The impact of the use of gamification in Corporate Social Responsibility communication on Millennials
2020
In recent years, the application of gamified techniques to CSR communication was
suggested by several scholars, but only a few studies were conducted to test its effectiveness
and suitability (Coombs & Holladay, 2015; Maltseva, Fieseler, & Trittin-Ulbrich, 2019). This
study employed an online experiment (N=245) to determine whether the presence of gamified
techniques in visual and/or textual Facebook posts delivering CSR messages can influence the
respondent for what concerns environmental attitude and pro-environmental behavioural
intention. Moreover, the paper aims to investigate whether other prior conditions, such as
familiarity with videogames and knowledge in the matter of sustainability, play a role in the
development of positive behavioural and attitudinal reactions in response to the gamified CSR
messages. Hence, considered the novelty and relevance of the topic, the gap in the literature
and the little investigation on the potential of gamification in the field of CSR communication,
the research question was formulated as follow: To what extent can gamification be used as an
effective tool for CSR communication activities among Millennials?
Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions, each of
which included similar CSR content but differed both for the feature of the message (textual
message with or without visual stimuli) and for the display of gamification techniques (present
or absent). The present results suggest that gamification might not be an apt tool for CSR
communication to an extent, supporting the claims of academic detractors of gamification
applications in corporate communication and CSR activities. However, this study contributed to
the expansion of the academical knowledge about the topic and contributed with relevant
insight about a specific generational cohort (Millennials), the usage of social media in CSR
communication (in this case Facebook) and the possible effects of moderator factors (namely
Familiarity with video games and Prior knowledge in matter of sustainability). Despite the
ambivalent outcomes, this study emphasized the demand for further empirical researches in
the field of gamified CSR communications, adding specific directions for future studies.
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