Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies

The viability of gamified mechanics in offering engaging and transformative experiences for optimizing the user experience holds endless possibilities across various business models. Consequently, the application of gamification to management processes has garnered significant attention from both sc...

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Main Authors: Rajshree Misara, Divyanshu Verma, Saurabh Mishra, Richa Singh Dubey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Acta Psychologica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004275
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author Rajshree Misara
Divyanshu Verma
Saurabh Mishra
Richa Singh Dubey
author_facet Rajshree Misara
Divyanshu Verma
Saurabh Mishra
Richa Singh Dubey
author_sort Rajshree Misara
collection DOAJ
description The viability of gamified mechanics in offering engaging and transformative experiences for optimizing the user experience holds endless possibilities across various business models. Consequently, the application of gamification to management processes has garnered significant attention from both scholars and practitioners. Despite rapid progress in this field, knowledge boundaries regarding current and potential future research remain fragmented. The study undertakes a descriptive analysis of 1294 articles extracted from the Scopus database in the first section, identifying the leading contributors and enabling a quick overview of ongoing trends. The following section presents a systematic review of 97 qualified articles in the marketing domain. This study aims to synthesize the gamification literature and its implications by employing the theories, context, characteristics, and methods (TCCM) framework to outline its content and findings. This study highlights the significance of engagement in gamified settings, focusing on the varied dimensions that foster meaningful outcomes. Drawing on psychological frameworks like Self-Determination Theory and Flow Theory, the work highlights growing ability of gamification in shaping user behaviour. Overall, the study suggests a shift from engagement tools to richer experience-driven strategies. By outlining key gaps and offering future research roadmap, this review offers a structured path for advancing gamification research and practice.
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series Acta Psychologica
spelling doaj-art-84fff637380c404a9cb58ec654b733042025-08-20T03:55:59ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-08-0125810511410.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105114Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studiesRajshree Misara0Divyanshu Verma1Saurabh Mishra2Richa Singh Dubey3Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, India; Corresponding author.Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, IndiaDepartment of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, IndiaSenior Fellow ICSSR, School of Management Studies, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, IndiaThe viability of gamified mechanics in offering engaging and transformative experiences for optimizing the user experience holds endless possibilities across various business models. Consequently, the application of gamification to management processes has garnered significant attention from both scholars and practitioners. Despite rapid progress in this field, knowledge boundaries regarding current and potential future research remain fragmented. The study undertakes a descriptive analysis of 1294 articles extracted from the Scopus database in the first section, identifying the leading contributors and enabling a quick overview of ongoing trends. The following section presents a systematic review of 97 qualified articles in the marketing domain. This study aims to synthesize the gamification literature and its implications by employing the theories, context, characteristics, and methods (TCCM) framework to outline its content and findings. This study highlights the significance of engagement in gamified settings, focusing on the varied dimensions that foster meaningful outcomes. Drawing on psychological frameworks like Self-Determination Theory and Flow Theory, the work highlights growing ability of gamification in shaping user behaviour. Overall, the study suggests a shift from engagement tools to richer experience-driven strategies. By outlining key gaps and offering future research roadmap, this review offers a structured path for advancing gamification research and practice.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004275GamificationTCCM frameworkEngagementGamified mechanicsGame elementsSystematic literature review
spellingShingle Rajshree Misara
Divyanshu Verma
Saurabh Mishra
Richa Singh Dubey
Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
Acta Psychologica
Gamification
TCCM framework
Engagement
Gamified mechanics
Game elements
Systematic literature review
title Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
title_full Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
title_fullStr Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
title_full_unstemmed Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
title_short Beyond points and badges: Unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
title_sort beyond points and badges unveiling the impact of gamification in management studies
topic Gamification
TCCM framework
Engagement
Gamified mechanics
Game elements
Systematic literature review
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004275
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AT richasinghdubey beyondpointsandbadgesunveilingtheimpactofgamificationinmanagementstudies