Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) (2025) AI Processed Human Approved
Gamification for Community Building:Click to Shake Hands
This short paper proposes a conceptual research model to investigate the factors influencing the adoption and sustained usage of gamified location-based applications for community building. The framework integrates ten core factors across technology characteristics, gamification elements, and social dimensions to explain user engagement. The authors present a quantitative research methodology involving a survey of active Pokémon GO players to empirically test and validate eleven proposed hypotheses.
Problem
While gamification and location-based games like Pokémon GO have achieved widespread popularity, existing research primarily focuses on short-term individual user behavior or educational outcomes. Little is understood about the long-term sociopsychological mechanisms and 'stickiness' factors that enable location-based games to foster sustainable, real-world community engagement and social bonds.
Outcome
- Formulates a novel theoretical framework connecting technology adoption, gamification mechanics, external social influences, and intrinsic motivations to app stickiness and community engagement.
- Identifies key drivers such as location incentives, perceived ease of use, reward value, achievement, network influence, herd behavior, social motive, and sense of belonging.
- Establishes an empirical research design targeting over 1,000 active Pokémon GO players using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
- Provides preliminary theoretical grounding for designing mobile gamified systems that promote social sustainability and persistent physical-world social interactions.
- Identifies key drivers such as location incentives, perceived ease of use, reward value, achievement, network influence, herd behavior, social motive, and sense of belonging.
- Establishes an empirical research design targeting over 1,000 active Pokémon GO players using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
- Provides preliminary theoretical grounding for designing mobile gamified systems that promote social sustainability and persistent physical-world social interactions.
What it means for you
- CIO / IT Executive: On Monday morning, allocate budget to pilot a location-based gamified application in one of our company's facilities, specifically focusing on fostering cross-departmental collaboration by integrating 'location incentives' for shared project spaces.
- IT Manager: On Monday morning, schedule a meeting with your development team to discuss how to integrate elements like 'reward value' and 'achievement' into our existing internal communication platform to encourage more active participation and knowledge sharing.
- Business Strategist: On Monday morning, initiate a brainstorming session with your marketing and product teams to identify opportunities to leverage 'network influence' and 'herd behavior' in upcoming product launches or community outreach initiatives, perhaps by creating exclusive early-access groups.
- Researcher: On Monday morning, refine the survey instrument to include questions specifically measuring 'sense of belonging' and 'social motive' as distinct constructs, and prepare to recruit participants from diverse community groups for your next study.
- Policymaker: On Monday morning, direct your staff to research successful public policy initiatives that have used location-based incentives or gamification to encourage citizen engagement with local services or community events, and identify potential applications for our jurisdiction.
Transcript
Host: Welcome back to A.I.S. Insights, powered by Living Knowledge. I am your host, Anna Ivy Summers, and today we are looking into a fascinating study titled "Gamification for Community Building: Click to Shake Hands." This research explores how mobile apps using location-based gamification—think games like Pokémon GO—can build vibrant, lasting real-world communities. Joining me to unpack this is our analyst, Alex Ian Sutherland. Alex, welcome.
Expert: Thanks, Anna. It is great to be here. This study looks at something truly timely: how digital experiences can move beyond individual screen time to foster real-world social connection and community resilience.
Host: Gamification is everywhere these days—from fitness trackers rewarding us with digital badges to coffee shop apps earning us free drinks. But what is the big problem this study is trying to address?
Expert: Well, while gamification is widely used across education, retail, and entertainment, most existing research focuses on short-term, individual behaviors. We know how to get someone to click a button or earn a quick badge, but we know very little about how to sustain user engagement over time—what researchers call "stickiness." More importantly, there is a real theoretical gap in understanding how location-based services can create sustainable, real-world community bonds rather than just momentary interactions.
Host: That makes a lot of sense. Getting someone to open an app once is easy, but keeping them engaged and connected to others in their local physical area is much harder. How did the researchers approach this challenge?
Expert: The authors built a conceptual research model that connects ten factors across three core dimensions: Technology Characteristics, Gamification Mechanics, and Social Aspects. To test and validate this model, they designed a quantitative study targeting over 1,000 active adult Pokémon GO players through online gaming communities like TheSilphRoad on Reddit and Discord. They are using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, or PLS-SEM, to measure how these factors drive both app stickiness and community engagement.
