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1、 畢業(yè)設(shè)計（論文） 譯文及原稿 譯文題目： 中國網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)的商業(yè)模式和運作問題 原稿題目： Business models and operational issues in the Chinese online game industry 原稿出處： Ian MacInnes,Lili Hu.[J]. Telematics and Informatics. 2007,24(2)

2、:130-144． 浙江工業(yè)大學(xué)之江學(xué)院畢業(yè)設(shè)計（論文） 外文翻譯 中國網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)的商業(yè)模式和運作問題 摘要：互聯(lián)網(wǎng)越來越的廣泛使用使得網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)如雨后春筍般發(fā)展起來。其中特別有趣的現(xiàn)象之一就是網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲的出現(xiàn)。本文就虛擬世界的開發(fā)者在其探索切實可行的商業(yè)模式途中將面臨的困難進行論述。本文作為探索性課題是一個對中國虛擬世界的開發(fā)者和用戶進行研究的個別案例，來確定在這種商業(yè)模式下存在的問題。本文討論寬帶和網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲以及諸如文化，歷史，外掛，私服，虛擬財產(chǎn)貿(mào)易，開發(fā)商控制

3、，管理和調(diào)控此類的反饋效果。盡管大部分中國虛擬世界的運營商都具有盈利能力，但通過密切觀察發(fā)現(xiàn)即使最成功的中國虛擬世界運營商仍然處于商業(yè)模式的早期階段。 關(guān)鍵詞：虛擬世界，中國，商業(yè)模式， 網(wǎng)絡(luò) 1. 簡介 隨著MacInnes(2004a)創(chuàng)造出來的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)在全球范圍內(nèi)的拓展,網(wǎng)絡(luò)對于交流變得至關(guān)重要。隨之而來的結(jié)果就是不同形式，為各種目的而發(fā)展起來的網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)為人們提供了工作，社交以及娛樂上的便利。在不同形式的網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)中最吸引人眼球的就是虛擬世界，但是何為虛擬世界呢？就是人們在一個持續(xù)的合成的環(huán)境中通過虛擬角色（通常是一個頭像）來相互交流。虛擬世界屬于網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲的一種，

4、在這個虛擬世界中成千上萬的人們可以同時參與相互影響。這種在中國最受歡迎的網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲就是虛擬世界。 MacInnes(2004a)對虛擬世界這一現(xiàn)象提出了概觀。這一概念的提出對于現(xiàn)如今我們通過案例研究來完善這項工作起到了重要作用。我們以一個別案例開始研究中國網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)，是因為隨著寬帶的大范圍使用，中國的網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲為虛擬世界帶來的市場的發(fā)展速度比許多國家都快。這一點比其他因素更有說服力。本文將從商業(yè)形式的前景方面討論社會，法律，以及一些其他環(huán)境方面的問題?，F(xiàn)今中國虛擬世界產(chǎn)業(yè)所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)和機遇并不僅僅只在我們國家存在。同樣的問題很可能在虛擬世界市場欠發(fā)達的北美，歐洲等地區(qū)也一樣存在。從這一案例中吸

5、取的教訓(xùn)同樣可以被那些以網(wǎng)絡(luò)為根基的產(chǎn)業(yè)使用動態(tài)商業(yè)模式框架來促進技術(shù)革新的所使用。 作為探索性課題，這是一個對中國虛擬世界的開發(fā)者和使用者進行研究的個別案例，來確定在這種商業(yè)模式下存在的問題。本文引用了許多人們對其提出的疑問。比如，中國網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲的運營者面對日益增加的競爭問題該采取什么樣的策略？中國的網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲公司會在他們的價值鏈中趨于上游嗎？寬帶在產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展中扮演了怎樣的角色？中國社會對于這一新的娛樂方式會有如何反應(yīng)？為什么中國的網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲相對于單機游戲發(fā)展地更好？ 2. 理論背景 互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的蓬勃發(fā)展促使了許多新網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)的出現(xiàn)。商業(yè)虛擬社區(qū)面臨的一個重要問題是如何找到一個有利可獲的商業(yè)模式

