Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Online In-Game Purchase on Mobile Phone: The Role of Flow Experience and Gaming Addiction (2024)

This study investigates factors influencing compulsive in-game purchases among Indonesian internet users, particularly Generation Z, and their societal impacts. It explores competitive behavior and flow experience in online gaming addiction, compulsive in-game purchases, and the link between them. Using quota sampling, 206 participants completed tailored questionnaires assessing online game addiction, flow, compulsive buying, and competitiveness. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze relationships between these constructs, revealing significant links between gaming addiction, flow experiences, and compulsive online purchasing. Competitive gaming may moderate the relationship between flow experience and compulsive buying.