Level Up the Loyalty: The Relationship Between User Types and Personalized Gamification of Loyalty Programs.

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the relationship between HEXAD user types and the application of personalized gamification in loyalty programs (LPs) based on Self-Determination Theory. First, the study seeks to examine whether certain user types perceive certain sets of game elements in a LP context regarding their likelihood of using the LP. Second, the study aspires to investigate whether the user types prefer the sets of game elements which match their characteristics according to Self-Determination Theory. Third, the study aims to explore whether the most favoured set of game elements of each user types is aligned with the objectives of designing a LP.

The study adopted the quantitative approach by designing a self-administered questionnaire for the collection of primary data from convenient sample. A range of empirical tests were utilized, for example, frequencies to present general information of the sample, reliability analyses to examine the consistency of scales, crosstabs for different categorical variables and one-way ANNOVAs to answer the research questions.

The findings show that the preference of user types towards different game elements does not draw any obvious distinction. However, there are some expected tendencies according to the Self-Determination Theory concerning the most preferred set of game elements of each user types. Achievement-related game elements (points, levels, leader boards) are the common choice, possibly due to their prominent visibility in a LP context. Nevertheless, the favouritism towards immersion-related or social-interaction-related game elements of types including Disruptors and Socialisers, and the less impactful of points, levels and leader boards on strong customer-brand relationship, places emphasis on leveraging the personalized experience of LPs.