6、同時兼顧著促使這些社區(qū)由最初的小規(guī)模向大規(guī)模發(fā)展。早期的虛擬社區(qū)大多都是十分科學(xué)的但近期越來越多的發(fā)展成果刺激人們在虛擬空間里共享各自的興趣愛好。虛擬世界不僅為虛擬社區(qū)豐富多彩的圖形支持，也帶來了復(fù)雜的市場活動。 在因特網(wǎng)發(fā)展的早期，它著重于匯聚研究人員。但一旦大學(xué)之間通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)相互聯(lián)系了，基于個人愛好的網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)就開始發(fā)展起來了。這些社區(qū)往往討論興趣還好，娛樂方式等Rheingold(1993）。那時大多使用電子郵件，群發(fā)，后來發(fā)展為BBS，MUDs,人們就在那里開始創(chuàng)造一個奇妙的世界Castronova(2002）。這些都是現(xiàn)今圖形化了的虛擬世界的先驅(qū)。 對于網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)的研究已經(jīng)改進了。學(xué)者

7、已經(jīng)證明了虛擬社區(qū)的使用能改善公民的行為Blanchard and Horan(1998)，促進社會抵制運動的發(fā)展De(2003)。虛擬社區(qū)同樣可以用來創(chuàng)造，集結(jié)，組織，運用知識([Bruynseels and Vos,2000], [Daniel et al., 2002], [Jansen et al., 2000] and [Schubert and Koch, 2002])。他們也作為一種管理工具被用于組織中。營銷部門發(fā)現(xiàn)人們對于產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)的迷戀能幫助一家公司發(fā)展與顧客的關(guān)系，使他們產(chǎn)生對其的忠誠度( [Kardaras and Karakostas, 2000] and [Schub

8、ert and Koch, 2002]).。然而這些社區(qū)常常會招致公司的批評(Lueg, 2001)。 虛擬社區(qū)可以根據(jù)活動，會籍的不同種類進行分類。例如，Hagel and Armstrong (1996)把網(wǎng)絡(luò)社區(qū)分為四類：交易社區(qū)，興趣社區(qū)，幻想社區(qū)，關(guān)系社區(qū)。相似地，Klang and Olsson (1999)把它們分為社區(qū)網(wǎng)絡(luò)，專業(yè)協(xié)會，個人社團，“第三位置”（人們會見新老朋友的地方）。Klang and Olsson (1999)確定四種社區(qū)類型：論壇，商店，俱樂部，集市。這里的市場就是買賣實品，或者虛擬商品的地方。這種活動正變得越來越流行。以上四位作者都已承認這些社區(qū)不僅具有

9、娛樂價值也同樣具有商業(yè)價值。本文我們將著重陳述虛擬社區(qū)具有的娛樂方面的價值，目的是來理解這個產(chǎn)業(yè)的商業(yè)模式動態(tài)。 很多使用者都愿意為這些社區(qū)付錢，比如互聯(lián)網(wǎng)國際象棋俱樂部(Ginsburg and Weisband, 2003).。更有甚者在結(jié)構(gòu)化的游戲中，會員們會引進一種叫 “chekels”用來當籌碼，然后用來換成現(xiàn)金。一些社區(qū)的社會方面正在迅速為使用者帶來商業(yè)上的基于這并不是駭人聽聞的。社區(qū)的設(shè)計假想通?？梢詻Q定開發(fā)者是否能為使用帶來利益。缺少公司控制能造成困難。盡管世上有成千上萬的人活躍于這些虛擬世界中，但學(xué)者們只是最近才開始認識到這些社區(qū)的發(fā)展動態(tài)。 因為這些虛擬世界如今已能產(chǎn)生

10、盈利，本研究著重于那些社區(qū)的商業(yè)模式方面。在過去5年里商業(yè)模式文獻數(shù)量已經(jīng)有了增長地飛快，對于虛擬世界開發(fā)者與使用者在試圖開發(fā)基于虛擬財產(chǎn)的有利可圖商業(yè)的道路上遇到的困難將帶來幫助。學(xué)者在研究商業(yè)模式上做的貢獻可分為三個領(lǐng)域：研究單個因素來突出他們的重要性，研究證明能使一種商業(yè)模式成功的幾個條件，研究證明商業(yè)模式的組成成分。 我們把重點放在這個產(chǎn)業(yè)的商業(yè)模式方面的其中的一個原因是它所具有的巨大經(jīng)濟潛力。即使在應(yīng)用率較低的中國，這個產(chǎn)業(yè)正在產(chǎn)生巨大的經(jīng)濟收入。我們因此需要去理解這個產(chǎn)業(yè)是怎樣發(fā)展起來的，將來會朝著哪個方面發(fā)展。這些商業(yè)模式的文獻數(shù)量已經(jīng)相當豐富了，甚至有點過頭了。在很多方面，學(xué)

