Publications
Publications
- 2022
- HBS Working Paper Series
Learning or Playing? The Effect of Gamified Training on Performance
By: Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai and Tatiana Sandino
Abstract
Gamified training is a novel management control system in which companies use gamification techniques to engage and motivate employees to learn. This study empirically examines the performance consequences of gamified training using data from a natural field experiment in a professional services firm. We find that, on average, the main effect of adopting the gamified training platform on performance is significantly positive. We also study whether outcomes depend on how engaged the office is in the gamified training platform (i.e. office engagement) and who is engaged in the gamified training platform (i.e. leader engagement). Our findings suggest that the benefits of gamified training are greater when employees are more engaged—as revealed by their readiness to log onto the gamified training platform— and when more leaders, who are actively engaged in selling to clients and who serve as role models for their employees, actively participate in the gamified training platform.
Keywords
Gamified Training; Management Control Systems; Employee Engagement; Employees; Learning; Training; Motivation and Incentives; Performance
Citation
Buell, Ryan W., Wei Cai, and Tatiana Sandino. "Learning or Playing? The Effect of Gamified Training on Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-101, March 2019. (Revised July 2022.)