Antecedents of the Adoption of Gamification in Strategy Alignment: An Exploratory Study of Middle Managers’ Perspective

Abstract

The use of gamification in management, namely in strategic alignment is still under researched. Due to the pivotal role of Middle Managers (MM) in business strategy, this study investigates their perspective on the organizational, individual, and gamification-related factors that may influence the adoption of gamification as a strategic alignment tool. Four focus groups with MM revealed the most relevant antecedents for participants. The paper offers companies some suggestions on how to design and implement successful gamified experiences. Namely, it suggests that clear support of top managers and the involvement of MM in the adoption of gamification may avoid MM’ resistance and enhance their motivation and engagement in the process. Also, to assure an effective contribution of MM, it is advisable to evaluate their gamification competences and provide them with adequate training when needed. Finally, due their pivotal position, MM can offer valuable insights to design and communicate the gamification modalities that are the most adequate to participants, thus reducing the identified risks and fostering success.