Browsing by Author "Botha, Elsamaria"

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    The impact of electronic word-of-mouth in social networking sites on a high-involvement purchase : an empirical study of South African brides' intention to purchase the "once-in-a-lifetime" wedding dress
    (2016) Mowzer, Zeenat; Botha, Elsamaria
    South Africa is home to a bourgeoning wedding industry valued at $3.25 billion. Much of the profit generated in this industry is from the sales of wedding dresses, with 57.1% of South African brides having purchased a new wedding dress from a bridal boutique in 2013. Previous research has looked at the effect of social media, in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), on purchase intention. However, few studies have analysed this effect for high-risk, "once-in-a-lifetime" products such as wedding dresses. In South Africa alone, social media users increased by 20% in 2014, with 29% of the population using social media applications. However, it is uncertain whether this widespread adoption of social media influences the purchase of high-risk, "once-in-alifetime" products like wedding dresses. The "eWOM in SNS's model" is applied to this context, where the influence of eWOM, trust and value co-creation, on the purchase intention of a wedding dress, is compared using an experimental design. One hundred and fifty-two (n=152) engaged South African females, between the age of 18 and 29 years, partook in an experiment. The experiment involved a control group and an experimental group, who viewed eWOM on the Facebook fan page of a wedding dress vendor. The study showed that while the "eWOM in SNS's model" was both valid and reliable in this context, the influence of eWOM on purchase intention was much diminished and fully mediated through value co-creation. The managerial implications of this study's findings, aimed at wedding dress vendors with Facebook fan pages, were all geared towards stimulating value co-creation, given its effect on the relationship between eWOM and purchase intention. The implications involved maximising visual content, appropriately responding to negative comments, publishing posts at suitable times and frequencies, observing the available Facebook reports and posting customer testimonials.
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    Investigating the Factors That Contribute to In-App Purchases in Online Gaming:The Stimulus-Organism-Response Model
    (2018) Mathews, Ozayr; Botha, Elsamaria
    Advancements in online payment mechanics has revolutionised the monetisation of online games. One such method known as In-App Purchases (IAPs) - small purchases of virtual goods for real world currencies, has become a popular method of increasing the profitability of online games. In-App Purchases are made only by small percentages of players in a game and the reasons influencing players to make In-App Purchases vary. Exploring the influencers of players online purchase intent in online games may assist game developers in increasing players’ willingness to make In-App Purchases. The monetisation mechanics of games and consumers’ willingness to make online purchases are an important focus in the online gaming industry when determining the profitability of a game. Thus, coming to understand the monetisation mechanics of a game and the way it influences consumers online purchase intent can be useful to game developers and marketers when developing new games. The purpose of this study was, thus, to assist both game developers and marketers in understanding the influencers of online purchase intent in online games, in order to better create and market more profitable online games. The Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model was used to better understand InApp purchasing behavior, where Stimulus refers to game characteristics, Organism refers to gameplay experience that could lead to the Response resulting in Online Purchase Intent. The factors identified that contributed to this response include: Active Control, Reciprocal Communication, Social Identity, Skill and Challenge which constitute the Stimulus constructs of the S-O-R model; the factors which constitute Response include: Flow, Cognitive Involvement and Affective Involvement. The model was tested using an online survey and tested through the use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling software. The results of the study provide support for the conceptual framework and indicate that Online Purchase Intent may be most influenced by the way players personally identify with a game, and how much of a challenge the game presents. The results also indicate that emotional involvement with a game has a significant positive influence on Online Purchase Intent and that online purchases may be impulse purchases. The findings of this study imply that game developers may be able to influence Online Purchase Intent by increasing the level challenge found in games. Additionally, marketers may be able to influence online purchases through the use of emotional appeals in game advertisements and by offering limited edition sales of InApp Purchases. Future research related to this study should explore which emotions are the greatest influencers of Online Purchase Intention, and how these emotions influence the willingness to make In-App Purchases.