AN EXPERIMENT ON CONSUMERS’ PERCEIVED FAIRNESS OF GAMIFIED INCENTIVES TOWARD ONESELF AND OTHERS

With the growing use of gamification and gamblification in e-commerce platforms, marketing techniques have been designed to engage consumers through interactive and game-like experiences offering rewards and discounts. However, such as gamified ways of acquiring benefits raise concerns among consumers about fairness. This study investigates how consumers perceive the fairness of different kinds of gamified discount scheme designs. We collected data (N=735) in six conditions in a 3×2 between subject design: social dynamic (1: singleplayer, multiplayer (2: collaboration, 3: competition)) × agency (1: agency 2: no-agency). Results show that singleplayer design fostered higher perceived fairness compared to multiplayer conditions, and collaboration respectively compared to competitive design. Although no main effects were observed for agency on fairness, there was a positive interaction effect between agency and competition on fairness. This finding also highlights the importance of considering perceptions of others’ discounts and demonstrates that collaboration fosters stronger fairness perceptions than competition.