TITLE:
Gamification in Management and Other Non-Game Contexts—Understanding Game Elements, Motivation, Reward Systems, and User Types
AUTHORS:
Oliver Mauroner
KEYWORDS:
Gamification, Motivation, Non-Game Contexts, Gamified Systems
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.7 No.4,
September
30,
2019
ABSTRACT: Gamification is the use of gaming methods and ways of thinking in
non-game economic and social contexts in order to solve some kind of problems.
Possible applications of gamification are currently the subject of broad-based
discussion in marketing and management in particular. Expectations are very
high, primarily in those areas in which motivation processes have a large part
to play. In order to fully exploit the potential of gamification, a profound understanding
of modes of operation in gamified systems is needed. This then enables a
productive transfer of game elements to non-game contexts, taking into account
user typologies and including the requirements of very different application
scenarios. This article takes up the findings of different theoretical and empirical
studies on gamification from various perspectives. It combines the findings
into an integral perspective and provides a catalogue of core elements of
gamified systems. Approaches to reward mechanisms in gamified systems are
worked out on the basis of fundamental motivation theories. It is argued that a
simple adoption of award systems cannot be productive; the different kinds of
needs of users with regard to social interaction, attractive challenges and
individual development opportunities must, rather, be incorporated into the
design of gamified systems. The article offers practitioners and researchers new impetuses for further
engagement with gamified systems.