Host: Walk us through those core dimensions. What are the specific drivers the study identifies?
Expert: Sure. First, in Technology Characteristics, we have Perceived Ease of Use and Location Incentives—the real-world or in-game perks you get for physically moving around. Second, in Gamification, the model highlights Reward Value and Achievement. These tap into our innate need for competence and goal fulfillment.
Host: And what about the social side? That seems crucial for community building.
Expert: Absolutely. The social dimension is split into external influences and intrinsic motivations. Externally, Network Influence and Herd Behavior encourage people to join in when they see peers participating. Intrinsically, Social Motive—the desire to connect—and a Sense of Belonging turn basic app usage into a shared community experience. All of these drivers build app stickiness, which directly leads to active community engagement.
Host: Why does this matter so much for business leaders and technology strategists? What are the key takeaways here?
Expert: For businesses, customer retention and brand loyalty are the holy grail. Acquiring users is expensive, but keeping them—making an app "sticky"—is where long-term value is created. This study shows that location-based gamification is not just a gimmick for entertainment. It offers a blueprint for retail, urban planning, event management, and local services to build real-world ecosystems around their brand. By satisfying users' intrinsic social needs and providing meaningful location-based incentives, companies can turn passive users into active, loyal community advocates.
Host: That is a powerful shift—moving from transactional user interactions to social sustainability and physical community building. Alex, thank you for breaking down this study for us today.
Expert: My pleasure, Anna.
Host: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. Be sure to join us next time as we continue unpacking cutting-edge research for business leaders. Until then, stay curious.
Expert: Thanks, Anna. It is great to be here. This study looks at something truly timely: how digital experiences can move beyond individual screen time to foster real-world social connection and community resilience.
Host: Gamification is everywhere these days—from fitness trackers rewarding us with digital badges to coffee shop apps earning us free drinks. But what is the big problem this study is trying to address?
Expert: Well, while gamification is widely used across education, retail, and entertainment, most existing research focuses on short-term, individual behaviors. We know how to get someone to click a button or earn a quick badge, but we know very little about how to sustain user engagement over time—what researchers call "stickiness." More importantly, there is a real theoretical gap in understanding how location-based services can create sustainable, real-world community bonds rather than just momentary interactions.
Host: That makes a lot of sense. Getting someone to open an app once is easy, but keeping them engaged and connected to others in their local physical area is much harder. How did the researchers approach this challenge?
Expert: The authors built a conceptual research model that connects ten factors across three core dimensions: Technology Characteristics, Gamification Mechanics, and Social Aspects. To test and validate this model, they designed a quantitative study targeting over 1,000 active adult Pokémon GO players through online gaming communities like TheSilphRoad on Reddit and Discord. They are using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, or PLS-SEM, to measure how these factors drive both app stickiness and community engagement.
Host: Walk us through those core dimensions. What are the specific drivers the study identifies?
Expert: Sure. First, in Technology Characteristics, we have Perceived Ease of Use and Location Incentives—the real-world or in-game perks you get for physically moving around. Second, in Gamification, the model highlights Reward Value and Achievement. These tap into our innate need for competence and goal fulfillment.
Host: And what about the social side? That seems crucial for community building.
Expert: Absolutely. The social dimension is split into external influences and intrinsic motivations. Externally, Network Influence and Herd Behavior encourage people to join in when they see peers participating. Intrinsically, Social Motive—the desire to connect—and a Sense of Belonging turn basic app usage into a shared community experience. All of these drivers build app stickiness, which directly leads to active community engagement.
Host: Why does this matter so much for business leaders and technology strategists? What are the key takeaways here?
Expert: For businesses, customer retention and brand loyalty are the holy grail. Acquiring users is expensive, but keeping them—making an app "sticky"—is where long-term value is created. This study shows that location-based gamification is not just a gimmick for entertainment. It offers a blueprint for retail, urban planning, event management, and local services to build real-world ecosystems around their brand. By satisfying users' intrinsic social needs and providing meaningful location-based incentives, companies can turn passive users into active, loyal community advocates.
Host: That is a powerful shift—moving from transactional user interactions to social sustainability and physical community building. Alex, thank you for breaking down this study for us today.
Expert: My pleasure, Anna.
Host: And thank you to our listeners for tuning in to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. Be sure to join us next time as we continue unpacking cutting-edge research for business leaders. Until then, stay curious.