ORCID

0009-0006-5039-5313

Keywords

gamification, customer loyalty, justice theory, customer engagement value, procedural rhetoric

Abstract

Business organizations use customer loyalty programs as marketing tools by providing incentives for consumer behaviors, which generate customer engagement value for the business. Customer loyalty programs typically use game mechanics common to digital gaming in order to motivate behavior, often referred to as gamification. While studies of gamified programs used for education and training purposes appear frequently in the literature, a gap exists in exploring gamified programs used in a marketing context. This dissertation seeks to understand how consumers view the use of gamified customer loyalty programs as fair under the frameworks of justice. This exploratory study employed a mixed methods approach, beginning with a content analysis of a sample of customer loyalty programs to create a categorization of gamified customer loyalty programs based upon the stated goals of the company sponsoring the program and the use of specific game mechanics by the program to motivate consumer behavior rhetorically. Results of the content analysis informed a survey seeking consumer perspectives on the use of specific game mechanics and questions of digital ethics including privacy, transparency, digital literacy, and potential for harm. Results of the study suggest no presumption of unfairness exists among consumers in the use of gamified customer loyalty programs to motivate their behavior. However, the findings did highlight areas of concern for future research, notably issues related to conceptual and procedural literacy among consumers in their understanding of program rules and embedded procedural rhetoric. The study also highlighted a need for further research regarding the impact of the imbalanced power structure between businesses and consumers in the use of levels of status as a game mechanic, specifically within the partnerships between travel and financial services industries’ customer loyalty programs.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Beever, Jonathan

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Texts and Technology

Format

PDF

Identifier

DP0029584

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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