Journal of Marketing Science ›› 2024, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (4): 19-36.

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Entertainment and Education—The Impact of OnlineEnvironmental Protection Game Participation on Offline Pro-Environmental Behavior

Zhang Yuhui; Kong Dequan, Shen Jiang; Wang Fengxia   

  1. Zhang Yuhui; International Business School, Hainan University; Kong Dequan, International Business School, Hainan University; Shen Jiang; College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University; Wang Fengxia,College of International Tourism and Public Administration, Hainan University
  • Online:2024-10-16 Published:2024-12-26

Abstract: Ecological governance requires not only the joint efforts of the government and enterprises, but also the internal recognition and active participation of the public. It has attracted the attention of researchers that the emergence of online environmental gamification applications represented by“Ant Forest”which has made positive practical exploration to improve the publie's environmental literacy and to strengthen the consciousness of integration of knowledge and action. How to guide game users to change from online environmental protection game behavior to ofline pro-environmental behavior has become an important issue that needs to be further explored. Based on the theories of norm-activation and self-regulation, we construct a structure model to demonstrate the transformation mechanism from users' online game participation to ofline pro-environmental behavior and the moderating effect of hedonic experience. The research findings show that online environmental-protection games facilitate the transition from online to offline pro-environmental behaviors by initilly enhancing users' knowledge of environment(environmental threat perception), which subsequently activates their sense of moral responsibility(personal norms). However, hedonic experience weakens the positive effect of game participation on users' environmental threat perception and on the pro-environmental behavior. The research reveals and veriffies the potential negative effects of gamification on pro-environmental behavior, which provides a new theoretical research perspective for understanding and improving digital green behavior intervention, and offers useful practical enlightenment for enterprises to improve gamification platforms.

Key words: online environmental protection game, hedonic experiences, environmental threat perceptions, personal norms, pro-environmental behavior