What’s in a Game? Research Explores the Effects of Short-term Gamification and Ethical Considerations Toward Success

While gamification has been an engagement tool used by companies for years, Simon Blanchard, Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor and Dean’s Professor of Marketing, had questions about its short-term vs. long-term use, as well as the ethical considerations raised by incentivizing certain behaviors. 

Here, he shares his findings and where the research continues to take him.

What inspired you to pursue this research topic?

Gamification has been widely discussed as a tool for engaging consumers, particularly in marketing, digital platforms, and behavioral economics. However, most of the research to date has focused on its short-term benefits: how gamification can drive initial engagement. What had not been explored in depth was the long-term impact of gamification, especially what happens when gamification stops.

I was particularly interested in financial services, where gamification has been used in savings, loan repayments, and digital banking adoption. Given that financial behaviors require long-term habit formation, I wanted to understand whether gamification fosters lasting behavioral change or if its effects fade once incentives are removed.

When a company I worked with, Flourish FI, let me know that one of their clients, a Latin American bank, had its gamification system unexpectedly shut down due to a regulatory licensing lapse – I jumped on the opportunity to study it. This exogenous event, and the rich app data that Flourish provided, offered a rare opportunity to answer this question. This gave us a controlled setting to assess the causal impact of removing gamification on digital banking behaviors.

How does your research align with emerging trends in business research?

There are three key trends my research aligns with:

1. Behavioral Economics in Digital Engagement: Businesses increasingly use behavioral nudges to shape consumer decisions, particularly in digital finance and fintech. My research contributes by examining how these nudges persist or fade over time and how companies should design engagement mechanisms that drive lasting change.

2. The Ethics of Gamification in Financial Services: With regulators scrutinizing gamified financial platforms (e.g., Robinhood’s lawsuit over confetti animations encouraging risky trades), there’s growing interest in the responsible design of gamification. My research offers a data-driven framework for companies to balance engagement with long-term financial wellness.

3. The Role of AI and Automation in Customer Engagement: Many gamified financial systems rely on AI-driven personalization—adapting rewards based on user behaviors. My findings help businesses understand how AI should balance extrinsic rewards (e.g., points, cash prizes) with intrinsic motivation (e.g., habit formation, financial literacy).

Have you collaborated with industry partners or other institutions in your research? If so, how has that shaped your findings?

Yes, I’ve worked with Flourish Fi, a fintech company specializing in gamified financial wellness solutions. Flourish Fi provided access to real-world banking data, enabling me to conduct empirical analyses at scale. Conversations with their data science and product teams helped refine hypotheses about why users engage with financial incentives and which game mechanics are most effective. This collaboration was instrumental in grounding my research in practical applications, making the findings directly relevant to financial institutions looking to implement or refine their gamification strategies.

What is one surprising or unexpected finding from your research?

A key surprising finding was that raffles seem more effective in sustaining engagement than prize wheels, even when users did not win a prize. Why is this surprising? Conventional thinking suggests that immediate rewards (prize wheels) drive more engagement than delayed rewards (raffles). However, we found that participating in raffles, even without winning, kept users engaged for longer than frequent, smaller prize-wheel spins. This suggests that uncertainty resolution timing matters—delayed rewards create a longer anticipation period, fostering repeated engagement. However, these results weren’t causal. 

Have you worked with companies, policymakers, or organizations to apply your research findings?

Yes, I’ve presented my results to Flourish, and to the Latin American Bank that chose to remain anonymous. Moreover, my article was the basis of an invitation by the Filene Institute to write an article, and host a workshop, on how credit unions can ethically employ gamification. 

What are some practical implications of your work that professionals or businesses can use?

For financial institutions: 1) Gamification should be designed for long-term engagement, not just short-term spikes in activity, 2) Delayed rewards (e.g., raffles) can sustain engagement longer than instant rewards (e.g., prize wheels).