Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study motivational effects and age differences of gamification in product advertising. Game-elements can easily be embedded within product advertisements, but little is known about the success factors of this technology. We investigated which motivational incentives of game designs influence the purchase intentions of consumers. The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) was expected to explain purchase intentions for non-gamified sports products, whereas the modified technology acceptance model (Herzig et al., 2012) was expected to predict purchase intentions of gamified sports products. Design/methodology/approach – Participants were 101 consumers who performed sports on a regular basis. Age and prior experience with digital games were assumed to influence the effectiveness of gamification. Findings – Purchase intentions of conventional products were predicted by attitudes, subjective norm and perceived control, whereas purchase intentions of gamified products were predicted by attitudes and the perceived usefulness. Enjoyment and flow were significant mediators between motivational incentives and purchase intentions. Consumers with prior gaming experience had higher purchase intentions for gamified products. Practical implications – Gamify products for younger target groups with gaming experience; use intrinsic and extrinsic motivational incentives; focus on enjoyment, flow and the perceived usefulness. Social implications – Game-elements in sports advertisements might also be suitable for public health campaigns. They may motivate people be more physically active and lead a healthier lifestyle. Originality/value – This study specifies predictors for purchase intentions of gamified products and emphasizes the importance of flow and enjoyment as mediators. Age differences indicate that young consumers had higher intentions to purchase the gamified product, judged it as more useful and perceived more flow and enjoyment than the older age group.

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This study examined how competition within teams influences which type of achievement goals employees adopt. We studied how dispositional learning-goal and performance-goal orientation interact with team-level competition and predict whether team members adopt state learning or performance achievement goals. State achievement goals, in turn, were proximal antecedents of two outcome measures: job-related self-efficacy and supervisory ratings of job performance. The participants were 502 employees and 55 supervisors. Results confirmed that competition was positively associated with state performance goals. Trait performance-goal orientation influenced whether competition was negatively associated with state learning goals. In highly competitive teams, trait performance-goal orientation was negatively related to state learning goals, whereas in less competitive teams, a performance-goal orientation was positively related to state learning goals.In educational settings, and in sport psychology, numerous studies have been conducted on the relative effects that competition and cooperation have on achievement in groups (

a b s t r a c tThis study examined the co-activation of cooperation versus competition goals with regulatory focus, and tested whether the combined effects on creativity are interactive or additive. An experiment with 192 adults showed two main effects, such that participants with a cooperation goal and a promotion focus (i.e., focus on ideals) demonstrated the highest levels of originality of ideas, whereas the combination of a competition goal and a prevention focus (i.e., focus on duties) led to the lowest originality. These findings indicate that the two motivational constructs have additive effects which lead to the highest originality if a promotion focus and a cooperation goal are co-activated, whereas a prevention focus and a competition goal may diminish originality. In conclusion, the concurrent activation of multiple motivational constructs should be considered when investigating the situational effects of cooperative/competitive settings on creativity.

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