to"our"hypotheses"both"for"hours"watched"and"streamers"watched"(H3a"

β" =" H0,177***," H3b" β" =" H0,105**)." For" the" relation" between" personal" integrative"

motivations" and" streamers" followed," our" hypothesis" is" supported" (H3c" β" ="

0,091*)."The"relation"between"the"need"type"and"subscription"is"found"to"not"be"

statistically"significant"(H3d"β"="0,033).""

For" social" integrative" motivations," our" hypotheses" for" hours" watched" (H4a" ="

0,132**)," streamers" watched" (H4b" β" =" 0,120*)," streamers" followed" (H4c" β" ="

0,213***)"and"subscriptions" (H4d"β"="0,150**)"are"all" supported."Notably" this" is"

the"only"need"type"that"shows"a"statistically"significant"effect"on"subscription."

Finally,"for"tension"release,"our"hypotheses"for"hours"watched"(H5a"β"="0,319***),"

streamers"watched"(H5b"β"="0,217***)"and"streamers"followed"(H5c"β"="0,080*)"

are" supported." Once" again" we" find" the" relation" between" the" need" type" and"

subscription"(H5d"β"="H0,001)"to"not"be"of"statistical"significance.""

45"

"

Discussion(

At"the"very"core"of"UGT"is"the"idea"that"we"want"to"examine"what"people"do"with"

media"rather"than"what"media"does"to"people"(Swanson, 1979; Chen, 2011)."As"the"

primary"goal"of" this" study"was" to" investigate" the"main"motivational" factors" for"

watching" video" gaming" streams," it" would" be" wise" to" examine" how" well" the"

results"predict"fulfilled"needs"on"a"general"level.""

As" our" results" show" us," primarily" positive" effects" exist" between" types" of"

motivations"and"types"of"usage."Along"with"the"13"positive"effects,"two"negative"

effects"are"shown"to"exist.""In"the"rest"of"this"section"we"will"discuss"the"various"

relations"between"types"of"motivation"and"types"of"usage"in"closer"detail."We"will"

cover"each"of"the"five"main"UGT"types"of"motivation"separately,"in"relation"to"the"

four" types" of" usages" investigated." As" the" four" types" of" usage" we" examine" are"

nuances" of" a" more" general" indicator" of" usage," they" translate" poorly" to" many"

previous" types" of" research" conducted" if" examined" per" se." Thus" we" will" treat"

hours"watched"as"the"primary"indicator"of"use,"as"it"is"a"very"clear"link"between"

the"service"itself"and"how"the"viewers"use"it."Furthermore,"it"is"similar"to"usage"

indicators" utilized" in" previous" research." However," we" will" still" discuss" the"

implications"of"our"results"regarding"the"three"other"types"of"usage."

Tension(release(motivations(

The" largest" effect"was" found"between" tension" release"and"hours"watched."This"

supports" our" initial" hypothesis" and" is" in" line"with" previous" research" on" social"

media" (Whiting & Williams, 2013)," YouTube" (Hanson & Haridakis, 2008),"

Facebook" (Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2010)," online" services" (Lin, 2002)" and"

Internet"use"(Courtois, Mechant, De Marez, & Verleye, 2009)."This"relation"is"quite"

natural,"as"a"person"seeking"escape"and"tension"release"would"tend"to" increase"

the"pure"hourly"usage"of"the"service"if"it"serves"to"fulfil"the"need."The"distraction"

provided" by" viewing" experience" in" itself" might" be" the" goal," rather" than" the"

viewing" experience" facilitating" some" other" need," indicating" the" significance" of"

hours"spent"watching"gaming"streams."Tension"release"seems"to"be"an"important"

motivator"also"when"it"comes"to"other"types"of"usage,"as"it"has"a"positive"impact"

46"

"

on" not" just" hours" watched," but" also" on" streamers" watched" and" streamers"

followed." This" demonstrates" that" users" seeking" to" fulfil" a" need" for" escape" and"

diversion"watch" a" larger" amount" of" streams" than" those" not"motivated" by" this"

need"type,"as"perhaps"the"quantity"is"more"important"than"quality."A"person"for"

whom"these"needs"are"important"might"want"to"have"a"stream"easily"accessible,"

rather"than"just"watching"when"a"particular"interesting"streamer"is"broadcasting.""

