SYMBOLIC VALUE AS A MEDIATOR OF PURCHASE INTENTION AMONG VALORANT’S HEAVY BUYERS IN INDONESIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70248/jmie.v4i1.4665Abstract
Industri game freemium kini didominasi oleh barang virtual kosmetik non-fungsional. Namun, penelitian terdahulu jarang membedakan pemain kasual dari pembeli berat (whales), sehingga motivasi bermain dan niat membeli sering tercampur dan menyembunyikan mekanisme psikologis di baliknya (fusi konseptual). Penelitian ini membedah mekanisme kognitif tersebut pada kelompok whales pengguna Valorant di Indonesia, menggunakan kerangka Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) untuk menguji peran mediasi Nilai Simbolis antara motivasi internal, lingkungan sosial, dan niat pembelian. Data dikumpulkan dari 234 responden heavy buyer melalui purposive sampling dan dianalisis dengan Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Seluruh tujuh hipotesis, baik jalur langsung maupun tidak langsung, terbukti didukung secara statistik. Nilai Simbolis terbukti menjadi jembatan kognitif (missing link) yang memediasi penuh pengaruh motivasi internal dan lingkungan sosial terhadap niat pembelian. Lingkungan sosial juga terbukti sebagai stimulus paling dominan, jauh melampaui pengaruh motivasi internal. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa bagi whales di Indonesia, pembelian skin bukan sekadar konsumsi hedonis, melainkan strategi identitas yang disengaja. Melalui pembelian ini, pemain membangun Otoritas Visual dan mengalami Inkarnasi Digital untuk memperoleh pengakuan sosial dari kelompok bermain terdekat. Penelitian ini menawarkan pemahaman baru tentang bagaimana whales mengubah tekanan sosial dan dorongan internal menjadi keputusan ekonomi nyata. Temuan ini juga memberi implikasi bagi pengembang game dalam merancang strategi monetisasi berbasis pengakuan sosial.
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