Gamification in innovation teams

Abstract

The paper examines the relationship between gamification – the use of game elements in non-gaming contexts – and innovation teams’ outcomes. It builds on psychological and teamwork theories, arguing that gamification overcomes collaboration issues and generates multiple positive outcomes, particularly in coordination, alignment, engagement, and teams’ motivation. The research follows a qualitative theory-driven using a case study of an innovation project. The conceptual model built through the findings offers valuable insights about applying gamification in innovation teams, namely: i) surprising teams with such a new and playful approach reduces stress among team members; ii) rules and time constraints play a crucial role in teams’ coordination by avoiding dispersion and enhancing focused efforts. The paper provides a set of testable theoretical propositions derived from the conceptualization of gamification in the context of innovation teams. It supports innovation managers interested in measuring gamification outcomes in teams.