Gamification for HRD: Systematic Review and Future Research Directions

Abstract

Gamification integrates game components into contexts such as workplace learning and performance. A decade of research has shown that gamification is prevalent in various settings such as education, healthcare, and business. Recently, gamification has been applied and studied in interventions and contexts related to the field of human resource development (HRD). Given the emerging use of gamification in HRD, this paper undertakes a systematic literature review (SLR) to synthesize existing research on gamification in HRD. This paper identifies four areas where gamification has been studied in HRD: employee learning, task performance, employee wellness, and rising contexts. In addition, this SLR collects and organizes a series of future research directions and offers a set of potential research questions. These future research directions center around four areas of gamification for HRD: designing gamification, influencing factors, experiential outcomes, and sustaining gamification. Implications for HRD practice and research, as well as limitations, are discussed.