Do website features matter in an online gamification context? Focusing on the mediating roles of user experience and attitude

The purposes of this study are mainly to investigate the relationships among website features (i.e. utilitarian and hedonic features), user experience, perceived value (i.e. information value, experiential value, social value, and transaction value), user attitude, and behavioral intentions (i.e. intention to use and word-of-mouth intention), and additionally the mediating effects of user experience and attitude are also explored in this study in an online gamification context. Specifically, this study applies a structural equation model to test the causal relationships among those website features, user experience, perceived value, user experience, and behavioral intentions in an online gamification context. Results show that both utilitarian features and hedonic features have significant impact on users' experience, which in turn affects their perception of value and attitude. Users' perceptions of information and transaction value also significantly affect their attitude, and in turn affect their behavioral intentions. Besides, the mediating effects of user experience and attitude are also confirmed in this study. To summarize, the findings of this study can help website managers improve their users' perceptions of value and attitude more effectively and act as a guide for research and development (R&D) of gamification to acquire competitive advantage and further evoke desired behavioral intentions. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.