Gamification Applications in Education, Health, Finance, and Marketing: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37641/jimkes.v13i6.4349Keywords:
Education, Engagement, Gamification, Marketing, Motivation, Prisma, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
Gamification, the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, has gained significant attention for enhancing motivation, engagement, and behavioral change across various fields. This study aims to examine the current state of gamification research, focusing on its applications, trends, and gaps in education, health, finance, and marketing. The research employs a quantitative approach, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyzes method and VOSviewer software to analyze 34 studies from the Scopus database, spanning 2015 to 2024. Gamification effectively boosts user engagement by incorporating elements like points, badges, and challenges in diverse domains. In education, it improves learning outcomes through interactive technologies. In health, it promotes adherence to wellness goals, while in finance, it encourages financial literacy. In marketing, gamification fosters eco-friendly behaviors and customer loyalty. The findings reveal a steady increase in publications, from 1,582 in 2015 to 11,949 in 2024, with key contributions from the United States and China. However, gaps remain in understanding long-term impacts and personalized strategies. This review concludes that gamification is a powerful tool for driving engagement, but further empirical research is needed to validate its long-term effectiveness and adaptability across diverse user groups.
Keywords: gamification, prisma, systematic literature review
Downloads
References
Alcivar, I., & Abad, A. G. (2016). Design and evaluation of a gamified system for ERP training. Computers in Human Behavior, 58(1), 109–118.
Armstrong, M. B., & Landers, R. N. (2018). Gamification of employee training and development. International Journal of Training and Development, 22(2), 162–169.
Baptista, G., & Oliveira, T. (2017). Why so serious? Gamification impact in the acceptance of mobile banking services. Internet Research, 27(1), 118–139.
Basten, D. (2017). Gamification. IEEE Software, 34(5), 76–81.
Çera, G., Pagria, I., Khan, K. A., & Muaremi, L. (2020). Mobile banking usage and gamification: The moderating effect of generational cohorts. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 22(3), 243–263.
Chiauzzi, E., Rodarte, C., & DasMahapatra, P. (2015). Patient-centered activity monitoring in the self-management of chronic health conditions. BMC Medicine, 13(1), 77–85.
Christopoulos, A., & Mystakidis, S. (2023). Gamification in education. Encyclopedia, 3(4), 1223–1243.
Conaway, R., & Garay, M. C. (2014). Gamification and service marketing. SpringerPlus, 3(1), 1–11.
Dale, S. (2014). Gamification: Making work fun, or making fun of work? Business Information Review, 31(2), 82–90.
Dichev, C., & Dicheva, D. (2017). Gamifying education: What is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: A critical review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(1), 1–36.
Dicheva, D., Dichev, C., Agre, G., & Angelova, G. (2015). Gamification in education: A systematic mapping study. Educational Technology & Society, 18(3), 75–88.
Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133(1), 285–296.
Eisingerich, A. B., Marchand, A., Fritze, M. P., & Dong, L. (2019). Hook vs. hope: How to enhance customer engagement through gamification. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 36(2), 200–215.
Farhan, K. A., Asadullah, A. B. M., Kommineni, H. P., Gade, P. K., & Venkata, S. S. M. G. N. (2023). Machine learning-driven gamification: Boosting user engagement in business. Global Disclosure of Economics and Business, 12(1), 41–52.
Getman, A. P., Yaroshenko, O. M., Demenko, O. І., Lutsenko, О. Y., & Prokopiev, R. Y. (2024). Gamification for staff motivation: Impact on work efficiency and corporate culture at the international level. Journal of Economics and Management, 46(1), 274–299.
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014). Does gamification work? A literature review of empirical studies on gamification. In 2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 3025-3034.
Huotari, K., & Hamari, J. (2017). A definition for gamification: Anchoring gamification in the service marketing literature. Electronic Markets, 27(1), 21–31.
Jones, B. A., Madden, G. J., & Wengreen, H. J. (2014). The FIT Game: preliminary evaluation of a gamification approach to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in school. Preventive medicine, 68(1), 76-79.
Kapp, K. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
Kim, H. M., Cho, I., & Kim, M. (2023). Gamification aspects of fitness apps: Implications of mHealth for physical activities. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 39(10), 2076–2089.
Kocadere, S. A., & Çağlar, Ş. (2018). Gamification from player type perspective: A case study. International Forum of Educational Technology & Society, 21(3), 12–22.
