While many studies have found that perceived usefulness-an extrinsic motivator-is the strongest determinant of using utilitarian systems, others have found that it is less important than perceived enjoyment-an intrinsic motivator-in predicting hedonic system usage. In light of these interesting but mixed findings, our research applies the motivation theory to investigate the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators on system-use behavior in utilitarian, hedonic, and dual-purposed contexts. We then construct associated hypotheses and empirically test them by analyzing data collected from the literature. The results generally confirm our prediction that, in the context of utilitarian systems, extrinsic motivators are more important than intrinsic motivators, whereas, in the context of hedonic systems, intrinsic motivators play a more critical role than extrinsic motivators. The results thus substantiate our contention that, when information systems vary from utilitarian to hedonic, the most important determinants shift from extrinsic to intrinsic motivators. This paper contributes not only to a new application of the motivation theory to IT adoption, but also to an integrated and in-depth analysis of motivators, which may reorient IS scholars toward potentially more fruitful avenues for studying user behavior.

1. If shared variance (r²) is reported, correlation (r) is obtained by calculating the square root of shared variance.2. If covariance (cov(x, y)) is reported, the correlation (r) is obtained by applying the formula rx ywhere σ is the standard deviation.2 Procedure 5 and the second part of procedure 6 are described in Wolf (1986).

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To understand user behavior, researchers have examined intention to use, and system usage through some common conceptualizations such as actual usage, reported usage, and assessed usage. Although this entire body of research has produced important findings, it has yet to appreciably advance our theoretical understanding of behavioral intention (BI) and usage constructs. To fill this gap, this paper critically examines and compares these core variables as well as their relationships with key technology acceptance determinants. We find that (1) BI has a much higher correlation with the determinants than does usage, and thus more variance in BI than in usage can be explained; (2) BI is not a good surrogate for usage; (3) among the three usage constructs, assessed usage is the most and actual usage is the least highly correlated with BI; and (4) researchers should examine both actual usage and assessed usage in their every single study to bring to light the true relationships between system usage and its antecedents. This study thus helps IS scholars expand their baseline knowledge of these core variables, interpret the important messages conveyed by the extant literature, and conduct more fruitful and illuminating future research on user behavior.

Research on information technology (IT) adoptionfocuses almost entirely on productivity-oriented IT such as word processing. Little attention has been directed at investigating adoption of entertainmentoriented IT such as virtual worlds. Contending that it is important to better understand adoption of this technology, we develop a theoretical framework that recognizes the potential of imaginal and emotional responses in explaining user acceptance of virtual worlds. With its basis in the hedonic theory, the research framework may benefit the developers and sponsors of virtual worlds as they strive to build and sustain a customer base. The paper also outlines an example to illustrate one way to approach a consideration of the imaginal and emotional variables.