Even"though"the"effect"on"streamers"followed"is"below"the"0,1"threshold,"it"is"still"

significant"enough"to"warrant"closer"attention."We"feel"that"this"again"may"be"a"

sign"of"convenience,"as" following"a"number"of"streamer"means" the"user" is" then"

notified"when"they"start"streaming,"

The" fact" that" there" is" no" significant" relationship" between" tension" release" and"

subscription" is" perhaps" not" surprising," as" the" act" of" subscription" does" not"

necessarily" directly" affect" the" tension" release" needs." Very" few" of" the" tangible"

benefits" acquired" from" subscribing" to" a" streamer" help" the" user" in" question"

achieve" escape" or" diversion." Due" to" this" lack" of" concrete" incentives," it" seems"

quite"natural" that" there" is"no" significant" relation"here."As"mentioned"earlier" in"

this" study," the" most" common" tangible" benefits" obtained" from" subscribing" are"

access"to"streamer"specific"chat"emoticons"and"a"visual"indicator"next"to"the"user"

name" in" the" chat." Additionally," some" streamers" offer" access" to" subscriberHonly"

content,"such"as"the"opportunity"to"play"with"the"streamer."In"the"context"of"the"

online"music" service" Last.fm," activity" in" the" community"was" a"more" important"

indicator" of" subscription" than" consumption" of" music" (Oestreicher-Singer &

Zalmanson, 2013)."Even"though"there"are"significant"differences"in"subscribing"to"

a" service" and" subscribing" to" an" individual" streamer," there" are" still" similarities"

that" offer" an" explanation" to" this" phenomenon." If" community" activity" is" an"

important"predictor,"it"stands"to"reason"that"the"needs"governed"by"the"tension"

release"category"would"not"directly"affect"subscription."

Affective(motivations(

Moving"on"to"affective"motivations,"we"find"three"significant"effects."Firstly,"there"

is"a"positive"effect"between"affective"motivations"and"hours"watched."This" is" in"

accordance"with" out" hypothesis" and" also" supported" by" previous" research" into"

streaming" (Shaw, 2013; Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014)," esports" (Cheung &

47"

"

Huang, 2011),"social"media"(Whiting & Williams, 2013; Papacharissi & Mendelson,

2010)" and" video" sharing" websites (Hanson & Haridakis, 2008; Cha, 2014)." The"

moderate"size"of"the"effect"suggests"a"person"might"find"the"enjoyment"they"are"

looking"for"after"a"certain"amount"of"usage"of"the"service,"after"which"additional"

hours"become"superfluous."In"the"case"of"YouTube,"the"entertainment"aspect"was"

important" (Hanson & Haridakis, 2008)" for"comedy"news"watching,"and" it"can"be"

argued"that"video"game"streaming"falls"in"a"similar"area."Based"on"this"we"might"

have"expected"an"even"greater"effect"to"exist"between"affective"motivations"and"

hours" watched." The" positive" effect" on" streamers" watched" was" equally" of"

moderate" size." This" could" indicate" that" watching" a" small" number" of" different"

streamers," rather" than" seeking" out" a" larger" number" of" streamers" achieves" the"

enjoyment"sought"through"the"service."Furthermore,"this"could"also"indicate"that"

the" person" in" question" has" trouble" finding" a" larger" number" of" streamers" that"

produce"content"that"they"think"are"enjoyable."There"was"also"a"positive"effect"on"

streamers" followed." As" streamers" followed" and" streamers" watched" are" quite"

closely" related," it" is" not" surprising" to" see" effects" close" to" each" other" in" size." A"

person" for"whom"affective"motivations"are" important"might"very"well" seek"out"

the"same"particular"streamers"time"after"time,"both"watching"them"and"choosing"

to"follow"them."

As"was"the"case"with"tension"release,"no"significant"relation"was"found"between"

affective"motivation"and" subscription."As"we"discussed"previously," the" tangible"

benefits"offered"by"subscription"serve"as"a"limiter"to"the"types"of"needs"that"can"

be" met" through" subscription." Here" we" could" expect" to" find" some" factors" that"

would" contribute" to" the" need" for" enjoyment" and" entertainment." We" might"

consider" the" potential" extra" content" in" the" form" of" participatory" events" for"

subscribers" to" contribute" something" positive" to" the" overall" entertainment" of" a"

user."That"is"to"say,"by"subscribing"the"user"would"then"get"more"opportunities"

that"could"lead"to"increased"levels"of"entertainment."However,"our"results"show"

only"a"small"effect"that"is"not"statistically"significant,"so"we"have"to"conclude"that"

this"hypothetical"effect"is"not"observable"in"our"sample."

