我在虛擬人海中閱讀—論影響讀者閱讀網路小說的關鍵因素與動機

Abstract

自1998年第一本網路小說問世以來，大眾文學類別中網路小說不僅風靡無數讀者，也在文化娛樂產業發展中佔據一席之地，近年因應智財權概念鵲起，網路小說高粉絲基礎亦成為潛力挖掘地。讀者的閱讀行為是網路文學產業鏈最重要的一環，網路小說閱讀中資深讀者的需求為實務界持續發展之關鍵，影響其閱讀因素關係為值得深入探討的議題。本研究招募50位台灣網路小說資深讀者，透過文獻回顧與修正式德爾菲法建立基於Escarpit文學社會觀點之閱讀網路小說關鍵構面與因素評估架構，觀察閱讀動機及關鍵因素之影響。臺灣網路小說產業相對頹圮，判斷較不摻雜產業大興的先入之見，如此一來更能理解影響閱讀網路小說之閱讀因素，本文之研究方法應用修正式德爾菲法、多準則決策法（DEMATEL-based ANP，DANP）探索閱讀關鍵因素並輔以閱讀動機量表（Adult Reading Motivation Scale，ARMS）及深度訪談法透視閱讀動機與生態。 研究結果顯示，現階段的網路小說資深讀者認為影響其閱讀的關鍵因素為「出版職能」、「管道」與「作家」，又以「出版職能」因素最為核心，為架構改善的起點與整體排序第一之影響因素。此外，網路小說多元的閱讀渠道使「管道」因素重要且為被影響因子，兩者皆為網路小說特色因子；在閱讀動機部分研究發現動機程度不同的資深讀者存在著閱讀因素因果的脈絡軌跡，除了內在閱讀動機與閱讀關鍵因素息息相關之外，內在動機愈高者則受出版職能影響愈深，甚至於形成閱讀市場與閱讀人口遷移的有趣概念，本研究因此建立基於閱讀動機的Escarpit文學社會學之閱讀因素因果模型，本研究以實證資料建立選擇網路小說閱讀的關鍵因素與影響評估模式，為網路小說閱讀影響因素與生態開拓視野。With the advent of the first online fiction in 1998, online fiction occupies the important position in entertainment industry. In recent years, in response to the rise in intellectual property, the fan base of online fiction is a valuable potential market. Within this field, the experienced readers are the most critical aspect of the development of chain of online fiction in practice. Therefore, we invited fifty experienced readers living in Taiwan to participate an empirical research study. We examined important criteria of reading online fiction based on the viewpoint of Robert Escarpit’s sociology of literature, including critical literature reviews and the modified Delphi method. Accordingly, seven criteria were developed from three dimensions and then analyzed according their weight, causal relationship and performance according to a multi-criteria decision-making approach, specifically the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory-based analytical network processing (DEMATEL-based ANP) approach. Moreover, we further adopt the Adults’ Reading Motivation Scale (ARMS) to measure the types of motivations of readers and conduct in-depth interviews to create our evaluation framework. The results show that the reading behavior of most readers is influenced by the “publishing function” factor, which is also an important sourcefor refining the market. Additionally, the factor of “channel” is important and can be easily influenced by the other factors. Both these factors belong to the distinct features of the online fiction market. Moreover, the research results reveal different causal relationships among dimensions and criteria with different levels of motivation. Accordingly, we proposed an Escarpit’s sociology of literature-based causal relationship evaluation model for explaining the viewpoint of online fiction on the part of readers who have different levels of motivation. This study thereby widens the horizon of the market of online fiction by developing a comprehensive evaluation model from the perspective of the key factors of choosing to read online fiction and reading motivation.