11、者往往過分單獨強調(diào)許多模式已經(jīng)參與了成分的靜態(tài)分析，而筆者認為這是影響了公司的經(jīng)濟發(fā)展的。這些靜態(tài)商業(yè)模式在一定程度是無效的，我們分析一個新興產(chǎn)業(yè)，往往開發(fā)商在找到切實可行的商業(yè)模式之前他們必然會經(jīng)歷很多困難。MacInnes (2004a)考慮到發(fā)展中產(chǎn)業(yè)的動態(tài)因素提出了一個四階段動態(tài)商業(yè)模式框架的理論。這一理論特別是為比如中國網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲市場一類的新興產(chǎn)業(yè)所設(shè)計的。 2.1. 動態(tài)商業(yè)模式框架 動態(tài)商業(yè)模式框架是用來觀察商業(yè)發(fā)展經(jīng)歷，來更好地了解他們的產(chǎn)業(yè)。這對于虛擬世界游戲開發(fā)商，運營商剛成立的業(yè)務(wù)分部來說尤其適用。這一模式由四個相互關(guān)聯(lián)的階段組成。如下圖： 圖1：動態(tài)商業(yè)

12、模式 影響一個公司商業(yè)模式在其早期階段與成熟階段的因素是不同的。第一階段技術(shù)問題是最為重要的；第二階段環(huán)境問題，例如應(yīng)該注重法律；第三階段開發(fā)商可以結(jié)合傳統(tǒng)收入模式；第四階段應(yīng)著重于支撐商業(yè)的因素。 虛擬社區(qū)的企業(yè)和用戶模式開始出現(xiàn)，公司仍有許多事情要去解決。這一部分引用了其他學(xué)者已確定的四個階段的成功商業(yè)模式?；谶@些因素，在開發(fā)虛擬世界的不同階段將面臨的問題都有可能解決。 2.1.1.第一階段：技術(shù)因素 在技術(shù)開發(fā)的早期階段，技術(shù)因素對于商業(yè)成功起著至關(guān)重要的作用。這些技術(shù)因素是那些正在銷售的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)所固有的。我們應(yīng)當注意的是在信息領(lǐng)域許多商業(yè)是從技術(shù)革新發(fā)展起來的。因此我們需要

13、找到一種商業(yè)模式使他們的產(chǎn)品朝著努力的方向商業(yè)化。不幸的是技術(shù)有時候并不完全被商業(yè)化所適用，這些問題需要在公司進行營利模式之前就被解決。 在虛擬世界產(chǎn)業(yè)中，技術(shù)因素可以摧毀一家公司因為人們在虛擬世界中創(chuàng)造的財產(chǎn)擁有相當大的價值。如果這些財產(chǎn)因為技術(shù)問題或者安全漏洞問題丟失的話，那么開發(fā)者將會失去信譽，破產(chǎn)，或者因為不賠償用戶而被起訴。因此，在虛擬世界中人們擁有客觀的財產(chǎn)，公司服務(wù)器的安全問題必須放在首要位置。Duh et al. (2001)發(fā)現(xiàn)市場的安全性和完整性因素是至關(guān)重要的，我們必須把他們放在首要位置，因為只有這樣會員才會信任虛擬世界的開發(fā)者。 2.1.2.第二階段：環(huán)境因素 商

14、業(yè)模式的第一階段的技術(shù)問題已經(jīng)解決了。虛擬世界現(xiàn)在進入第二階段要來克服環(huán)境因素所帶來的問題。環(huán)境因素包括法律，社會，一般的經(jīng)濟限制。這一階段通常被所忽略，因為直到技術(shù)商業(yè)化后人們才可能意識到技術(shù)為社會帶來的問題。許多商業(yè)化的技術(shù)如錄像機，對等網(wǎng)絡(luò)等由于法律問題或者對社會，經(jīng)濟有著不良影響，受到了人們的質(zhì)疑。Vasilopoulou et al. (2002)提出政策和規(guī)則對于商業(yè)模式的成功的起著至關(guān)重要的作用。相似地，Schroeder et al. (2001)認為缺乏安全保障，組織和法律問題是公司從傳統(tǒng)商業(yè)模式過渡到電子商務(wù)過程中最難克服的問題。在目前對于這一商業(yè)的法律機制尚未成熟的情況下

