How does gender swapping impact online gamer loyalty? The perspective of interdependence theory

Purpose: Gender swapping – when gamers choose avatars of the opposite gender to their own – is a common feature of online gaming behavior, and recent studies have explored the reasons for it. However, no study has yet examined the role gender swapping plays in determining gamers’ continual engagement with communication via online games, i.e., online gamer loyalty. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine this issue and develop hypotheses based on interdependence theory in the online gaming context. Design/methodology/approach: Responses from a survey of 255 online gamers were used for the analysis. Findings: Analytical results using structural equation modeling indicate that gender-swapping behavior is negatively related to social intelligence, which in turn is negatively related to network convergence (the extent of sharing a common social circle), thus contributing to relational switching costs and online gamer loyalty. Originality/value: This study is the first to examine how gender swapping affects online gamer loyalty.