48"

"

Cognitive(motivations(

Cognitive"motivations"show"a"small"positive"effect"on"hours"watched."The"size"of"

the"effect"is"slightly"below"the"0,1"threshold,"but"shows"a"good"level"of"statistical"

significance." The" positive" effect" supports" our" original" hypotheses" of" cognitive"

motivations," and" is" further" supported" by" previous" research"within" the" field" of"

video" game" streaming" (Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014)" and" social" media"

(Whiting & Williams, 2013; Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2010)."We"can"see" that" in"

the"quest"for"knowledge"and"information,"a"user"is"driven"to"increased"use"of"the"

service," even" if" the" increased" usage" is" not" large."One" reason"might" be" that" the"

value"obtained"subsides"after"a"short"while."Perhaps"viewers"driven"by"cognitive"

motivation" seek" fulfilment" for" the" need" of" information" through" other" sources"

rather" than" streams." As" we" asked" respondents" about" their" attitudes" towards"

learning"about"game"strategies"and"game"products,"these"are"needs"that"can"be"

met"through"other"channels."Perhaps"the"live"aspect"of"video"game"streaming"is"

detrimental"to"the"learning"experience"compared"to"video"recordings"of"similar"

content" available" through" services" such" as"YouTube."On" recorded"videos"users"

have" the"option" to"pause" and"go"back" and"watch"a" segment" again" if" there"was"

anything" they" did" not" fully" understand," something" not" available" in" live"

broadcasts." On" the" other" hand," the" live" experience" and" social" interaction"

available"between"viewer"and"streamer"allows"for"a"level"of"personalisation"that"

is"not"available"for"preHrecorded"material."Viewers"can"ask"streamers"direct"and"

specific"questions"regarding"games"and"get"answers"that"then"help"them"further"

their"understanding."Learning"about"games"has"been"shown"to"be"a"major"reason"

for"initially"starting"to"watch"streams"(Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014)."Based"

on"this"previous"research"and"the"interviews"conducted"at"the"start"of"this"study,"

we"expected" learning" to"have"one"of" the" larger" effects" among"all" relations," but"

this" is" not" indicated" by" our" results." So" even" though" our" hypothesis" was"

supported," we" question" the" disparity" between" the" results" and" the" expected"

results.""

An" effect" of" similar" size" is" observed" for" streamers" watched." Users" for" whom"

cognitive" motivations" are" important" might" watch" only" a" select" amount" of"

streamers"that"offer"the"information"and"teaching"that"they"are"seeking."The"fact"

49"

"

that"many"streamers"simply"play"the"game"without"elaborating"on"their"decision"

making" may" lead" to" information" seekers" turning" their" gaze" elsewhere." This"

naturally" has" an" impact" on" the" number" of" streamers" watched" by" a" person"

pursuing"knowledge"and"learning."Interestingly,"we"observe"no"significant"effect"

for"cognitive"motivations"on"streamers"followed."Notable"is"that"this"was"the"only"

motivation"type"that"did"not"show"a"significant"effect"on"streamers"followed."This"

seems" to" indicate" that" viewers" looking" to" learn" might" not" follow" any" more"

streamers" than"other"users."We"might" expect" a" positive" effect" here," due" to" the"

reason"of"not"all"streamers"being"equally"enlightening."It"would"stand"to"reason"

that"viewers"who"respond"to"cognitive"motivations"would"follow"the"streamers"

that"they"feel"teach"them"something,"as"this"in"turn"would"help"them"meet"their"

needs."

Much"as"with"the"previous"motivations,"we"do"not"find"an"effect"on"subscribing"

here" either." The" reasoning" might" be" similar" to" what" we" presented" for" the"

previous" motivation" types." The" act" of" subscribing" does" commonly" not" offer"

tangible"cognitive"benefits."Certain"streamers"might"have"days"when"the"chat"is"

only"open"to"subscribers,"and"the"streamers"then"interact"more"actively"with"the"

chat."One"might"argue"that"this"might"facilitate"a"teacher"and"student"relationship"

that"would"be"beneficial"for"a"viewer"driven"by"cognitive"motivations,"and"hence"

they" would" be" inclined" to" subscribe." Especially" for" cognitive" motivations" the"

notion" of" perceived" value" might" be" of" importance." Economic" value" has" been"

shown" to"have"a" significant" impact"on"willingness" to"pay" for"social"networking"

sites" (Vock, van Dolen, & de Ruyter, 2013)." If" a" person" looks" to" streamers" to"

supply" them" with" information" that" might" save" them" money," paying" for" the"

service" itself" might" seem" like" a" bad" idea." Perhaps" the" extra" value" gained" by"

subscribing"does"not" exceed" the"value"obtained," thus" creating"a"negative"value"

proposition"for"the"person"driven"by"cognitive"needs."

