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  • 2023
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement

By: Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai and Tatiana Sandino
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:53
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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 initially 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. "When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-101, March 2019. (Revised October 2023.)
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About The Authors

Ryan W. Buell

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

Tatiana Sandino

Accounting and Management
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    The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing

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More from the Authors
  • Improving Customer Compatibility with Tradeoff Transparency By: Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi
  • The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing By: Paige Tsai and Ryan W. Buell
  • Go Mobile: Aligning District Managers and Store Teams (B) By: Tatiana Sandino and Samuel Grad
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