The low levels of gender diversity is an characteristic that is directly associated with the gaming industry. The gaming industry is multi-dollar business with huge influence on technological advancement and possesses a great power and influence over its users. It is in a position to shape how users view the world and how they interact with it. Studies within the field of gaming have previously showed that gaming can have a significant impact on children and adolescents’ behavior. Therefore, it becomes of great interest to examine how gender imbalance is created and how it is explained by the gaming firms. The study will examine these questions through a Swedish perspective. The methodology of this research paper can be divided into two main section. Firstly, a literature review was conducted to gather information about relevant theories, concepts and previous research. Thereafter, ten individuals working for different Swedish gaming companies were interviewed to gather their perspective and view on the topic. The results showed that the gaming firms explained the gender imbalance and how it is created through gender and societal norms. However, when discussing the structure of the company, culture and other practices, results indicated that the gaming firms play a larger contributing role to the imbalance through; male-dominated gender structures and cultures that makes it difficult for women to progress and feel belonged in the company, establishing requirements that exclude certain candidates, and by having a confused perceptive regarding the situation. / Den låga könsmångfalden är något som är direkt associerat med spelindustrin. Spelindustrin är en enorm industri som har stort inflyttande på teknisk utveckling samt har stort inflyttande över sina användare och kan forma hur de ser på världen och interagerar med den. Studier inom spelområdet har tidigare visat att spel kan ha en inflytande på barn och ungdomars beteende. Därför har det blivit ett stort intresse att undersöka hur könsubalans skapas och hur det förklaras av spelbolagen. Denna studie kommer att undersöka dessa frågor ur ett svenskt perspektiv. Metodiken för denna forskningsrapport kan delas in i två huvudavsnitt. Först genomfördes en litteraturstudie för att samla information om relevanta teorier, begrepp och tidigare forskning. Därefter intervjuades tio personer som arbetar inom svenska gaming bolag för att samla in deras perspektiv och syn på ämnet. Resultaten visade att spelföretagen förklarade obalansen mellan könen och hur det skapas genom köns- och samhällsnormer. Men när man diskuterade företagets struktur, kultur och andra aspekter, visade resultaten att spel bolagen har en större bidragande roll till obalansen än vad de själva tror. Dessa företag utformas av mansdominerade köns strukturer och kulturer som gör det svårt för kvinnor att utvecklas och känna sig del av företaget, formar krav som exkluderar vissa kandidater och så vidare som bidrar till en låg könsmångfald inom branschen.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Economics." Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-114).

xvi, 207 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This research develops Broom, Casey and Ritchey's (1997) concept of relationship antecedents, suggesting moral obligation as a non-consequential relationship antecedent. By using Bivins's (2009) classification of moral and functional obligations, this research suggests that nonprofit managers perceive a moral obligation on the part of gaming corporations to establish relationships that can benefit the local community. Where a functional obligation would affect the corporation's ability to do business, the moral obligation is non-consequential and falls outside the parameters of the six consequential relationship antecedents identified by Grunig and Huang (2000). Business ethicists have long debated the need for corporate social responsibility, broadly defined as the idea that a corporation has a responsibility to society separate from its profit-making obligation to stockholders. This research looks at corporate social responsibility in the gaming industry in Las Vegas, examining nonprofit managers' expectations for these corporations to contribute to the local community. This study examines through qualitative interviews these managers' perceptions about the responsibility of gaming corporations to participate in and give back to the local community. This research also sheds light on Las Vegas, NV, recognized more often for its architecture and cultural zeitgeist than for the contours of its community. A background section on Las Vegas history and its development as a tourist destination provides context for an examination of the ways Las Vegas's nonprofit organizations interact with the city's dominant industry. Nonprofit managers perceive gaming corporations as under- involved in the local community; in addition, they believe the community is under- informed about these efforts, potentially leading to a low level of civic engagement. This research also examines corporate social responsibility in the context of the economic downturn that began September 2008. Because Las Vegas's economy is so heavily dependent on the gaming and tourism industries, the city provides an excellent location in which to examine how economic forces affect corporate social responsibility efforts. The significant decline in CSR from the gaming corporations, as reported by nonprofit managers. suggests an orientation to CSR that is more functional than moral. / Committee in charge: Patricia Curtin, Chairperson, Journalism and Communication; Tiffany Gallicano, Member, Journalism and Communication; Thomas Bivins, Member, Journalism and Communication; Renee Irvin, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

