Emerging Research and Trends in Gamification

Abstract

Game-thinking is increasingly used in non-game contexts, including organizational support settings like HRM.
The chapter aims to:
- Explore opportunities for game-thinking (gamification and serious games) in HRM based on existing literature.
- Identify future research areas at the intersection of game-thinking and HRM.
Prevailing HRM theories are applied to game-thinking in HRM sub-fields like recruitment, selection, training, and performance management.

Introduction

Game-thinking is an umbrella term that includes gamification, serious games, game-inspired design, and play, used to solve problems (Marczewski, 2014).
Gamification is defined as using game elements in non-game contexts (Deterding, Sicart, Nacke, O’Hara, & Dixon, 2011).
Serious games are defined as games with a primary goal other than entertainment (Michael & Chen, 2005).
Gartner Inc. predicted:
- By 2014, 70% of Global 2000 organizations would have at least one gamified application.
- By 2014, 80% of all gamified applications would fail (Gartner Inc., 2012).
Given this trend and the stakes, researching game-thinking in organizational contexts is critical.
Gamification is often used in marketing (Sarner, 2013) and sales (Chapman, 2014).
- Sales teams use points and leaderboards to inspire competition (Bunchball, 2013).
Serious games and game elements can be used in organizational support settings, specifically HRM (DuVernet & Popp, 2014).
Gamification is a top trend in HRM (Munson, 2013; Society for Human Resource Management, 2014).
The chapter aims to:
- Explore opportunities for gamification and serious games in HRM based on current and previous HRM literature.
- Identify future research areas at the intersection of game-thinking and HRM.
Prevailing HRM theories are applied to the use of game-thinking in different sub-fields of HRM.
Empirical research is considered, but the literature on gamification is sparse (Hamari, Koivisto, & Sarsa, 2014).
Case studies of organizations using serious games and game elements are discussed when empirical studies are absent.
An important consideration is identifying which game elements can be applied to non-game contexts.
Bedwell, Pavlas, Heyne, Lazzara, and Salas (2012) developed a taxonomy of game elements used in learning contexts.
- These elements incorporate detailed taxonomies of game elements (Wilson et al., 2009).
- The elements can be applied to gamified contexts broadly.
Understanding these elements allows game-thinking to improve HRM outcomes.
Game elements include action language, assessment, conflict/challenge, control, environment, game fiction, human interaction, immersion, and rules/goals.
The chapter explores four major areas of HRM where serious games and gamification have seen success: recruitment, selection, training, and performance management.
Recruitment is defined as “those organizational activities that (1) influence the number and/or types of applicants who apply for a position and/or (2) affect whether a job offer is accepted” (Breaugh, 1992, p. 4).
Selection involves organizations providing psychological assessments to predict job performance and aid in hiring decisions.
- Assessments include tests of cognitive ability, personality, work samples, interviews, and application blanks.
Training is defined as “activities leading to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes relevant to an immediate or upcoming job or role” (Kraiger & Culbertson, 2013, p. 244).
- Activities include educational courses, job shadowing, and on-the-job training.
Performance levels must be maintained after training to reach organizational outcomes.
Performance management is defined as “a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization” (Aguinis, 2009, p. 2).
- It includes identifying good performance, assessing employees, and ensuring performance levels are maintained.
Game-thinking can benefit organizations within each of these four areas of HRM.
Serious games in recruitment can portray aspects of the organization to potential applicants, persuading them to apply or accept offers.
Game-like assessments in selection systems can identify the best applicants.
Gamified training can challenge new hires to learn more, benefiting both employee and organization.
Gamification can be applied to everyday work performance, motivating higher quality and quantity of output.
- Performance leaderboards combine conflict/challenge, assessment, and rules/goals (Landers & Landers, 2014).

Recruitment

Current Research

Game-thinking can be applied to employee recruitment through two processes:
- Finding the best