This document outlines the proposed methodology for a PhD study examining the use of gamification as a relationship marketing tool in 5-star hotels. The study aims to identify user motivations for playing games and understand what constitutes "fun" for different types of users. It will examine how these motivations relate to intentions to use hotel gamification applications and influence customer loyalty. A mixed methods approach is proposed using interviews to understand user perspectives, followed by a questionnaire to test relationships between variables. The implications include further defining fun and enjoyment in this context, understanding motivations for using hotel apps, and identifying how gamification can boost customer loyalty for hotel chains.

1. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 1
Using Gamification as a Relationship
Marketing tool in order to retain
customers in 5* hotels
Demos Parapanos
University of Derby, UK
Demos.parapanos@gmail.com
http://www.derby.ac.uk/

2. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 2
Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Problem Definition
• Aim and objectives
• Literature Review
• Conceptual Development
• Proposed Methodology
• Theoretical and Practical implications
• Conclusion
• References

3. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 3
Introduction
Games
• A game is a system in which players engage in an abstract challenge, defined
by rules, interactivity, and feedback, that results in a quantifiable outcome
often eliciting an emotional reaction (Koster, 2004).
Serious Games
• Serious games are complete games with serious intentions and designed
accordingly whereas in gamified application only certain elements from
games are used (Muntean, 2012; Garcia et al, 2016).
Gamification
• Gamification can be defined in two ways: (1) the use of game elements in
non-game contexts (Deterding et al., 2011) or as (2) a process of providing
affordances for gameful experiences which support the customers’ overall
value creation (Huotari and Hamari, 2012)

4. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 4
Introduction
Gamification and Hospitality
• As digital games are fun, engaging, and popular, many organizations such as
schools, military units, companies and health-care organizations, are using
game mechanics to engage online customers (Dickey 2005; Stapleton 2004)
and considering that hospitality industry is trying to survive the high
competition (Tesone, 2008) it should follow the same pattern.
• Hyper competitive global economy has intensified the importance of
identifying further factors that will provide brands with long-term
competitive advantages (Kandampully and Hu, 2007). Despite the fact hotel’s
image is believed to play an important role on a customer’s decision making
(Kandampully and Hu, 2007).

5. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 5
Problem Definition
• The concept of Gamification is grounded within the relationship marketing
literature as it brings together elements of customer engagement (Kiezel and
Wiechoczek, 2014; Xu, Weber and Buhalis, 2013), brand awareness
(Cavusoglu, et al., 2012; Muntean, 2016) and loyalty (Hamari, 2013; Xu,
Weber and Buhalis, 2013; Muntean, 2016). As a relatively new concept (Xu,
Weber and Buhalis, 2013) it has been so far been examined from an
operational standpoint, underlying the need for a critical conceptualisation
with view for strategic implementation (Negrusa, et al., 2015). While
hospitality has been one of the industries that have been keen to adopt and
use various technologies, the proliferation of Gamification application is still
to materialise (Negrusa, et al., 2015).

6. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 6
Aim
The aim of this study is to identify users’ motivations for playing games
and understand what fun means for different typologies of users
(with a particular focus on hotel gamified applications). These
motives will then be examined in terms of their potential contribution
towards intention to use hotel gamified applications. By doing so, it
will be possible to identify which game mechanics are more
appropriate and appealing to different types of users, in order to
improve customer loyalty in the context of 5* hotel chains.

7. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 7
Objectives
• To identify the motivations of users to play games
• To understand what fun means for different users
• To identify the motivations of users to use a hotels gamified application
• Investigate which variables can affect Intention to Use hotel gamified
application
• Investigate how intention to use a hotel gamified application can affect the
intention to return variable
• Investigate which game mechanic is more appropriate for each gamer user in
order to create customer loyalty

8. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 8
Literature Review - Gamification
• The most popular definition of Gamification is the use of game design
elements in a non-game context (Garcia et al. 2016; Kirsh, 2014; Deterting,
2011; Swan, 2012; Kinver, 2013; Van Grove, 2011).
• Gamification is a major trend for the coming years in tourism (WTM, 2011).
Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick (2012), strengthen this opinion by placing
Gamification as 6th trend of the future in marketing and mobile marketing as
10th. This research aims to combine the two trends in benefit of hospitality
industry.
• Gamification has been applied with several objectives, ranging from
increasing brand awareness to encouraging consumer engagement (Garcia,
A., et al, 2016).

9. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 9
Literature Review – Gamification
and Hospitality
• Gamifying an experience, tends to attract more customers, inform customers
about new products or services, higher level of brand engagement and
increased brand awareness (Sanghi, 2016).
• The Holmenkollen Ski Jump by Visit Norway, Geneva’s gamified campaign and
Stockholm Sounds are examples of how gamifying experiences can help
raising awareness, use brand development purposes and creates truly
immersive and digitally enhanced tourist experiences (Weber, 2014).

10. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 10
Literature Review – Gamification as
a Relationship Marketing tool
• Relationship marketing is not new, though majority of companies have not
comprehended its fundamental ideas such as to create a company-customer
relationship not built on factors like good prices, but also on emotions; feeling
of being treated as special customer, knowledge of getting better deals and
trust being built up on successful projects (Butscer, 2002).
• Zicherman and Linder (2010), argued that games are about pleasure and
pleasure is the new marketing (an extreme dimension of marketing).
• A hotel gamified application could be used as marketing strategy based on
company-customer relationship as it can create a relationship between the
customer and the company out of the gameplay form and the game
mechanics increasing memorable and enjoyable experience for hotel visitors.

11. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 11
Intention to Use Technology
Model Brief Description
Theory of Reasoned
Action (TRA)
TRA focus on theoretical constructs concerned with individual motivational factors as determinants of the
likelihood of performing a specific behaviour and assumes that the best predictor of a behaviour is
behavioural intention, which in turn is determined by attitude toward the behaviour and social normative
perceptions regarding it (Glanz et. al, 2008, p. 67). The central variable is intention to perform a behaviour
and it is the immediate determinant of the behaviour.
Technology
Acceptance Model
(TAM)
TAM theorizes that the effects of external variables (such as system characteristics, development process,
training) on intention to use are mediated by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Venkatesh and
Davis, 2000).
Motivational Model
(MM)
This model is based on a number of motivational factors, which are divided in two main categories: trait
variables, or ‘permanent’ characteristics of an individual and state variables, or more ‘transient’
characteristics (de Vicente and Pain, 2002).
Theory of Planned
Behaviour (TPB)
This theory was developed to both predict and explain behaviours of social relevance that are under a
person’s volitional control (Hayden, 2009). The central variable is intention to perform a behaviour and it is
the immediate determinant of the behaviour.
Model of PC
Utilisation (MPCU)
The extent to which an individual believes that using a technology can enhance the performance of his and
her job (Unhelkar, Ghanbary, Younessi, 2009, p. 182) focused at usage behaviour rather than intention to
use (Panagopoulos, 2010, p. 41).
Social Cognitive
Theory (SCT)
It demonstrates the job related benefits of the collaborate environment for an individual user of the
collaborative technologies (Unhelkar, Ghanbary, Younessi, 2009, p. 182).
Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use
Technology (UTAUT)
UTAUT uses eight constructs: Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Attitude towards using
technology, Social influence, Facilitating conditions, Self-efficacy, Anxiety and Behavioural intention to
use the system (Oshlyansky, Cairns and Thimbleby, 2007) in order to explain intention and use behaviour.
Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use of
Technology
(UTAUT2)
This theoretical model compromises seven main determinants of intention and use: Performance
Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value
and Habit as well as four moderating value: age, gender, voluntariness and experience (Nelson, Mathews
and Blooma, 2013, p. 386).

12. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 12
Conceptual Development
• One of the objectives of this research is to identify the motives of individuals’ when they use
a hotel gamified application. Underlying the concept of gamification is motivation as people
can be driven to do something because of internal or external motivation (Nicholson, 2012),
similarly to the way that game industry is using sophisticated psychology and neurochemistry
to determine what motivates players and keeps them coming back for more (Post, 2014).
• Even though research has been done and explained upon the motives of individuals when
they play games by Richard Bartley (1996), similar research upon the motives of individuals’
when they use gamified applications has not been done yet.
• The tourism industry is inundated with tourists who have diverse profiles and choose to
spend their time in different ways when visiting urban destinations (Kellner and Egger, 2016).
This research aims to identify what is enjoyment element for hotel visitors when they using a
gamified application, in order to understand what is the element of fun for an individual in
order to produce an effective hotel gamified application.

13. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 13
Conceptual Development
• This thesis is going to focus on the TAM model as it is the more appropriate for the purposes
of this study. This is because it is the model that predicts intention to use technology out of
the two variables of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. TAM model has been
used in order to explain the importance of perceived enjoyment as a variable affecting
intention to use of technology. Papers by Bruner II and Kumar (2005) and van de Heijden
(2003) incorporate a hedonic factor into TAM and treat it as an endogenous variable for
greater predictive power (Liao, Tsou and Shu, 2008).
• More variables have been added such as the variable of price perception, as it was assumed
to be an important variable for the purposes of the study (consumers’ intentions towards
adopting information system). The variables of subjective norm (or social influence) and
perceived risk have being added to the model (alongside perceived usefulness, perceived
ease of use and perceived enjoyment) in order to predict consumers perceptions in Online
shopping by Karasavvoglou et al. (2013). Also, variables such as perceived credibility (trust-
related construct), perceived self-efficacy (resource-related constructs) and perceived
financial resources have being added in order to measure consumers intention to use mobile
commerce in Taiwan by Lin, H-H and Wang, Y-S (2005).

14. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 14
Proposed Methodology
• Phase 1:
Identify users’ motivations for playing games and understand
what fun means for different typologies of users
The aim of the first phase of this research is to explore visitors’ opinion about a hotel gamified application, what is enjoyment for them (if any),
when they would use the application and the importance of this application to influence their decision making in the future to visit the
hotel. To do so, inductive, qualitative, semi-structured interviews will be conducted. The results of this phase, will then be used to inform
the second phase of this research.
• Phase 2:
Investigate which variables/motives affect Intention to Use hotel
gamified application and how/if they contribute to customer
loyalty
The aim of the second phase of this research is to explain which variables affect Intention to Use a Hotel gamified application as they have been
identified from the first phase of the research and explore how they influence customer loyalty in 5 star hotels. To do so, a deductive,
quantitative, questionnaire will be conducted in order to test the model as it has been developed from the phase one.

15. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 15
The aim of this study is to identify users’ motivations for playing games and understand what fun means for different typologies of
users (with a particular focus on hotel gamified applications). These motives will then be examined in terms of their potential
contribution towards intention to use hotel gamified applications. By doing so, it will be possible to identify which game mechanics
are more appropriate and appealing to different types of users, in order to improve customer loyalty in the context of 5* hotel
chains.
Mix Methods
Interpretivism
Objectives Objectives
Motivations of
users when play
games
Understand
fun for
gamers when
play games
Motivation of
users when use
Hotel Gamified
Application
Understand fun
for users when
use Hotel
Gamified
Application
Investigate which
variable affect intention
to use a Hotel Gamified
application
Investigate how intention
to use Hotel Gamified
application affects
loyalty for a 5 star chain
hotel
Investigate which
game mechanic is
more appropriate
for each profile
user for a 5 star
hotel
Semi-Structure Interviews (Use of visual material) Questionnaires
Purposive/Judgemental sampling Cluster sampling
Non-probability sampling Probability
Inductive Deductive
Qualitative Quantitative
Exploratory Explanatory
Grounded Theory Survey

16. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 16
Theoretical and Practical
implications
• Theoretical Implications
• Contribute towards the definition of fun and enjoyment.
• Contribute to the understanding of what fun is when using a hotel gamified application.
• Contribute to the understanding of variables affecting intention to use a hotel gamified application
• Contribute towards understanding the relationship between intention to use hotel gamified application and
customer loyalty (if any)
• Practical Implications
• Contribute by understanding the motives of individuals when use a hotel gamified application
• Contribute by identifying the element of fun when individuals use a hotel gamified application
• Contribute towards customer loyalty in 5 star chain hotels by using gamified applications

17. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 17
Conclusion
• As digital games are fun, engaging, and popular, many organizations such as schools, military
units, companies and health-care organizations, are using games to engage online customers
(Dickey 2005; Stapleton 2004), hospitality industry should follow that pattern. Considering
that hospitality industry (similar to other service industries) is trying to survive under
conditions of high competition (Tesone, 2008), but also an industry that always been one of
the first ones to engage new initiatives (Buhalis and Law, 2008) it becomes even more
pertinent to understand the benefits and caveat of the Gamification phenomenon.

18. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 18
References
• Negrusa, A. L., Rus, R. V., Sofica, A., Toader, V. and Tutunea, M. F. (2015) Exploring
Gamification Techniques and Applications for Sustainable Tourism, Sustainability. Vol. 7, No.
8, Pp. 11160-11189.
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30/12/2016].
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Gamification in a utilitarian peer-to-peer trading service, Electronic Commerce Research and
Applications. Vol. 12, Pp. 236-245.
• Unhelkar, B., Ghanbary, A. and Younessi, H. (2009) Collaborative Business Process
Engineering and Global Organizations: Frameworks for Service Integration. New York: IGI
Global.

19. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 19
References
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http://icvl.eu/2011/disc/icvl/documente/pdf/met/ICVL_ModelsAndMethodologies_paper42.
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Accessed on: 30/12/2016].
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Gamefulness: Defining Gamification, MindTrek’11. Pp. 28-30.
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20. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 20
References
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21. ENTER 2017 PhD workshop Slide Number 21
References
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