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The Boundaries of Gamification for Engaging Customers: Effects of Losing a Contest in Online Co-creation Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Leclercq

    (LEM - Laboratoire d'éthique médicale et médecine légale - UPD5 - Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 - Réseau Inserm de Recherche en éthique médicale, LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Wafa Hammedi
  • Ingrid Poncin

    (UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain)

Abstract

Despite the increasing use of gamification mechanics to engage customers in firms' activities, the risks related to such use remain unclear. To address this knowledge gap, this research examines the impacts of losing a challenge, which is a phenomenon experienced by the majority of customers involved in gamified settings but underexplored in literature. We investigate the context of co-creation communities by combining two widely used gamification mechanics, competition and cooperation. Results from three laboratory experiments and one field experiment show that win/lose decisions weaken the benefits of gamification and, in the case of losing a competition, have negative impacts on customer experience and engagement. They also demonstrate that customers' levels of prior engagement with the community moderate the negative impacts of losing a competition. Supported by equity theory, this research questions the effectiveness of gamification mechanics, identifies their limits, and provides guidelines on how to properly implement them.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Leclercq & Wafa Hammedi & Ingrid Poncin, 2018. "The Boundaries of Gamification for Engaging Customers: Effects of Losing a Contest in Online Co-creation Communities," Post-Print hal-02115858, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02115858
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2018.04.004
    as

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