Short answer
Design gamified services by focusing on the user's active role in co-creating the service experience, carefully crafting the interactive elements (affordances) and understanding the psychological motivations that drive engagement.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Electronic Markets (2016)
- Method
- Conceptual research and literature review
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Gamification can be strategically defined and applied within service marketing by viewing games as service systems that leverage affordances and psychological mediators to engage consumers as co-producers. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2016 study published in Electronic Markets. Using Conceptual research and literature review, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design gamified services by focusing on the user's active role in co-creating the service experience, carefully crafting the interactive elements (affordances) and understanding the psychological motivations that drive engagement.
Gamification as a Service Co-production Strategy
Gamification can be strategically defined and applied within service marketing by viewing games as service systems that leverage affordances and psychological mediators to engage consumers as co-producers.
Electronic Markets · 2016
Key Findings
- 01Gamification can be conceptualized as a service system where games act as the structure for operant and operand resources.
- 02A definition of gamification should emphasize its experiential nature, incorporating affordances, psychological mediators, goals, and context.
- 03Consumers are viewed as co-producers of the service experience through gamification.
Application
Design takeaway
Design gamified services by focusing on the user's active role in co-creating the service experience, carefully crafting the interactive elements (affordances) and understanding the psychological motivations that drive engagement.
How to apply
When designing a new service or enhancing an existing one, consider how game mechanics can be integrated to encourage user participation, provide clear interaction pathways (affordances), and tap into intrinsic motivations.
Project actions
- 01When defining gamification for your project, be specific about its role in the service context.
- 02Consider who the 'gamifying actor' is in your design – is it the company, the user, or both?
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Provides a much-needed theoretical bridge between gamification and service marketing.
- +Offers a structured definition that can guide future research and practice.
Limitations
It can be challenging to accurately measure the 'experiential nature' or the psychological mediators of gamification in a practical design project.
Reliability & validity
The conceptual nature of the paper means reliability and validity are assessed through the coherence and logical consistency of the arguments presented, rather than empirical testing.
Think critically
How might the 'context of gamification' vary significantly across different service industries, and how would this impact the effectiveness of the proposed definition?
Design Principles
"Design for co-production: Leverage game-like mechanics to empower users as active participants in the service delivery and experience."
Understanding gamification through the lens of service marketing allows for more effective design of customer experiences. By recognizing consumers as active participants in service co-production, designers can create more engaging and valuable service offerings.
What This Means for Your Design
Think of gamification like a game within a service. It's about making the service more fun and engaging by using game elements, and it works best when customers feel like they are part of making the service happen.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify your definition of gamification and explain its strategic importance in your design project's context.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This design project adopts a gamified approach, conceptualizing gamification within the service marketing literature as a strategy that leverages affordances and psychological mediators to engage consumers as co-producers of the service experience. This perspective, as highlighted by Huotari and Hamari (2016), emphasizes the experiential nature of gamification and its role in communicative staging of the service environment.
Source
Electronic Markets
A definition for gamification: anchoring gamification in the service marketing literature
journal · 2016
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about gamification as a service co-production strategy?
- Design gamified services by focusing on the user's active role in co-creating the service experience, carefully crafting the interactive elements (affordances) and understanding the psychological motivations that drive engagement. Evidence: Electronic Markets (2016).
- Why does "Gamification as a Service Co-production Strategy" matter for design?
- Understanding gamification through the lens of service marketing allows for more effective design of customer experiences. By recognizing consumers as active participants in service co-production, designers can create more engaging and valuable service offerings.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design gamified services by focusing on the user's active role in co-creating the service experience, carefully crafting the interactive elements (affordances) and understanding the psychological motivations that drive engagement.
- What were the main findings?
- Gamification can be conceptualized as a service system where games act as the structure for operant and operand resources.. A definition of gamification should emphasize its experiential nature, incorporating affordances, psychological mediators, goals, and context.. Consumers are viewed as co-producers of the service experience through gamification.
- What research method was used?
- Conceptual research and literature review.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2016 journal from Electronic Markets.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a new service or enhancing an existing one, consider how game mechanics can be integrated to encourage user participation, provide clear interaction pathways (affordances), and tap into intrinsic motivations.
- What are the limitations?
- The definition and conceptualization are theoretical and require empirical validation across various service contexts.