15、這些論文中所提到的法律問題也將起著一定的作用。例如，誰擁有虛擬世界的財產(chǎn)，或者是虛擬貨幣的兌換是否賦予虛擬銀行功能。隨著虛擬世界平行于現(xiàn)實世界，當出現(xiàn)違法事件的時候政府可能會出面干預(yù)，或遇通貨膨脹時會去保護財產(chǎn)。 2.1.3.第三階段：收入模式問題 商業(yè)模式發(fā)展的第三階段主要是傳統(tǒng)的問題，例如收入來源，顧客價值，成本和基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施管理。從筆者已研究的單獨因素上看，瓦斯尼和海德強調(diào)使用增加轉(zhuǎn)換成本來作為維持顧客忠誠度的這一策略。或在這種商業(yè)模式內(nèi)從一網(wǎng)站上創(chuàng)建和維護社區(qū)來支持，促進經(jīng)濟活動。隨著時間的推移作為參與者發(fā)展的屬性和角色的結(jié)果虛擬世界擁有高轉(zhuǎn)化成本。他們會發(fā)現(xiàn)換到另一個虛擬世界，或者重

16、新開始一個角色，發(fā)展新的關(guān)系這會需要很高成本。瓦斯尼和海德也暗示開發(fā)互補產(chǎn)品。一些公司運營網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲賣真實產(chǎn)品用來換成數(shù)碼產(chǎn)品。相似地，Amit和Zott說網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲公司在這一階段也會考慮到其他傳統(tǒng)因素，包括：1.降低交易成本形式下的效率問題。2.技術(shù)，活動和產(chǎn)品之間的互補。3.鎖定網(wǎng)絡(luò)外部性和高轉(zhuǎn)換成本。4.新結(jié)構(gòu)，內(nèi)容，參與者帶來的新奇問題。虛擬世界為玩家提供新奇的內(nèi)容。但它們可以無限制地虛擬因為用戶可以添加內(nèi)容，有著豐富多彩的體驗。在所有令開發(fā)虛擬世界的公司感到最棘手的問題包括人員發(fā)展，社區(qū)發(fā)展以及資產(chǎn)管理。隨著一些用戶發(fā)展他們自己的商業(yè)，開發(fā)商漸漸失去了控制。

17、 Business models and operational issues in the Chinese online game industry Abstract：The rapid growth of Internet usage has enabled many new online communities to develop. A particularly interesting phenomenon that has arisen through Internet communities is the virt

18、ual world (VW) style of online game. This paper identifies the challenges that developers of VWs will face in their efforts to find viable business models. This is a single case study of China as an exploratory project to determine the issues surrounding business models for virtual world developers

19、and users. The paper discusses the feedback effects between broadband adoption and online games as well as issues such as culture, history, Waigua, private servers, virtual property trade, developer control, governance, and regulation. In spite of the profitability of major Chinese VW operators, clo

20、se observation of the Chinese case suggests that even the most successful VW operators are still in the early stages of their business model development. Key words：Virtual world China Business model Online game 1. Introduction As the Internet continues to grow worldwide, Internet-based ch

21、annels have become increasingly important for communication. As a result, online communities of many forms and for various purposes have developed and have enabled people to work, socialize and entertain themselves. Among the many types examples of online communities, a particularly interesting phen

22、omenon is the virtual world (VW), a persistent synthetic environment where people communicate with each other using a virtual persona, often called an avatar. VWs are a type of online game that can have thousands of people involved and potentially interacting at the same time. The vast majority of p

23、opular online games in China are VWs. MacInnes (2004a) provided an overview and framework for understanding the VW phenomenon. It is now important to supplement this work through case studies. We chose to begin with a single case study of the Chinese online game industry because its market for VW

