Creating a Theory-Based Research Agenda for Gamification

Abstract

Gamification is a topic which has recently gained significant attention in the IS community due to its relevance for both practitioners and academics. Being a boundary-spanning subject by nature, it also attracts interest from scholars from diverse non-IS communities, including education, marketing and business administration. In this paper we develop a research agenda for gamification which explicitly takes into account the important role of theory. An interdisciplinary expert panel evaluated and selected theories being relevant for gamification and subsequently derived research questions. Based on the respective theoretical background the resulting questions cover different aspects of the gamification domain. We conclude that taking a multi-theoretical perspective in the creation of a research agenda helps to produce a holistic picture, which allows classifying subsequent research and helps in structuring a domain.