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Hook vs. hope: How to enhance customer engagement through gamification

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  • Eisingerich, Andreas B.
  • Marchand, André
  • Fritze, Martin P.
  • Dong, Lin

Abstract

Many digital service providers have adopted gamification to promote customer engagement. Critical questions, however, remain about the most effective way to enhance customer engagement and increase sales by applying gamification. With a research design that combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including the use of objective sales data from a large field study and replication of the findings across different contexts, this study explores how gamification fosters customer engagement. Both field study results and a simulation study reveal gamification principles (i.e., social interaction, sense of control, goals, progress tracking, rewards, and prompts) that promote hope and consequently increase customer engagement and digital sales. Furthermore, we find that hope is more strongly associated with customer engagement than the psychological condition of compulsion, which even exerts a negative impact. This research thus explores how gamification creates value for customers and provides actionable insights for managers to foster hope through gamification as opposed to get customers hooked.

Suggested Citation

  • Eisingerich, Andreas B. & Marchand, André & Fritze, Martin P. & Dong, Lin, 2019. "Hook vs. hope: How to enhance customer engagement through gamification," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 200-215.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:36:y:2019:i:2:p:200-215
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2019.02.003
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    14. Thomas Leclercq & Ingrid Poncin & Wafa Hammedi, 2020. "Opening the black box of gameful experience: Implications for gamification process design," Post-Print hal-02510199, HAL.
    15. Lim, Weng Marc & Rasul, Tareq & Kumar, Satish & Ala, Mamun, 2022. "Past, present, and future of customer engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 439-458.
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    17. Zhou, Fei & Lin, Youhai & Mou, Jian & Cohen, Jason & Chen, Sihua, 2023. "Understanding the dark side of gamified interactions on short-form video platforms: Through a lens of expectations violations theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PB).

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