Personal(integrative(motivations(

Looking"at"personal"integrative"motivations,"we"find"our"first"negative"relations,"

and"thus"the"first"disproved"hypotheses."Personal"integrative"shows"a"moderate"

negative"effect"on"hours"watched,"which"is"opposite"to"what"we"expected."As"the"

scale" instrument" used" to" measure" personal" integrative" was" solely" focused" on"

50"

"

recognition,"we"will"try"to"explain"our"findings"based"on"the"need"for"recognition"

in"the"personal" integrative"context."This"result" is"partially" in" line"with"previous"

research"within"the"context"of"online"learning,"specifically"between"the"user"and"

their" peers" (Hernandez, Montaner, Sese, & Urquizu, 2011)." Even" though" video"

game"streaming"is"mostly"a"hedonistic"activity,"we"feel"that"drawing"parallels"to"

online" learning" is" feasible"when"examining"cognitive"motivations."The"negative"

relation"between"personal"integrative"and"hours"watched"seems"to"indicate"that"

the"level"of"recognition"obtained"from"using"the"service"does"not"fulfil"underlying"

needs." Hence" individuals" for"whom" these" needs" are" important" use" the" service"

less" than" others." Likely" these" needs" are" fulfilled" through" other" channels." This"

may"be"explained"by"the"fact"that"the"social"dimension"of"a"channel"changes"with"

its" size" (Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014)." A" stream"with" a" larger" amount"of"

viewers"also"means"more"people"participating"in"the"chat."For"popular"streamers"

the" chat" may" descend" into" chaos," thus" eliminating" any" chance" for" civilized"

discourse."As"much"of"obtaining"respect"from"other"viewers"and"streamers"relies"

on"being"able" to"use" the"chat" to"display"a" certain" level"of"understanding"of" the"

game"or"subject"at"hand,"this"is"a"clear"problem."The"scale"used"in"this"study"did"

not" particularly" distinguish" between" the" recognition" obtained" from" streamers"

and"other"viewers."One"might"argue"that"for"certain"individuals"these"two"types"

of" recognition" are"markedly" different," as" has" been" shown" to" be" the" case"when"

looking" at" differences" in" motivational" impact" between" peers" and" instructors"

(Hernandez, Montaner, Sese, & Urquizu, 2011)."Using"separate"scales" for" the" two"

might" unearth" hidden" differences." Interestingly," building" reputation" has" been"

shown"to"positively"affect"continued"use"for"video"sharing"sites"such"as"YouTube"

(Chiang & Hsiao, 2014)."Perhaps"the"recommendation"features"available"through"

YouTube"facilitate"a"stronger"sense"of"reputation"gaining"than" is"present" in" the"

video"game"streaming"context."

As" with" hours" watched," we" also" find" a" moderate" negative" relation" between"

personal" integrative" motivations" and" streamers" watched." Much" as" with" hours"

watched," it" seems" watching" a" larger" number" of" different" streamers" does" not"

contribute"positively"to"the"level"of"recognition"perceived."The"negative"relation"

might"also"be"a"sign"that"the"person"enjoys"a"very"particular"set"of"streamers,"one"

that" is" quite" small" and" not" easily" supplemented" by" new" streamers." A" person"

51"

"

seeking" recognition"might" have" found" a" select" few" streamers" that" offer" a" high"

level" of" interaction" as" well" as" communities" that" offer" support" and"

encouragement"to"other"community"members."As"was"shown"by"Hamilton"et"al."

(2014)," larger" audiences" pose" a" problem" for" preserving" a" level" of" personal"

communication."

Surprisingly," we" find" a" small" positive" effect" between" personal" integrative"

motivations" and" streamers" followed." The" effect" is" slightly" below" the" 0,1"

threshold" level" but" statistically" significant." This" is" interesting," as" for" the" other"

types" of"motivations"we" saw" effects" of" similar" size" for" streamers"watched" and"

streamers"followed,"but"here"we"find"an"opposite"relation"between"the"two."One"

explanation" for" this" might" be" that" while" people" for" whom" recognition" is"

important" might" watch" only" a" small" number" of" streamers," they" still" follow" a"

larger"amount."This"might"have"to"do"with"the"fact"that"as"they"watch"for"fewer"

hours" per" week" than" some" other" users," they" might" want" to" have" a" larger"

selection"of"appropriate"streamers"to"watch."Following"a"slightly" larger"amount"

of"different"streamers,"suiting"their"needs,"then"allows"these"users"to"pick"out"the"

ones" they"wish" to"watch"when" they" spent" the" limited" time" that" they"do"on" the"

service."

We"do"not" find" a" significant" relation"between"personal" integrative"motivations"

and"subscription."This" is" somewhat"unexpected," as" compared" to"other" types"of"

motivations;"subscription"offers"some"benefits"more"closely"relation"to"personal"

integrative"needs."We"argue"that"by"belonging"to"the"subscribers"for"a"particular"

stream," the"person" in" question" then"belongs" to" a"more" exclusive" social" club"of"

sorts."It"would"stand"to"reason"that"by"belonging"to"this"clique,"the"person"would"

receive" positive" reinforcement" from" the" other" subscribers." Perhaps" the" lack" of"

effect" here" goes" to" show" that" this" is" not" the" case," and" that" the" subscriber"

community" for" a" given" stream" is" not" as" important," at" least" when" it" comes" to"

receiving"recognition."

