Exploring the influence of common game elements on ideation output and motivation

Despite the widespread and increased usage of idea contests and, within these, gamification elements, scarce data exist on the effects of utilizing gamification elements to increase performance and motivation in idea contests. We therefore investigate the incentive effect of gamification elements on the output of online idea contests in a field experiment with 446 individuals across five treatment groups. Our results show that game elements can increase quantitative performance but not the motivation of participants or the quality of ideas. Additionally, we do not report a crowding-out effect. We therefore conclude that gamification is suited to improving the performance of effortless tasks, such as commenting, but it should not be the main driver behind improved idea quantity or quality levels. The results are in line with recent findings in the psychology literature suggesting that external incentives positively influence quantity but have less influence on the quality of performance.