Role of situational context in use continuance after critical exergaming incidents

Abstract

Use continuance is crucial in terms of information systems (IS) success. Previous research has shown that situational context can be central for IS use continuance but has paid limited attention to its specific characteristics. Furthermore, the link between situational context and use continuance has remained unexplored in the novel area of “exergames,” which are defined as digital games requiring physical effort from the player that determines the outcome of the game. Studying exergames is deemed important due to their potential in providing health benefits for users, revenues for providers, and well‐being for societies. However, their potential remains unreached because users tend to discontinue usage after their initial experiences. To address these gaps, we investigate the relationships between specific situational characteristics and use continuance after critical exergaming incidents, in which the user has an exceptionally positive or negative experience. To do this, we quantitatively and qualitatively examined 461 actual critical exergaming incidents. Our findings provide a greater understanding of IS use continuance by revealing new knowledge about the relationships between specific situational characteristics (ie, purpose of use, type of gaming platform, social setting, place, and exertion level) and use continuance. We also offer explanations for these relationships, thus providing a first understanding of the previously unmapped area of how users behave situation‐dependently after critical exergaming incidents. Thus, we contribute both to the general IS continuance literature as well as to the specific area of exergaming. The context specificity of our study matches the calls for heavily contextualised IS research.