Social(integrative(motivations(

We"find"that"social" integrative"motivations"effect"hours"watched"on"a"moderate"

level." This" supports" our" initial" hypothesis" and" stands" to" reason" as" using" the"

52"

"

service" for"more" hours" per"week" clearly" gives" a" person"more" opportunities" to"

interact"with"the"rest"of"the"Twitch"community."The"result" is"further"supported"

by"previous"research"in"video"game"streaming"and"esports"(Hamilton, Garretson,

& Kerne, 2014; Scholz, 2011)," social" media" (Whiting & Williams, 2013; Pai &

Arnott, 2013; Chen, 2011; Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2010)" and" playing" video"

games"(Sherry, Lucas, Greenberg, & Lachlan, 2006)."These"added"opportunities"for"

interaction" can" then" translate" into" positive" experiences" fulfilling" the" needs"

covered" by" social" integrative" motivations." We" might" expect" the" quality" of"

interaction" to" be" of" importance" for" a" person" for" whom" social" integrative"

motivations" are" significant," but" also" notice" that" the" pure" number" of" streamers"

watched"is"of"importance."The"effect"is"still"not"very"large,"signifying"that"a"large"

number"of"streamers"watched"is"not"necessarily"valuable"in"itself."However,"this"

signifies" that" it" is" not" only" a" limited" number" of" streamers" and" adhering"

communities"that"offer"the"opportunity"to"interact"socially"in"a"meaningful"way."

The" effect" on" streamers" followed" is" slightly" larger" than" the" previous" two,"

indicating" that" people," for" whom" social" integrative" motives" are" important,"

appreciate" the" ability" to" follow" streamers." Having" a" larger" group" of" potential"

streamers"to"choose" from"when"watching"gives"more" flexibility" in"choosing"the"

ones" interesting" for" the"person."The" added" flexibility"might" then" translate" to" a"

higher"level"of"social"involvement"as"the"person"can"choose"the"streams"offering"

the"largest"social"aspect"from"an"already"curated"list."""

This" is" the" sole" motivational" type" where" we" find" a" significant" effect" on"

subscription," and" a"moderate" one" at" that."What" this"might" indicate" is" that" the"

feeling" a" person" gains" from" supporting" a" streamer" is" an" important" factor" in"

fulfilling"social"integrative"needs."By"supporting"a"streamer"and"following"him"or"

her,"the"person"can"build"a"deeper"involvement"with"the"community"and"perhaps"

feel"like"a"larger"part"of"shared"experiences."As"their"subscription"activity"shows"

up"as"an"automated"message" in" the"chat,"we"have"observed" that"other"viewers"

often" offer" positive" encouragement" to" new" and" renewing" subscribers." The"

impact"of"social"factors"on"choosing"to"subscribe"to"a"service"has"been"shown"to"

be"relevant"for"other"online"services"(Oestreicher-Singer & Zalmanson, 2013),"thus"

strengthening" our" view" of" social" integrative" motives" are" highly" relevant" to"

53"

"

subscription." Compared" to"more" traditional" services"where" the" subscription" is"

simply" to" the" service" itself" and" not" the" content" producers," there" is" clearly" a"

possibility"for"an"increased"social"aspect."In"the"context"of"video"game"streaming,"

when"a"user"subscribes"to"a"streamer,"he"or"she"can"feel"good"about"supporting"

that" particular" streamer" and" perhaps" enabling" them" to" continue" producing"

content."

"

54"

"

Conclusion(

In"this"chapter,"we"will"cover"the"main"implications"of"this"study."We"will"start"by"

discussing"the"theoretical" implications"and"then"move"on"to"cover"the"potential"

industry"implications"when"it"comes"to"designing"video"game"streaming"services."

We"will" then" shortly" talk" about" the" limitations" of" this" study," before" discussing"

potential"of"further"avenues"of"scientific"research."

Theoretical(implications(

In" this" study" we" built" upon" the" UGT" framework" and" showed" how" five" main"

motivational" factors" from" within" UGT" relate" to" the" activity" of" watching" video"

game"streams."We"investigated"four"indicators"of"use:"hours"watched,"streamers"

watched," streamers" followed" and" subscription." Among" our" data" set" containing"

1091"respondents"we"found"support"for"a"majority"of"our"hypotheses"connecting"

motivational" factors" and" these" four" indicators" of" use." We" showed" important"

effects"on"usage"from"cognitive,"affective,"tension"release"and"social"motivations."