24、s is growing more quickly than in many other countries due to the rapid adoption of broadband among other factors. Social, legal and other environmental issues are discussed in this paper from the perspective of business models. The challenges and opportunities facing the current Chinese VW industry

25、 are not merely country specific. The same issues are likely to play out as less developed VW markets in North America and Europe grow. The lessons from this case can also be compared to other Internet based industries using the dynamic business model framework for emerging technologies (MacInnes, 2

26、004a). This is a single case study of China as an exploratory project to determine the issues surrounding business models for virtual world developers and users. The paper addresses a number of questions. What alternative strategies are available to Chinese online game operators who are facing an

27、 increasingly competitive market? Will Chinese online game companies move upstream in their value chain? What is the role of broadband in the development of the industry? How is Chinese society reacting to this new form of entertainment? Why has the online game industry achieved greater success in C

28、hina than stand-alone computer games? 2. Theoretical context The growth of the Internet has enabled many new virtual communities to be established. One of the key issues facing a commercial virtual community is finding a profitable business model that also fosters the initial growth of the commu

29、nity toward critical mass. Early virtual communities were mainly scientific but more recent developments have motivated people to congregate in a virtual space to share personal interests. Virtual worlds provide a new level of graphical richness to virtual communities while also supporting complex m

30、arket activities. The early years of the Internet emphasized bringing together researchers but once many universities were connected, communities based on personal interests developed. These often involved hobbies and entertainment (Rheingold, 1993). In these early days the most common technologi

31、es were e-mail and listservs that later evolved into bulletin boards and MUDs where people began to create fantasy worlds (Castronova, 2002). These were forerunners of today’s graphical virtual worlds. Research about online communities has evolved. Scholars have documented the effectiveness and u

32、se of virtual communities in society to foster, for example, civic behavior (Blanchard and Horan, 1998) and social resistance movements (De, 2003). Virtual communities can also be used to create, gather, organize, and manage knowledge ( [Bruynseels and Vos, 2000], [Daniel et al., 2002], [Jansen et a

33、l., 2000] and [Schubert and Koch, 2002]). They have also been used as a management tool in organizations. Marketing departments have found that people’s fascination with the product or service can help a company develop relationships with customers to generate loyalty ( [Kardaras and Karakostas, 200

34、0] and [Schubert and Koch, 2002]). These communities often result in criticism of companies, however (Lueg, 2001). Virtual communities can be classified according to types of activities and membership. For example Hagel and Armstrong (1996) identified four categories of online communities: commun

35、ities of transactions, communities of interest, communities of fantasy, and communities of relationship. Similarly Klang and Olsson (1999) divide them into community networks, professional societies, personal societies and the “third place,” where people go to meet with new and old friends. Klang an

36、d Olsson (1999) identify four types of communities: the forum, the shop, the club, and the bazaar. The bazaar involves activities where the members themselves are buying and selling physical and now virtual products as well. This type of activity is becoming more and more prevalent. These authors ha

37、ve recognized the entertainment as well as the commercial value that communities have. In this paper we focus primarily on the entertainment segment of virtual communities and aim to understand the business model dynamic of this industry. Many users are willing to pay for communities such as the

38、Internet Chess Club Even in a structured game such as chess, members introduced “chekels,” a monetary unit that could be exchanged for dollars. It is thus not surprising to see that the social aspects of these communities are rapidly transforming into commercial opportunities for users as well. Des

39、ign assumptions of the community will often determine whether developers want to encourage or discourage the profit motives of users. Lack of company control can cause difficulties. Even though there are millions of people around the world who are active in these virtual worlds, scholars have only r

40、ecently begun to understand the dynamics of these communities. Because of the revenue streams that virtual worlds are now able to generate, this study focuses on the business model aspects of those communities. Business model literature has grown rapidly over the past five years and is helpful in

41、 understanding the challenges that VW developers and users are likely to face in their attempts to develop profitable businesses based on virtual property. Contributions from scholars in business models can be divided into three areas: studies that focus on single factors to highlight their importan

42、ce, studies that identify several elements that make a business model successful, and studies that identify business model components. One of the reasons why we want to focus on the business model aspects of this industry is because of its large economic potential. Even with its relatively low ad

43、option percentage in China, the industry is already generating large revenues. We thus want to understand how the industry has evolved and how it will be able to generate further growth. The business model literature is quite rich and sometimes overwhelming. In many instances scholars have tended to

