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It is Really Not a Game: An Integrative Review of Gamification for Service Research

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Ciuchita

    (Department of Marketing, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki)

  • Jonas Heller

    (Maastricht University [Maastricht])

  • Sarah Köcher

    (Department of Marketing, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund)

  • Sören Köcher

    (Chair of Marketing, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg)

  • Thomas Leclercq

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Karim Sidaoui

    (Radboud University [Nijmegen])

  • Susan Stead

    (RWTH Aachen - RWTH Aachen University = Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen)

Abstract

Gamification has attracted considerable practitioner attention and has become a viable tactic for influencing behavior, boosting innovation, and improving marketing outcomes across industries. Simultaneously, studies on the use of gamification techniques have emerged in diverse fields, including computer science, education, and healthcare. Despite the broad popularity of gamification in other fields, it has received only limited attention in the service literature. Moreover, the findings of extant studies on gamification in the service field are inconclusive and suggest an incomplete understanding of the employment of gamification in service contexts. Thus, this study aims to integrate the growing but scattered cross-disciplinary literature on gamification and to emphasize its relevance to service research. Specifically, we first conceptualize gamification for service and differentiate it from related concepts. Then, using a systematic literature review, we identify 34 empirical articles that reflect this gamification conceptualization and can be connected to relevant service research themes (e.g., customer participation, experience, and loyalty). Employing activity theory, we derive four higher-order functions of gamification: production, consumption, exchange, and distribution. Finally, we develop a research agenda to generate a better understanding of the central aspects within each of the identified gamification functions and stimulate future academic efforts on gamification in services.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Ciuchita & Jonas Heller & Sarah Köcher & Sören Köcher & Thomas Leclercq & Karim Sidaoui & Susan Stead, 2023. "It is Really Not a Game: An Integrative Review of Gamification for Service Research," Post-Print hal-04133024, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04133024
    DOI: 10.1177/10946705221076272
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04133024v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Maria Giovina Pasca & Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion & Laura Di Pietro & Maria Francesca Renzi, 2025. "Unveiling the role of gamification in shared mobility services," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(6), pages 13371-13410, June.

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