Our" results" are" support" previous" research" in" video" game" streaming" (Hamilton,

Garretson, & Kerne, 2014; Shaw, 2013)," esports" (Cheung & Huang, 2011; Scholz,

2011),"social"media"(Whiting & Williams, 2013; Papacharissi & Rubin, 2000),"video"

sharing" (Hanson & Haridakis, 2008; Cha, 2014)."Our"results"show"that" the"act"of"

watching"others"play"video"games"has"many"common"motivational"factors"with"

other" online" media" activities" with" a" social" element." This" study" continues" the"

trend"of"UGT"research"within"contemporary"forms"of"media,"contributing"to"the"

general"acceptance"of"UGT"as"a"framework"within"online"media.""

This"study"found"that"subscription"behaviour"was"difficult"to"predict"through"the"

UGT" based" five" need" types." We" found" a" considerably" lower" level" of" variance"

explained" when" compared" to" the" other" types" of" usage" we" investigated." We"

believe" this"goes" to" show" that" the" relation"users"have" to" spending"money"on"a"

service,"which" is"primarily" free" to"use," is"complicated."Even"though"we" found"a"

proportionally" large"amount"of" subscribers"within"our"data"when"compared" to"

other" services" (Oestreicher-Singer & Zalmanson, 2013)," the" low" level"of"variance"

explained"should"still"serve"as"an"indicator"of"this"complex"relation."

55"

"

On" a"more"novel" level,"we" found" support" for"Reddit" as" a" very" effective"way" to"

recruit" survey" respondents." During" our" active" posting" periods" we" received"

hundreds" of" survey" responses" in" a" very" short" time." We" consider" Reddit" an"

excellent" platform" when" conducting" studies" based" on" online" services" with" an"

active" community" surrounding" said" service." Along" with" Reddit," Twitter" also"

showed" its"potential" as" a" good"medium" for" spreading" an" idea"over" the"natural"

limits"of"your"personal" social"media"sphere,"as"was"shown" in" this" study"by" the"

number" of" impressions" our" survey" link" received." This" was" mainly" achieved"

through"the"help"of"other"Twitter"users"with"a" larger"following."Naturally"there"

are"also"other"ways"to"approach"the"problem"of"recruiting"survey"respondents,"

such" as" directly" using" the" service" itself." However," that" requires" an" active"

partnership"relation"with"the"service" in"question" in"order"to"access"their"users,"

something"that"was"not"possible"within"the"confines"of"this"study."

We"feel"the"results"obtained"from"this"study"should"also"be"applicable"outside"the"

realm"of"video"game"streaming."Many"of"the"motivational"factors"are"likely"to"be"

found"within"other"forms"of" live"media"featuring"a" level"of" interaction."The"fact"

that"the"activity"being"performed"is"playing"a"game"should"not"serve"as"a"limiting"

factor" when" reflecting" on" areas" of" application." We" can" see" an" increased"

importance"of"interactive"elements"in"more"traditional"media,"such"as"television"

news." As" shown" by" our" results" regarding" social" interaction," facilitating"

communication"between"hot"and"cool"media"is"essential,"as"previously"shown"in"

the"video"game"streaming"context"(Hamilton, Garretson, & Kerne, 2014)."

Practical(implications(for(video(game(streaming(

A" majority" of" the" effects" we" investigated" were" positive," indicating" their"

importance" for" service" usage." We" would" like" to" discuss" some" areas" of"

improvement," based" on" the" effects" observed" within" this" study." The" main"

motivational" factor" that" showed" negative" effects" was" personal" integrative." By"

developing"a"video"game"streaming"service"such"that"it"helps"facilitate"the"need"

for" recognition" and" respect" from" peers," one" could" potentially" change" this"

negative"effect"into"a"positive"one."If"the"end"goal"is"to"increase"pure"usage"of"the"

service,"this"could"have"a"major"impact"on"the"number"of"hours"a"person,"whom"

rates" personal" integrative"motives" highly," uses" the" service." How" to" practically"

56"

"

accomplish"this"is"difficult,"as"we"see"a"problematic"balance"between"the"size"of"

community"and"the"sense"of"being"able"to"communicate"(Hamilton, Garretson, &

Kerne, 2014)." A" larger" stream" community" may" seem" like" a" more" worthwhile"

source" of" respect" than" a" smaller" one," but" at" the" same" time" the" logistics" of"

hundreds" of" people" taking" part" in" the" chat" can" turn" the" experience" into"

something"unpleasant."The"underlying"anonymity"that"is"present"can"also"cause"

negative" behaviour" to" manifest," a" phenomenon" that" certainly" does" not" help"

receiving"recognition.""