Koivisto, J., & Hamari, J. (2019). The rise of motivational information systems: A review of gamification research. International Journal of Information Management, 45(1), 191–210.
Liu, D., Santhanam, R., & Webster, J. (2017). Toward meaningful engagement. MIS Quarterly, 41(4), 1011–1034.
Lounis, S., Neratzouli, X., & Pramatari, K. (2013). Can gamification increase consumer engagement? A qualitative approach on a green case. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 399(1), 200–212.
Lucassen, G., & Jansen, S. (2014). Gamification in consumer marketing - Future or fallacy? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148(1), 194–202.
Macey, J., & Hamari, J. (2024). Gamblification: A definition. New Media & Society, 26(4), 2046-2065.
Markopoulos, A. P., Fragkou, A., Kasidiaris, P. D., & Davim, J. P. (2015). Gamification in engineering education and professional training. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, 43(2), 118–131.
Matthews, J. A., Matthews, S., Faries, M. D., & Wolever, R. Q. (2024). Supporting sustainable health behavior change: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, 8(3), 263–275.
Nendi, I. (2024). Strategies to improve employee motivation and performance through the employee engagement program. Jurnal Ilmiah Akuntansi Kesatuan, 12(4), 505–512.
Neupane, A., Hansen, D., Fails, J. A., & Sharma, A. (2021). The role of steps and game elements in gamified fitness tracker apps: A systematic review. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 5(2), 5–15.
Nicholson, S. (2014). A recipe for meaningful gamification. In Gamification in education and business (pp. 1-20). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Ozdamli, F., & Milrich, F. (2023). Positive and negative impacts of gamification on the fitness industry. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 13(8), 1411–1422.
Park, J., De Liu, Yi, M. Y., & Santhanam, R. (2019). GAMESIT: A gamified system for information technology training. Computers and Education, 142(1), 1–37.
Pati, D., & Lorusso, L. N. (2018). How to write a systematic review of the literature. Health Environments Research and Design Journal, 11(1), 15–30.
Pedreira, O., García, F., Brisaboa, N., & Piattini, M. (2015). Gamification in software engineering - A systematic mapping. Information and Software Technology, 57(1), 157–168.
Precedence, R. (2024). Gamification market size, share, and trends 2024 to 2034. Market Research Report, 1(1), 1–10.
Reem, A. (2024). Factors affecting citizen engagement in the Kingdom of Bahrain through gamification. International Journal of Computing and Digital System, 16(1), 827-849
Rigby, C. S. (2015). Gamification and motivation. The gameful world: Approaches, issues, applications, 2(1), 113-138.
Rocha, E. M., Pereira, G. M., & Pacheco, D. A. de J. (2020). The role of the predictive gamification to increase the sales performance: A novel business approach. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 35(5), 817–833.
Rousseau, S., & Rousseau, R. (2021). Bibliometric techniques and their use in business and economics research. Journal of Economic Surveys, 35(5), 1428–1451.
Saleem, A. N., Noori, N. M., & Ozdamli, F. (2022). Gamification applications in E-learning: A literature review. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 27(1), 139–159.
Sanmugam, M., Mohd Zaid, N., Mohamed, H., Abdullah, Z., Aris, B., & Md Suhadi, S. (2015). Gamification as an educational technology tool in engaging and motivating students: An analyses review. Advanced Science Letters, 21(10), 3337–3341.
Seaborn, K., & Fels, D. I. (2015). Gamification in theory and action: A survey. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 74(1), 14–31.
Silic, M., Marzi, G., Caputo, A., & Bal, P. M. (2020). The effects of a gamified human resource management system on job satisfaction and engagement. Human Resource Management Journal, 30(2), 260-277.
Szendrői, L., Dhir, K. S., & Czakó, K. (2020). Gamification in for-profit organizations: A mapping study. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(2), 598–612.
Tu, R., Hsieh, P., & Feng, W. (2019). Walking for fun or for “likes”? The impacts of different gamification orientations of fitness apps on consumers’ physical activities. Sport Management Review, 22(5), 682–693.
Xi, N., & Hamari, J. (2019). Does gamification satisfy needs? A study on the relationship between gamification features and intrinsic need satisfaction. International Journal of Information Management, 46(1), 210–221.
Yang, X., Yang, J., Hou, Y., Li, S., & Sun, S. (2023). Gamification of mobile wallet as an unconventional innovation for promoting fintech: An fsQCA approach. Journal of Business Research, 155(1), 1–7.
