Vol 1, No 2 (2008)

Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds

With so many people making the virtual leap many marketers are eager to join them and stake their claim in this new landscape. Unfortunately for many their efforts have failed to live up to expectations and they have since withdrawn. So what, do we need to do differently in virtual worlds than we do in the real world in order to achieve success? In this issue we aim to stimulate dialogue by exploring what, if any, differences exist between real world and virtual world consumer behavior. Topics addressed include body image, virtual goods and brand value.

Table of Contents

Issue Editors' Corner

Guest Editor's Introduction PDF
Natalie Wood

Peer Reviewed Research Papers

Consuming Code: Use-Value, Exchange-Value, and the Role of Virtual Goods in Second Life PDF
Jennifer Martin
Virtual World Affordances: Enhancing Brand Value PDF
So Ra Park, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, David DeWester, Brenda Eschenbrenner, Sunran Jeon
On the Relationship between My Avatar and Myself PDF
Paul R Messinger, Xin Ge, Eleni Stroulia, Kelly Lyons, Kristen Smirnov, Michael Bone
The Social Construction of Virtual Reality and the Stigmatized Identity of the Newbie PDF
Robert E. Boostrom, Jr.
The “New” Virtual Consumer: Exploring the Experiences of New Users PDF
Lyle R Wetsch

Research Papers

Ugly Duckling by Day, Super Model by Night: The Influence of Body Image on the Use of Virtual Worlds PDF
Enrique Becerra, Mary Ann Stutts
Symbolic and Experiential Consumption of Body in Virtual Worlds: from (Dis)Embodiment to Symembodiment PDF
Handan Vicdan, Ebru Ulusoy
Demographics of Virtual Worlds PDF
Jeremiah Spence

“Think Pieces”

Surveillance, Consumers, and Virtual Worlds PDF
Douglas R Dechow
Second Life and Hyperreality PDF
Michel Maffesoli
Having But Not Holding: Consumerism & Commodification in Second Life PDF
Lori Landay
Metaverse: A New Dimension? PDF
Yohan Launay, Nicolas Mas
Virtual Worlds Research: Global X Local Agendas PDF
Gilson Schwartz
Real Virtual Worlds SOS (State of Standards) Q3-2008 PDF
Yesha Sivan


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

The full website for the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research can be found at: http://jvwresearch.org