When logistics is fun! An investigation into the impacts of gamification on consumer participation in green last-mile logistics

Purpose The rapid expansion of e-commerce and omnichannel retailing has intensified the demand for last-mile logistics. However, this growth has also led to serious environmental concerns, particularly at the consumer-facing end of the logistics process. To address this issue, the present study examines consumer participation in green last-mile logistics, integrating perspectives from logistics research and gamification theory. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts the “affordances–psychological outcomes–behavioural outcomes” framework to propose a theoretical model incorporating gamification affordances, hedonic value, environmental attitude and behaviour intention. A survey was administered to 401 participants, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings The findings show that both competition and self-expression affordances influence consumers’ green last-mile behaviour intentions, primarily via the mediating roles of hedonic value and environmental attitude. While self-expression affordance shows significant effects across all pathways, competition affordance does not have a direct or indirect effect on environmental attitude. Originality/value By integrating gamification and hedonic concepts into last-mile logistics research, this study offers new insights into consumer participation in green logistics practices. Future research could extend these findings to broader logistics operations and green initiatives.