44、 emphasize some aspects over others and many of their models have involved static analysis of the components that the authors believe affect the economic success of companies. These static models are, to a certain extent ineffective when we are analyzing an emerging industry, as they have to go thro

45、ugh many challenges before they have a viable business model. MacInnes (2004a) provides a four stage dynamic business model framework that takes into consideration the dynamic aspects of an evolving industry. The model was designed specifically for emerging industries such as the Chinese online game

46、 market. 2.1. The dynamic business model framework The dynamic business model framework was designed to take into consideration the evolution that businesses experience as they become more knowledgeable about their industry. This is particularly true for business segments that are just emerging

47、as is the case with virtual world game developers/operators. The model is composed of four interrelated stages. Fig. 1 shows the different stages. Fig1 Dynamic business model framework for emerging technologies. The factors that affect the success of a company’s business model at its early stag

48、es are different from those affecting the business at a more mature stage. In the first stage technical issues are of greatest importance. In the second stage environmental factors such as law and adoption should be considered. In the third stage developers can begin to incorporate traditional reven

49、ue model factors. The fourth stage focuses on factors that will sustain the business. Corporate and user models around virtual communities are beginning to emerge and companies still have many elements to work out. This section addresses the factors that other scholars have identified in each of th

50、e four stages that contribute to the success of a business model. Based on these factors it is possible to specify the challenges that these virtual worlds will face as they move through different stages of development. 2.1.1. First stage: technological factors In the early stages of technologic

51、al advance, technical factors are crucial to the success of the business. These technical factors are those that are inherent to the product or service being sold. It should be noted that in the information field many businesses emerge from technical innovations. Thus finding a business model that a

52、llows them to commercialize such products is the natural progression to their efforts. Unfortunately sometimes the technology is not entirely ready to be launched commercially and these issues need to be dealt with before the firm can concentrate on revenue models. 2.1.2. Second stage: environmen

53、tal factors Many of the technical aspects faced in the first stage of business models have been overcome. VWs are now in the second stage where they have to overcome environmental factors. Environmental factors include legal, societal, and general economic limitations. This is a stage that is gener

54、ally overlooked because it is not until a technology has been commercialized that people might realize the problems that the technology could pose for society in general. A number of commercialized technologies, such as the VCR and some peer-to-peer networks, have had their survival challenged becau

55、se of a legal problem or another negative impact on society or the economy. Vasilopoulou et al. (2002) point out that issues of regulation and policy are critical to the success of a business model. Similarly Schroeder et al. (2001) determined that lack of security, organizational, and legal issues

56、are the most difficult to overcome when companies make the transition from a traditional business model to one centered on electronic commerce. The legal issues that both of these papers identify will also play a role in these businesses as it is not yet clear in a legal sense, for example, who owns

57、 property in VWs or whether the convertibility of virtual currencies gives VWs banking functions. As VWs appear to parallel the real world, governments may want to intervene when illegal activities occur or to protect assets if there is inflation. 2.1.3. Third stage: revenue model concerns The t

58、hird stage of business model development focuses on traditional concerns such as revenue sources, customer value, costs, and infrastructure management. From the authors that have looked at single factors Wathne and Heide (2001) emphasize the use of strategies that increase switching costs as a way o

59、f maintaining customer loyalty, or look at a way of creating and maintaining communities within the context of the business as a way of supporting and enhancing the economic activity from a website. VWs have high switching costs as a result of the property and persona that a participant in such a co

60、mmunity develops over time. They may find it costly to switch to another VW and have to begin another persona and develop new relationships. Wathne and Heide also suggest developing complementary products. Some companies running online games offer physical products that can be exchanged for their di

61、gital versions. Similarly other traditional factors that companies in the online game industry can consider at this stage, according to Amit and Zott (2001), include: (1) efficiency in the form of reduced transaction costs; (2) complementarities between technologies, activities and products; (3) loc

62、k-in through network externalities and high switching costs; and (4) novelty through new structures, content and participants. VWs provide novel features for their players and they are virtually limitless as users can add content, improving the richness of the experience. Among the most challenging factors that companies developing virtual worlds face are member development, community development, and asset management (Williams and Cothrel, 2000). With some users developing their own businesses, developers lose some control. 11