The creative behavior of virtual idol fans: a psychological perspective based on MOA theory

Qingnian Wang; Shuyu Long; Yanfei Zeng; Lan Tang; Yunpei Wang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1290790

The creative behavior of virtual idol fans: a psychological perspective based on MOA theory

Front Psychol. 2023 Nov 21:14:1290790. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1290790. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qingnian Wang^{1

2}, Shuyu Long¹, Yanfei Zeng¹, Lan Tang¹, Yunpei Wang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Journalism and Communication, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
² School of International Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
³ School of Economics and Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Breakthroughs in digital technology are accelerating the development and commercialization of virtual idols. They are overturning the traditional one-way communication between idols and fans, turning fans into producers and consumers. Therefore, identifying the motivations for fan creation can regulate and guide the creative behavior of fans and turn their creativity into productivity. This paper took "the factors influencing fans' spontaneous participation in creating virtual idols" as the primary research question, took the Motivation Opportunity Ability (MOA) theory as the research framework, used questionnaires as the primary research method, and combined the relevant research on motivation theory and self-determination theory to explore fans' creative behavior from the psychological perspective in depth. The empirical tests revealed that in the motivation dimension, interest motivation, achievement motivation, social motivation, and utility motivation all positively influenced fans' creative behavior; in the opportunity dimension, fans' perceived cost had a significant negative moderating effect on the influence of interest motivation, social motivation, and utility motivation on fans' creative behavior; fans' perceived community atmosphere was substantial. The moderating effect of knowledge and skills on the capability dimension was insignificant. For the virtual idol industry, the future development of the industry could not only focus on IP image creation and content production but also effectively stimulate fans' creative motivation through the creation of an excellent community atmosphere, the provision of targeted creator services, and the reduction of fans' perceived costs in the creation process.

Keywords: MOA theory; creative behavior; fans; psychological perspective; virtual idols.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the National Social Science Fund (No. 21BSH097), China, the state Project of the Ministry of Science & Technology (No. DL2021163001L), China, the Key Project of the Center of Sino-Foreign Language Cooperation & Exchange (2021), Ministry of Education, China, the Industry-Academic Cooperation Collaborative Education Project of the Ministry of Education (201902036018, 202102119014), China, Guangdong Natural Sciences Fund (2020A1414010301), and the Humanities and Social Sciences Fund of South China University of Technology.