Ethical Considerations in Gamified Interactive Marketing Praxis

Abstract

Gamification with various designs is becoming a mainstay of interactive marketing, used to pervasively and holistically to in value-creating marketing practices. Beyond marketing, gamification is commonly seen as a technology, the effects of which are benevolent and which is often employed for sustainable ends such as the improvement of wellbeing, health, and sustainable work. However, as gamification commonly, either more or less directly, is related to attempts at affecting customers’ psychological states and continued engagement, a critical reflection of the ethical ramifications of gamification is crucial. Hazards such as manipulation, exploitation, psychological distress, and conflicts with cultural norms are considered as potential challenges that should be observed. Nevertheless, there is a current lack of examination of gamification’s ethical implications in the marketing context. In this chapter, the authors explore the ethical concerns related to using gamification as an interactive marketing tool, and examine how consumers shape their ethical judgement towards gamification. The authors also suggest various ways to help marketers, designers, and policymakers to minimize the unethical consequences of gamification, and ensure that companies will use gamification to compete both ethically and responsibly.

Editorial – What is an interactive marketing perspective and what are emerging research areas?

“…Co-creation with AI, for instance, faces the issue of how to assess the ethicality of AI and ownership of the intellectual property. The hyper connections may also cause unethical or uncivil behaviors in interactive marketing applications, including gamification, addictive buying behavior, irrational and impulsive consumption (Al-Msallam et al , 2023; Bhutani and Behl, 2023; Dineva, 2023). As multilateral interdependence is a characteristic that sets the digital business ecosystem apart from hierarchical organizations, researchers should focus on the ethical rules and design features through which the ecosystem practice that coordinates to build ecosystem social responsibility.…”

On the Successful Use of Gamification Techniques; Maintaining Professionalism and High-Quality Education While Incorporating Game Design Elements

“…Gamification can sometimes have unintended consequences, such as encouraging unethical behavior or promoting negative competition. This is an active topic of research, as there are numerous ways in which the incorporation of gamification has led to major issues [30]. Examples of this include psychological distress, exploitation of the game elements, privacy-related issues, and lack of performance.…”