As"we"see"from"the"effect"of"tension"release"on"usage,"building"these"services"to"

facilitate"escapism"and"diversion"is"incredibly"important."We"can"see"that"not"just"

Twitch" but" many" other" video" game" streaming" services" already" have"

sophisticated" systems" in" place" to" help" the" user" browse" for" content." Perhaps" a"

transition" towards" recommendation" based" on" previous" usage" could" serve" as" a"

logical"next"step"in"this"progression"of"helping"users"find"new"content."This"might"

also"help"users"find"new"streamers"to"follow,"and"potentially"then"subscribe"to,"

helping"drive"revenue."

Based" on" our" research," social" integrative" motivations" are" the" driving" force"

behind"subscriptions."As"the"variance"explained"was"fairly"low,"the"results"should"

naturally" be" taken"with" a" certain" level" of" uncertainty."However," building" upon"

the"assumption"and" logic" that"social"motives"are" important," services" looking" to"

increase" the" number" of" subscribers" should" pay" very" close" attention" to"

developing"the"service"with"this"in"mind."Perhaps"an"increase"in"perceived"social"

benefits" could" drive" even" more" viewers" from" mere" followers" to" dedicated"

subscribers."Looking" into"popular"streams,"we" find"many"viewers" that"not"only"

subscribe" as" a" one" time" action," but" renew" the" subscription" for" long"periods" of"

time,"thus"building"a"certain"level"of"loyalty"and"dedication"towards"the"streamer."

Perhaps"rewarding"these"users"for"their"loyalty"could"be"a"considered"as"a"way"of"

further" enhancing" the" experience" for" high" activity" users." Currently" all"

subscribers" are" on" the" same" level," no" matter" how" long" they" have" subscribed."

Certain" streamers" may" naturally" treat" long" time" subscribers" with" more"

reverence,"but"this"is"not"something"directly"supported"by"the"service"itself."This"

57"

"

could"have"positive"benefits"for"the"service"itself,"as"well"as"the"streamer"and"the"

person"subscribing."

Limitations(

As" was" stated" in" the" introductory" section" of" this" study," we" focused" solely" on"

users"of"one"video"game"streaming"service,"Twitch."This"is"naturally"a"limitation"

for" this" study," as" we"might" find" slightly" different" motivations" among" users" of"

other" video" game" streaming" services." The" nature" of" watching" video" game"

streams" should" be" fairly" similar" between" services," but" the" specifics" of" each"

service"may" facilitate"different" types"of" behaviour." For" example," other" services"

may" not" have" the" subscription" or" following" features" found" on" Twitch," thus"

meaning" our" findings" related" to" those" functionalities" are" not" applicable." There"

might" exist" differences"based"not" only" on" the" features" of" the" service" itself," but"

also"on"demographical"differences"found"between"the"two"services."However,"we"

feel" that" as" Twitch" covers" such" a" large" portion" of" the" video" game" streaming"

market," the"differences"between"users" found"within" that"particular"service"and"

other"video"game"streaming"services"should"not"be"a"major"concern."

Another" limiting" factor" stems" from" the" nature" of" open" surveys." Survey"

participants" are" often" selfHselective," as" users" who" are" not" very" active" on" the"

service"tend"to"not"participate"in"surveys"of"this"kind"to"the"same"extent"as"active"

users."This"might"lead"into"a"bias"towards"certain"user"types,"in"our"case"mostly"

highly" active" users." This" can" be" seen" from" the" fact" that" 22,9%" of" our" survey"

population"subscribed"to"one"streamer"or"more."This"is"magnitudes"higher"than"

for" example" the" percentage" of" Last.fm"users" paying" for" the" service,"which"was"

shown"to"be"around"0,9%"(Oestreicher-Singer & Zalmanson, 2013)."Naturally"these"

are"two"very"different"services,"but"it"goes"to"show"the"slight"bias"towards"active"

users."While"this"may"be"an"existing"bias"in"the"study,"it"is"not"necessarily"a"bad"

one,"as"active"users"are" likely" to"be"more" interesting" for"video"game"streaming"

service"developers."There"might"be"fewer"active"users"than"nonHactive"users,"but"

these"users"might"be"more"prone"to"spend"money"on"the"service,"as"was"seen"by"

the"proportion"of"subscribers"versus"nonHsubscribers."

58"

"

The"psychometric"scales"chosen"were"based"on"the"interviews"presented"in"the"

preliminary"study"as"well"as"previous"research"and"our"expert"knowledge"of"the"

video"game"streaming"environment."However,"as"our"path"model"accounted"for"

25,8%"of"variance"explained,"we"acknowledge"that"there"might"be"motivational"

factors"that"were"not"included"in"our"study."Doing"a"more"thorough"study"might"

lead"to"a"higher"percentage"of"variance"explained,"but"in"previous"UGT"studies"of"

a" similar"nature" this" is" a" fairly" common" level" of" variance" explained" to" achieve."

