The effect of gamification on the intention of engagement and the attitude towards a brand

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, In Management, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economic, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Economy and Accounting, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

3 MA Student of Accounting, Payame Noor University, Kerman, Iran

10.22034/jbar.2023.17123.4039

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of gamification and its mechanics in non-gaming environments has become a rapidly emerging practice in business, especially in marketing. In the early days of the advent of gamification, it was not felt that the roots of mechanics and techniques could easily penetrate the gaming software world. The use of gamification tools and methods can be beneficial to the organizations active in various industries, which is due to its fundamental potential in forming and influencing behavior and attitudes. An increasing number of organizations are adopting game techniques and game-style rewards to increase customer engagement. Despite the practical importance of the gamification cycle, the current gamification literature is still lacking, and it lacks scientific accuracy. In other words, a comprehensive definition of gamification has rarely been provided in scientific research on gamification in various fields. Second, since gamification is a relatively new concept, it is largely unclear how an effective design for a particular goal can be realized. Some researchers argue that most businesses pursue gamification with the goal of achieving unlikely and far-reaching success, and, as a result, most businesses use gamification as a tool to improve business processes without examining its suitability for their organization, and they do their job. Due to the poor design of gamification software programs, some procedures have failed to achieve business goals. Moreover, nowadays, gamification has increasingly been able to play a significant role in attracting customers. Many companies that seek to improve the performance of their business can use it as an important strategy to improve their business activities. Therefore, gamification is considered as a business strategy that is used by many managers in different companies in order to increase the interaction and loyalty of customers. To achieve different marketing goals, one can use dynamic and stable gamification experiences. The participants that pioneered in gamification were Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Nike and Sony. In this research, gamification is defined as a system that uses game design components in a non-game environment in order to create enjoyable experiences, and influence the attitude or behavior of users. In addition, there is no uniform approach to the successful development and implementation of gamification aspects in the existing processes. This means that there is limited knowledge of how the structural application of gamification plays in processes. Also, the effect of gamification on changing people's behavior or attitude towards different business processes has not been studied yet. Third, there is no scientific evidence of the effects or benefits of gamification. The gamification is used as a system based on new technologies in various fields. Technology acceptance theories in the field of information systems have examined the acceptance of technology-based systems. In particular, the technology acceptance model is a valid, robust, and almost simple model for predicting the user’s acceptance. This research seeks to investigate the concept of gamification in the general field of marketing and its impact on users' intentions and attitudes toward the brand by expanding the technology acceptance model. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate a model that explains the role of gamification in marketing by considering the impacts of social interaction, perceived pleasure and other factors on users' intention to participate in games and their attitude towards the brand.
Methodology: The present study is an applied piece of research. In terms of data processing, the study is of a descriptive type conducted through correlation analyses. A standard questionnaire was used to measure the effect of gamification on the intention to interact and the user’s attitude towards a brand. The statistical population consisted of the young users of mobile payment software applications that used gamification (such as the app scoring system) in the city of Kerman. The available sampling method and Cochran's formula were used to obtain the sample size. In this study, structural equation modeling served to test research hypotheses and examine the relationships among the latent factors.
Results and Discussion: The significant coefficients between the perceived convenience, perceived ease of use, perceived social impact and perceived pleasure with the intention of interaction and participation were 3.73, 5.51, 3.21 and 3.11. Thus, perceived convenience, perceived ease of use, perceived social impact, and perceived pleasure have significant effects on the intention to interact and participate. The significant coefficients between the perceived convenience, perceived ease of use, perceived social impact, and perceived pleasure with the attitude toward the brand were 5.80, 6.32, 3.36, and 3.68. Thus, perceived convenience, perceived ease of use, perceived social impact, and perceived pleasure significantly affect the attitudes toward the brand. The coefficient of significance between the intention to interact and participate with the attitude towards the brand was 4.71. Therefore, the intention of interaction and participation has a significant effect on the attitudes toward the brand.
Conclusion: The study provides evidence on the effects of gamification in practice as a basis for further application of gamification in various fields. The results serve as a guide for game planners and other designers. The important factors affecting the behavior and attitudes of participants are identified, which help to conduct scientific research on the development of a technology acceptance model and demonstrate the application of that model in various areas. Finally, the relationship between the intention to interact with the gamification marketing process and the attitude towards a particular brand was studied to make marketers more aware of how to arrange their strategies to increase participants' desire to participate in the development of their marketing activities. This research fills the gap of theoretical knowledge about the relationship between the intention to interact and the attitude towards a brand.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Business Administration Researches
Volume 14, Issue 30
March 2023
Pages 29-56

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