Exploring 3D virtual world strategies in the Chinese environment : An institutional-based view

Although some strategies of virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life) have been proven to be successful for attracting user acceptance in the western world, the effects of these strategies are questionable in the Chinese environment. When western model based virtual worlds plan business operations in China, they may face challenges such as government policy, law and cultural barriers. From the institutional-based view, this study provides a theoretical framework to explain 3D virtual world strategies in Mainland China, and employs the case study method to explore how the four strategies of virtual worlds (i.e. technology solution, business model, game model and virtual world culture) impact on determinants of user acceptance behavior in the Chinese environment. Two 3D virtual worlds, Second Life (western model based virtual world) and HiPiHi (Chinese local virtual world), are chosen as the cases in this study. © 2009 IEEE.