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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. Dzandu, Michael D. & Hanu, Charles & Amegbe, Hayford, 2022. "Gamification of mobile money payment for generating customer value in emerging economies: The social impact theory perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    15. Hollebeek, Linda D. & Belk, Russell, 2021. "Consumers’ technology-facilitated brand engagement and wellbeing: Positivist TAM/PERMA- vs. Consumer Culture Theory perspectives," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 387-401.
    16. Bekk, Magdalena & Eppmann, René & Klein, Kristina & Völckner, Franziska, 2022. "All that glitters is not gold: An investigation into the undesired effects of gamification and how to mitigate them through gamification design," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 1059-1081.
    17. Wolf, Tobias & Jahn, Steffen & Hammerschmidt, Maik & Weiger, Welf H., 2021. "Competition versus cooperation: How technology-facilitated social interdependence initiates the self-improvement chain," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 472-491.
    18. Thomas Leclercq & Ingrid Poncin & Wafa Hammedi, 2020. "Opening the black box of gameful experience: Implications for gamification process design," Post-Print hal-02510199, HAL.
    19. Sharma, Wamika & Lim, Weng Marc & Kumar, Satish & Verma, Aastha & Kumra, Rajeev, 2024. "Game on! A state-of-the-art overview of doing business with gamification," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    20. Arghya Ray & Muskan Jain & Lan Ma & Khalid Hussain Alhamzi & Ananya Ray & Long She, 2024. "The impact of personality traits, barriers and gamification on Gen X continuance intention for mobile credit bill payment apps," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(3), pages 1154-1174, September.
    21. 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.
    22. Taheri, Babak & Yousaf, Anish & Gannon, Martin & Mishra, Abhishek, 2024. "e-commerce website customer engagement: Delineating the role of UTAUT, vividness, and compulsion," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    23. Malshe, Avinash & Hughes, Douglas E. & Good, Valerie & Friend, Scott B., 2022. "Marketing strategy implementation impediments and remedies: A multi-level theoretical framework within the sales-marketing interface," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 824-846.
    24. 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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