Creating a Theory-Based Research Agenda for Gamification

Gamification is a topic which has recently gained significant attention in the IS community due to its relevance for both practitioners and academics. Being a boundary-spanning subject by nature, it also attracts interest from scholars from diverse non-IS communities, including education, marketing and business administration. In this paper we develop a research agenda for gamification which explicitly takes into account the important role of theory. An interdisciplinary expert panel evaluated and selected theories being relevant for gamification and subsequently derived research questions. Based on the respective theoretical background the resulting questions cover different aspects of the gamification domain. We conclude that taking a multi-theoretical perspective in the creation of a research agenda helps to produce a holistic picture, which allows classifying subsequent research and helps in structuring a domain

Findings of an Experiment: Knowledge Retention in Gamified and Non-Gamified Workshops

Apathetic and poorly motivated students require educators to redesign their educational measures in order to create inspiring learning environments. One such educational measure is gamification, a new tool for active learning to improve students’ motivation, with the ultimate goal of increasing knowledge retention. In this paper we investigate the effects of gamification on short- and long-term knowledge gains. Moreover, the moderating effects of gender and school type are scrutinized. We conducted a longitudinal study with 384 students using three assessments at different times and compared the results from gamified and non-gamified workshops. Our findings indicate that gamification is an effective tool to increase students’ knowledge retention in the short term, but not necessarily in the long term. There was no significant effect of gender, but we found some preliminary evidence that school type might have a moderating effect on knowledge retention

Gamified Workshops as Drivers for Attitudinal and Behavioral Shifts toward Sustainable Business Practices: The Role of Enjoyment, Curiosity and External Regulation

Gamification has recently gained a great deal of attention in various research communities. The application of game elements in non-game contexts has shown a lot of potential and the expectations of researchers and businesses are high. However, few studies exist that empirically test the effectiveness of gamification applications in business settings. To fill this gap, we present results from workshops that promoted environmentally friendly business practices. 261 individuals participated in a study in which various gamification elements were applied. Our findings illustrate that enjoyment and curiosity, both of which are strongly fostered by gamification elements, exert a significant influence on individuals’ attitudes and subsequently their behavioral intentions to adopt sustainable business practices. In contrast, the impact of external regulation turned out to be insignificant. The findings highlight the important role of enjoyment and curiosity for a sustainable change and bear important implications for academics and practitioners

Research Commentary: Setting a Definition, Context, and Theory-Based Research Agenda for the Gamification of Non-Gaming Applications

As a nascent area of study, gamification has attracted the interest of researchers in several fields, but such researchers have scarcely focused on creating a theoretical foundation for gamification research. Gamification involves using game-like features in non-game contexts to motivate users and improve performance outcomes. As a boundary-spanning subject by nature, gamification has drawn the interest of scholars from diverse communities, such as information systems, education, marketing, computer science, and business administration. To establish a theoretical foundation, we need to clearly define and explain gamification in comparison with similar concepts and areas of research. Likewise, we need to define the scope of the domain and develop a research agenda that explicitly considers theory’s important role. In this review paper, we set forth the pre-theoretical structures necessary for theory building in this area. Accordingly, we engaged an interdisciplinary group of discussants to evaluate and select the most relevant theories for gamification. Moreover, we developed exemplary research questions to help create a research agenda for gamification. We conclude that using a multi-theoretical perspective in creating a research agenda should help and encourage IS researchers to take a lead role in this promising and emerging area

Das Konzept der quattromodalen Knoten

Die Verknüpfung der vier Verkehrsträger Straße, Schiene, Wasserstraße und Luft an einem quattromodalen Güterverkehrsknoten ist derzeit noch ein Randthema mit vielen Unbekannten. Das österreichische Forschungsprojekt „Q4“ widmet sich dieser Wissenslücke und stellt das Potential sowie die Grenzen quattromodaler Knoten im Güterverkehr in den Fokus der Forschung. Im Zuge dessen werden beispielhaft Möglichkeiten der Umsetzung für den österreichischen Zentralraum Linz-Wels-Steyr und die Metropolregion Wien aufgezeigt

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

To which world regions does the valence–dominance model of social perception apply?

Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence–dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear whether these findings apply to other regions. We addressed this question by replicating Oosterhof and Todorov’s methodology across 11 world regions, 41 countries and 11,570 participants. When we used Oosterhof and Todorov’s original analysis strategy, the valence–dominance model generalized across regions. When we used an alternative methodology to allow for correlated dimensions, we observed much less generalization. Collectively, these results suggest that, while the valence–dominance model generalizes very well across regions when dimensions are forced to be orthogonal, regional differences are revealed when we use different extraction methods and correlate and rotate the dimension reduction solution

Can gamification reduce the shortage of skilled logistics personnel?

Purpose: The logistics sector faces a worldwide shortage of skilled personnel. Gamification represents a new approach to attract people's interest by applying game elements in a non-game context. In our study, we develop a theoretical framework to improve the image of the logistics sector using gamification for future studies. Methodology: Based on the findings of the literature review, we discuss gamification and its potential to improve the image of the logistics sector. Moreover, the core of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to apply career choice theories for gamification to attract logistics personnel. Findings: In total, six career choice theories were identified as appropriate for a theoretical framework. We suggest using these six theories for future empirical studies to measure how gamification influences people’s career choices. Originality: This paper introduces gamification to attract people to the logistics sector as a new approach with substantial potential. It provides an initial valuation of the potential of gamification to improve the image of logistics jobs. Due the novelty of the topic, the theoretical framework provides a starting point for future empirical studies