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2025/2026  BA-BSEMO2582U  Gamification

English Title
Gamification

Course information

Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Start time of the course Second Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for Service and Markets
Course coordinator
  • Søren Henning Jensen - Department of Business Humanities and Law (BHL)
Main academic disciplines
  • Information technology
  • Marketing
  • Organisational behaviour
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 26-06-2025

Relevant links

Learning objectives
After completing this course, students should be able to:
  • • Select and apply relevant theories and models to analyze Gamification in Service Management in service management.
  • • Demonstrate an understanding of gamification in relation to digital services.
  • • Analyze the impact of coding on digital service management, including flexibility, competition, and security.
  • • Identify historical developments and recent trends in coding for digital services.
Examination
Gamification:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Duration 20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Preparation time No preparation
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

Exam description:

The exam is an oral examination covering the topics and texts we have dealt with during the course. Students will pick a topic and start the examination presenting and discussing the topic. The topics will be well-known by the students prior to the exam. Then we discuss the course and course texts more generally, relating them to cases and examples from practice.

 

To prepare for the exam, we suggest you review the texts, slides and videos from the course to get a full overview of all themes and topics. We encourage you to read up on current events. What is happening in the world economy that is relevant for the exam? This will provide you with a rich empirical insight that is useful outside the exam.

Course content, structure and pedagogical approach
  • Course Content, Structure, and Pedagogical Approach:

This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of gamification as a concept in digital services that is getting increasingly taken up by public and private organizations. Gamification is the process of applying game design elements and principles in non-game contexts to engage, motivate, and drive desired behaviors. It leverages the psychological drivers that make games engaging—such as challenge, reward, competition, and progression—to enhance user experience and facilitate learning, productivity, or behavior change in various settings.

Gamification range from various loyalty programs to actual games constructed to support or create a certain type of of behaviour in users or consumers. The course will look into the theories and practices for gamification to provide a better understanding of both the potential and limitations of gamification in service management with particular emphasis on managing digital services.

 

The course will cover:

  • Gamification as a concept and practice for organizations, such as employee or user engagement, encouraging customer loyalty.
  • How to use gamification for driving user interaction on digital platforms including social media.
  • Gamification as a tool in service management

 

By the end of the course, students will:

  • Develop an awareness of the main tools and techniques related to gamification
  • Learn how gamification can be used managing in digital services.
  • Apply theories and frameworks to analyze gamification in service management.
Research-based teaching
CBS’ programmes and teaching are research-based. The following types of research-based knowledge and research-like activities are included in this course:
Research-based knowledge
  • Classic and basic theory
  • New theory
  • Models
Research-like activities
  • Discussion, critical reflection, modelling
  • Activities that contribute to new or existing research projects
Description of the teaching methods
Teaching Methods:
The course includes lectures, case discussions, presentations, exercises, and pre-recorded videos.
• Lectures will cover relevant theories and models as well as cases and examples to illustrate them.
• Exercises will focus on discussions, case studies, and examples of gamification in service management.
• Students will work in groups to analyze and discuss gamification case studies and receive feedback.
• Pre-recorded videos will help explain and conceptualize specific concepts and theories.
• Group activities will encourage participation and real-world problem-solving.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback During the Teaching Period:
Students will receive feedback in multiple ways:
• During lectures, through interaction with the teacher.
• During exercises in the form of general feedback during discussions.
• From case presentation feedback during exercises.
• From other students as peer-to-peer feedback.
Student workload
Regular class sessions 38 hours
Readings (approx. 550 pages of literature): 127 hours 127 hours
Other preparation prior to class: 20 hours 20 hours
Preparation for and participation in the exam 30 hours
Expected literature
  • Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2016). Does gamification work? A meta-analysis of empirical studies on gamification. Journal of Business Research, 69(4), 1521–1527.
  • Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2015). From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining gamification. MIS Quarterly, 39(1), 137–154.
  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 72(1), 43–54.
  • Seaborn, K., & Fels, D. I. (2015). Gamification in theory and action: A survey. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 74, 14–31.
  • Hofacker, C. F., de Ruyter, K., Lurie, N. H., Manchanda, P., & Donaldson, J. (2016). Gamification and mobile marketing effectiveness. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 34, 25–36.
  • Huotari, K., & Hamari, J. (2017). A definition for gamification: Anchoring gamification in the service marketing literature. European Journal of Marketing, 51(1), 29–47.
  • Leclercq, T., Hammedi, W., & Poncin, I. (2018). The boundaries of gamification for engaging customers: Effects of losing a contest in online co-creation communities. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(5-6), 478–502.
  • Koivisto, J., & Hamari, J. (2019). The rise of motivational information systems: A review of gamification research. International Journal of Information Management, 45, 191–210.
  • Article 9: Suh, A., Cheung, C. M., Ahuja, M., & Wagner, C. (2017). Gamification in the workplace: The central role of the aesthetic experience. Journal of Management Information Systems, 34(1), 268–305.
  • Oprescu, F., Jones, C., & Katsikitis, M. (2016). I play at work: A study of gamification and its effect on employee engagement. Journal of Service Management, 27(4), 548–568.
  • Morschheuser, B., Hamari, J., & Koivisto, J. (2017). Gamified crowdsourcing: Conceptualization, literature review, and future agenda. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 106, 26–43.
  • Nicholson, S. (2015). A RECIPE for meaningful gamification: Relevance, engagement, and choice in interactive systems. Information Systems Journal, 25(4), 347–368.
  • Article 13: Wirtz, B. W., Göttel, V., & Daiser, P. (2017). Gamification and service management: A meta-analysis of the state of research. Journal of Service Management, 28(2), 225–249.
  • Article 15: Kim, T. W., & Werbach, K. (2016). More than just a game: Ethical issues in gamification. Ethics and Information Technology, 18(2), 157–173.
  • Hyrynsalmi, S., Smed, J., & Kimppa, K. K. (2017). The dark side of gamification: How we should stop worrying and study also the negative impacts of bringing game design elements to everywhere. Computers in Human Behavior, 75, 670–678.
  • Article 17: Xi, N., & Hamari, J. (2020). Does gamification affect brand engagement and equity? A study in online brand communities. Journal of Business Research, 109, 449–460.
  • Robson, K., Plangger, K., Kietzmann, J. H., McCarthy, I., & Pitt, L. (2016). Game on: Engaging customers and employees through gamification. Business Horizons, 59(1), 29–36.
  • Landers, R. N., Auer, E. M., Collmus, A. B., & Armstrong, M. B. (2018). Gamification science, its history and future: Definitions and a research agenda. Simulation & Gaming, 49(3), 315–337.
Last updated on 26-06-2025