Gig work has transformed the work culture, globally. It’s sprawl, and popularity has also attracted excellent talent to join the gig workforce, most of which are online. While it has unfolded new avenues to showcase talent, its management irregularities have resulted in more significant dropouts. The study addresses a key research gap investigating the dropouts of gig workers on digital earning platforms by the moderating impact of gamified interventions on online platforms. We have based our arguments and derived our hypotheses based on social exchange theory and self-determination theory. A total of 367 responses were collected from white-collar gig workers who have completed tasks on one or more gig platforms in the past two years. We test our hypotheses using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results confirm that gamifying the online platform would enhance job satisfaction and productivity of gig employees, reducing the chances of quitting gig work. It is further observed that in the case of gig workers, high-performance work systems have a non-significant effect on the intentions to quit. The results contribute to the redesigning of online gig platforms with a layer of gamified artifacts to increase gig workers' retention.

Purpose Brands today operate in a dynamic business environment, which often requires them to take courageous actions, from taking a stand on controversial issues to responding to changing market needs. However, these actions are not merely strategic but also represent a unique aspect of the brands’ identity, which includes holding up to their core values and being resilient to social pressure. To better understand this positive virtue, the current study introduces the concept of brand bravery – a novel brand archetype that emulates the brand’s distinct identity. This study aims to conceptualize brand bravery and develop a psychometrically sound scale to measure it and investigate its relationship with positive brand relationship outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Two qualitative studies were conducted to identify the dimensions of perceived brand bravery. Three empirical studies develop and validate the proposed measurement scale and confirm the construct’s nomological validity by proposing a framework that explains the outcomes of perceived brand bravery. Findings Results from multiple studies support a seven-factor second-order reflective scale of perceived brand bravery, with dimensions altruism, bold, courageous, determined, enduring, fearless and gritty. The construct of brand bravery is found discriminant from other conceptually distinct but related brand attributes. Nomological validity tests further suggest that perceived brand bravery leads to positive consumer-related outcomes such as brand advocacy behaviors, positive attitude and consumer brand identification. Practical implications Brand bravery provides a vital roadmap to marketers who have sought to create a leading brand that can stay relevant in times of disruption. The multi-factor scale can help managers track, which dimension of the brand bravery scale is more relevant for shaping overall bravery perception. Originality/value The study introduces a novel brand attribute that has not been previously discussed beyond social and moral psychology literature. It conceptualizes brand bravery that will strengthen the understanding of this specific brand characteristic and provides a practical scale to measure brand bravery.

Crowdsourcing platforms have gained importance in recent times, and their success is dependent mainly on the participation of the crowd. Participation is a function of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Moreover, with the growing scale of information, the participants would need to focus on the quality of information to achieve sustainable participation. Our study uses game elements and information quality grounded in Motivational Affordance Perspective (MAP) to study the intrinsic and extrinsic participation on a crowdsourcing platform. We collected responses from 337 participants who are actively contributing to any crowdsourcing platform. Warp PLS uses partial least square structured equation modeling. The results confirm that the use of game elements positively promotes the participant’s intrinsic and extrinsic participation. We also confirmed that motivation is also positively moderated by the quality of information that the crowdsourcing platform shares with the participants. The results help in extending the theoretical arguments of MAP and self-determination theory.

Purpose The emergence of mHealth applications has led to the rise of health-based services delivered over smartphones. Younger people are often found to be more innovative toward technology, especially related to smartphones (Rai et al., 2013). Most mHealth application downloaders are continually shifting between applications because of the hyper-competition making achieving loyal consumers challenging (Racherla et al., 2012). The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants that help increase young consumers mHealth application loyalty. This study integrates self-determination theory (SDT), gamification elements and engagement to examine loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A valid sample of 263 college student’s data was obtained for data analysis from a survey conducted in multiple campuses of the Delhi University in India. Findings The three psychological needs: need for autonomy, need for competence and need for relatedness, showed a positive impact on intrinsic motivation. From the gamification factors; perceived playfulness, the level of challenge and social interaction, only the first two showed a positive impact on extrinsic motivation. Both motivation factors influence engagement, showing a frequent interaction with the application, leading to loyalty. Originality/value Previous studies examined the adoption of mHealth services, this study is one of the first to examine young consumers’ loyalty in using mhealth apps. It sheds light on the existing literature and contributes to research on mHealth applications by determining the factors that lead to loyalty by the young consumers.

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