Another" factor" worth" considering" is" that" while" many" other" studies" measure"

intent" towards" continued" usage," we" measured" actual" usage" in" hours." This"

approach"may"lead"to"a" lower"level"of"variance"explained,"but"perhaps"a"higher"

level"of"reliability."

Further(research(directions(

This" study"did"not" explore"demographical" differences"within" the"population"of"

video" game" stream" viewers." This" could" be" a" fruitful" direction" for" further"

research," as" we" could" expect" to" find" differences" between" key" demographic"

indicators."For"example"gender"has"shown"to"impact"the"valuation"of"usefulness"

among" technology"users" (Venkatesh & Morris, 2000)." In" this"study,"we"collected"

data" on" gender," occupation," country" of" residence" and" income," all" important"

demographic" factors" usable" in" future" research." We" noticed" a" very" male"

dominated"gender"distribution,"in"line"with"web"traffic"data"available"(Quantcast,

2015)."

Another" interesting"research"direction"might"be" to"study"how"various" forms"of"

usage"of"the"service"impacts"motivational"factors."We"theorize"that"consumers"of"

different"types"of"game"genres"experience"different"motivational"factors."As"some"

games"are"highly"competitive"while"others"are"so"called"sandbox"games"with"no"

inherent"objective,"the"motives"for"watching"are"likely"to"vary"considerably."This"

study" identified" several"activities" that"users" can"partake" in" through" the"Twitch"

service," besides" just" watching" games" being" played." These" are" also" important"

forms"of"usage,"and"as"such"could"be"studied"to"build"a"better"understanding"of"

differences"among"users"who"take"part" in" the"various"activities."Users"who"use"

chat" functionalities"a" lot"might"have"a"different"behavioural"pattern" than"users"

who"avoid"chatting"altogether."

59"

"

This" study" did" not" touch" upon" the" subject" of" donations" within" video" game"

streaming." This" is" an" activity" different" from" purely" subscribing," and" one" that"

seems"to"be"increasingly"popular."Most"of"the"popular"streamers"on"Twitch"offer"

some" avenue" for" donating," and" often" display" the" top" donors" live" during" the"

stream." There" have" been" several" examples" of" individuals" donating" very" large"

sums"of"money" to" a" single" streamer," totalling" in" the" hundreds" of" thousands" of"

dollars" (Conners, 2014)." Many" users" also" regularly" donate" smaller" sums" to"

streamers." Why" people" donate" to" game" streamers" would" be" an" interesting"

avenue" of" research," and" one" tied" quite" closely" to" motivational" factors" for"

consuming"the"service"in"a"more"general"manner."The"motivations"for"donating"

might" be" related" to" subscribing," as" there" are" a" certain" levels" of" similarity"

between" the" two" activities" in" the" context" of" video" game" streaming." Finding"

similarities" and" differences" between" behavioural" drivers" for" donation" and"

subscription" would" be" good" in" order" to" also" build" a" further" understanding" of"

underlying"reasons"for"subscribing"that"were"not"covered"in"this"study."

Another"very" current" topic" is" esports."The"general" esports"business"has"grown"

strongly,"and"examining"the"relation"between"esports"and"video"game"streaming"

could"be"very"fruitful."As"mentioned"in"this"paper,"there"have"been"some"forays"

into" this" field" of" research" (Cheung" &" Huang," 2011)," but" a"more" inHdepth" look"

comparing"the"motivations"of"esports"spectating"and"video"game"watching"might"

prove"helpful"in"understanding"the"differences"and"common"aspects"of"the"two."

" "

60"

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"

68"

"

Appendix(A(

Factor( ( Value(

Age$(years)$ Average$ 22,94

$ Median$ 22,00

$ SD$ 5,867

Sex$(%)$ Male$ 92,3$

$ Female$ 7,7$

Tenure$(months)$ Average$ 22,11

$ Median$ 21,00

$ SD$ 14,603

Registered$account$(%)$ Yes$ 93,2

$ No$ 6,8

Has$streamed$(%)$ Yes$ 38,7

$ No$ 61,3

Hours$watched$per$week$(h/week)$ Average$ 11,014

$ Median$ 7,000

$ SD$ 12,0502

Streamers$watched$per$week$(n/week)$ Average$ 5,57

$ Median$ 4,00

$ SD$ 4,965

Streamers$followed$(n)$ Average$ 26,41

$ Median$ 10,00

$ SD$ 52,077

Is$subscriber$(%)$ Yes$ 22,90

$ No$ 77,1$

Appendix(A(Descriptive(statistics(of(survey(

"

watching others play: a uses and gratifications approach ... · through the uses and gratifications...

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