The video games industry is taking more sustainability responsibilities since video games can reach a broad and tremendous audience. Apart from adopting sustainable business strategies, games companies also need to navigate various stakeholders’ expectations and draft strategies to communicate with them. However, despite an abundance of corporate social responsibility literature, there is no existing research specifically focusing on how the video games industry can contribute to this topic. The social and environmental responsibilities of games companies are usually discussed separately. Therefore, this project aims to explain, in the video games industry, how social and environmental impacts are addressed in the form of corporate social responsibility and how companies meet stakeholders’ needs as a part of their sustainable business strategies. Six companies in the Swedish games industry were selected and interviewed. Together with the published sustainability reports, a theory-based content analysis was applied. The results indicate that games companies have mature strategies to tackle social impacts. For environmental impacts, on the contrary, there are no united strategies. The measures used to address environmental impacts vary from corporate to corporate due to the significant differences in business models. Besides publishing documents to communicate with stakeholders, games companies can also communicate sustainability via their games, which can be done by integrating sustainability in game mechanics or as an add-on feature. In conclusion, achieving a competitive advantage is the ultimate goal in engaging corporate social responsibility. Also, stakeholders’ expectations push companies to be more sustainable. Communicating sustainability via games may raise environmental awareness among the players; however, it might only apply to a specific group of people. / Video game is a product that reaches millions of players worldwide. Therefore, it comes with responsibilities for the developers to ensure that the products do not result in negative impacts. Apart from social impacts, such as gender inequality and toxic player communities, there is also a rising environmental awareness among the games companies lately. However, existing research mainly discusses games companies’ social and environmental responsibilities separately. This project aims to explore how games companies address social and environmental issues in sustainability and how they communicate their sustainability efforts to their stakeholders. Six companies in the Swedish games industry were selected and interviewed. Together with the published sustainability reports, a theory-based content analysis was applied. The results show that games companies have a well-developed strategy to tackle social issues. In contrast, the measures to environmental issues vary due to differences in business models and their roles in the value chain. Games companies communicate their sustainability in two forms – through documentation and in-game features. To conclude, the main goal for companies to engage in sustainability is primarily to increase competitive advantage, and stakeholders’ expectations drive their sustainability engagement. Communicating sustainability via games may raise environmental awareness among the players; however, it might only apply to a specific group of people.

The Swedish game industry has seen tremendous growth and a global impact in the market. Despite the successes there is a lack of research on the matter. By exploring the global value chains of game companies in Skövde (a game industry hub in Sweden) the thesis intends to generate understanding of and map out value chain paths along with identifying critical factors for future growth and maintenance of the leading position in the market. A comprehensive overview of the industry cluster case of Skövde has been achieved through the use of semi-structured interviews with six local game companies. As a result of the study confirmation and extension of the thesis grand theory, the GVC literature, was achieved. A number of critical factors for practical utilization were identified, specifically the relationship with the publisher, the developer’s passion for the project & creative freedom together with contacts in the industry.  A number of scientific contributions have been made through our research. By exploring the GVC in a previously under-researched context we have made a contribution by confirming previous theory as well as laying a base for future research and an extension of the literature in the institutional context-section of the GVC literature. The critical factors findings have the potential of a direct impact on the practical management of the business side of the industry. Finally, as a result of the discovery of close connections with the Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Relational Exchange Theory (RET) theories we have laid the groundwork for future research in these areas as well. / Den svenska spelindustrin har sett en stor tillväxt och har en påverkan på den globala marknaden. Trots framgångarna råder en brist på forskning inom området. Genom att utforska den globala värdekedjan hos spelföretag i Skövde (ett nav för spelindustrin i Sverige) ämnar studien att generera en förståelse av och att kartlägga den globala värdekedjan samt identifiera kritiska faktorer för framtida tillväxt och upprätthållandet av den ledande positionen i marknaden. En omfattande översikt av industri-klustret i Skövde har uppnåtts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex lokala spelföretag. Som resultat av studien har uppsatsens bas-teori, GVC-litteraturen, bekräftats och utvidgats. Ett antal kritiska faktorer för praktisk användning identifierades, specifikt relationen med publiceraren, utvecklarnas passion för projektet & kreativ frihet tillsammans med kontakter inom industrin. Ett antal teoretiska bidrag har frambringats genom vår forskning. Genom att undersöka GVC i en tidigare underforskad kontext har vi bidragit genom att bekräfta tidigare teori samt lagt grunden för framtida forskning och utvidgning av det institutionella kontextavsnittet inom GVC-litteraturen. Upptäckten av de kritiska faktorerna har potential för en direkt inverkan på den praktiska förvaltningen av industrins affärssida. Slutligen, som ett resultat av studien upptäckte vi nära anknytningar med teorier som Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Relational Exchange Theory (RET) vilket innebär att vi lagt en grund för framtida forskning även inom dessa områden.

Gaming is booming, and over the past few years, blockchain games have found their way into this market. These games operate in a highly competitive environment, where marketing is vitally important for their success. This study, commissioned by Crypto Rogue Games, aimed to explore social media marketing activities to promote their blockchain game, Crystals of Naramunz. Given this purpose, an analysis of competing developers' activities on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram was conducted. Additionally, interviews were performed with a sample of the gaming community. The interviews also explored attitudes toward an experience with blockchain gaming. Essentially, the study indicated that Twitter is the most effective platform to target the audience. On this platform, sharing a variety of content, such as artwork, news, and game graphics, was shown to be most engaging. In addition, it was important to communicate in a creative, personalized, and interactive manner. The interviews also indicated that attitudes toward and experience with blockchain must be considered in the marketing efforts. However, as the study was limited, additional research is required to draw more detailed conclusions and to generalize these findings. / Intresset för videospel ökar, och under de senaste åren har spel baserade på blockchain hittat sin väg till denna marknad. I denna hårt konkurrensutsatta bransch är marknadsföring viktigt för att lyckas. Denna studie genomfördes i samarbete med Crypto Rogue Games. Syftet med studien var att undersöka möjligheten för marknadsföring av deras blockchain-baserade spel, Crystals of Naramunz, på sociala medier. Utifrån detta syfte genomfördes en analys av konkurrerande aktörers aktivitet på Twitter, Facebook och Instagram. Dessutom utfördes intervjuer med ett urval spelare. Dessa intervjuer undersökte även attityder till och erfarenhet av blockchainspel. Studien indikerade att Twitter är den mest effektiva plattformen för att fånga publikens intresse. På denna plattform skapade en variation av visuellt material, nyheter och spelgrafik högst engagemang. Att dela kreativt, personligt och interaktivt innehåll visade sig även vara viktigt. Vidare indikerar intervjuerna att marknadsföringen behöver ha spelarnas attityder till och erfarenhet av blockchain i åtanke. Eftersom studien var begränsad krävs det dock ytterligare forskning för att dra mer detaljerade slutsatser och generalisera resultatet.

Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to explore the impact that increased availability of digital distribution has on physical distribution. The focus is on the effects that digital distribution has on the value creating processes of game developers with regard to distribution alternatives, strategic networks and consumer interaction. Additionally we examine if there is a future for physical distribution of games in an increasingly digital market. Background: It is estimated that only the online gaming market alone will turn over more than $13 billion in 2013. In terms of market potential this means that video gaming has already surpassed the movie industry and is closing in on the music industry (Jöckel, Will & Schwarzer, 2008). Digital distribution is gaining ground in the game industry (Cook, 2012), and access to high-speed internet connectivity is also increasing at a rapid pace. This creates a choice for game developers to adapt their strategies to the new ways of distribution. The previous view of the market was a linear value chain where developers must use intermediaries to reach an end consumer (Williams, 2002). The network dynamics appear to have changed, consumers have an impact on development and there are more complex interactions between the actors in order to generate better value. Method: The thesis uses an exploratory qualitative research method by conducting semi-structured interviews with developers on how the distribution channels have changed. Secondary data concerning the value chain, networks, and value constellations and was gathered to support the empirical background of the market. Conclusion: The value chain has been reconfigured from the classical value chain to a value constellation as increased online availability has changed the distribution possibilities allowing reciprocal relationships and user co-production as well as disintermedation of middle-hands. Value is created for the game developers through three different paths in our own value constellation: portals, direct sales homepage, and through publisher. In all three paths consumers play an important role through user participation in the value creation through user created content and user feedback through community and fan-base activities.. Our conclusion is that the future of physical distribution in the current format is threatened by digital alternatives, and will likely be discontinued in the long run and/or radically changed to include more physical value adding content.

The power of digital technology serves developers of new services as an access funnel to the vast amount of customer behavioural information. The utilization of this information is forecasted to differentiate the winners from the losers in the market and benefit the new service development process. This study explores the phenomenon of customer information in new service development empirically by looking at the industry at the forefront, the gaming industry. By conducting three case studies with leading Swedish game developers, it challenges the previous research assumptions that acquired and disseminated customer information is implicitly used. This study has made significant contributions by investigating the broader context of customer information use and differentiating among three types of use. The findings show that behavioural information is used to backup own decisions or to enhance the developers understanding, but is not directly applied to the decision task. Despite the great potential, this advanced type of customer information is only used in the post-launch stages of new service development, for service iterations. To further validate the findings and explore information use in new service development more in-depth, future research generating contextual detailed realtime data is needed.

Microtransactions is a relatively new concept within the gaming industry witha very large monetary value for businesses. Companies utilize persuasivedesign strategies such as time-based scarcity in order to incentivize players tospend money on microtransactions which in turn creates addiction towardsmicrotransactions. The purpose of this paper is to explain the addictiveinfluence limited time scarcity possesses on purchase intention for randomizedvirtual cosmetics (RVC) or definite virtual cosmetics (DVC), and which ofRVC and DVC carries the stronger influence. To arrive to a fitting conclusion,a quantitative method was utilized in order to collect the data required. Sincethis research is explanatory in nature and built on existing research, a crosssectional approach was utilized. Two hypotheses were tested, and aquestionnaire was conducted. The findings from this study suggest that bothRVC and DVC has an impact on purchase intention, however RVC proves tocarry a stronger influence than DVC.