{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T07:49:14Z","timestamp":1782460154503,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information Systems Research"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Practice- and Policy-oriented Abstract<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Gamification systems such as badge rewards are widely used to encourage user engagement, yet their effectiveness depends heavily on design. This study investigates how badge volume, variety, and valence\u2014the 3Vs\u2014influence knowledge sharing on platforms such as Stack Overflow. Using a structural hidden Markov model with a copula correction for endogeneity, we uncover that badge volume and valence significantly increase both the quantity and quality of user contributions, particularly among inactive and experienced users. However, excessive variety in badge types reduces long-term engagement, suggesting that diversification may dilute motivational focus. Counterfactual simulations reveal that reducing the difficulty of earning answer badges (\u201cvolumizing\u201d) enhances contributions, whereas altering the rarity of high-valence badges (e.g., gold) often backfires. These insights highlight the importance of aligning gamification mechanics with user psychology and engagement trajectories. Practically, platforms can personalize badge offerings, offering easy wins for newcomers and prestige rewards for experienced users. Aligning badge incentives with content goals (e.g., Python questions) and visually showcasing rare badge collections can further deepen engagement. Our findings offer actionable guidance for platform designers to refine gamification systems that balance challenge, recognition, and motivation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2023.0091","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,28]],"date-time":"2025-07-28T14:09:25Z","timestamp":1753711765000},"page":"716-735","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Game for Brainstorm: The Impact of a Badge System on Knowledge Sharing"],"prefix":"10.1287","volume":"37","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5531-9340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lei","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Operations and Decision Technologies, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8280-1316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yifan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Business Analytics and Information Systems, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2480-480X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi-Jen (Ian)","family":"Ho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Freeman School of Business, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"109","reference":[{"key":"B1","unstructured":"Allen FE (2011) Disneyland uses \u201celectronic whip\u201d on employees.\n                      Forbes\n                      (October 21), https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/frederickallen\/2011\/10\/21\/disneyland-uses-electronic-whip-on-employees\/."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2021.1081"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cavusoglu H, Li Z, Huang K-W (2015) Can gamification motivate voluntary contributions? The case of StackOverflow Q&A community.\n                      Proc. 18th ACM Conf. Companion Comput. Supported Cooperative Work Soc. Comput.\n                      (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 171\u2013174.","DOI":"10.1145\/2685553.2698999"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1214\/06-BA122"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.25300\/MISQ\/2018\/14196"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.1090.0491"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2022.1118"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Deterding S, Dixon D, Khaled R, Nacke L (2011) From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining \u201cgamification\u201d.\n                      MindTrek \u201811: Proc. 15th Internat. Academic MindTrek Conf.: Envisioning Future Media Environments\n                      (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 9\u201315.","DOI":"10.1145\/2181037.2181040"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compedu.2017.06.016"},{"issue":"3","key":"B10","first-page":"16:1","volume":"4","author":"Easley D","year":"2016","journal-title":"ACM Trans. Econom. Comput."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fanfarelli JR, Harden PM (2021) It\u2019s badging time! Permanence, expiration, and lifespan of digital badges. Fowler A, Pirker J, Canossa A, Arya A, Harteveld C, eds.\n                      FDG\u201921: Proc. 16th Internat. Conf. Foundations Digital Games\n                      (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 1\u201310.","DOI":"10.1145\/3472538.3472570"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.2022.1350"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.2023.1439"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.elerap.2013.01.004"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2022.1147"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2020.0972"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2020.0971"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.25300\/MISQ\/2017\/41.4.01"},{"issue":"1","key":"B20","first-page":"1","volume":"15","author":"Lunenburg FC","year":"2011","journal-title":"Internat. J. Management Bus. Admin."},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.1100.0570"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.1070.0294"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.1120.0718"},{"key":"B24","unstructured":"Park S, Gupta S (2024) A review of copula correction methods to address regressor\u2013error correlation.\n                      Amer. Marketing Assoc.\n                      (May 15), https:\/\/www.ama.org\/marketing-news\/a-review-of-copula-correction-methods-to-address-regressor-error-correlation\/."},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15213269.2012.673850"},{"key":"B27","unstructured":"Raftopoulos M, Walz S, Greuter S (2015) How enterprises play: Towards a taxonomy for enterprise gamification.\n                      Proc. DiGRA 2015: Diversity Play: Games Cultures Identities\n                      (Deakin University, New Delhi, India), 1\u201317."},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11528-013-0706-5"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.2014.0525"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.55.1.68"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.2013.0781"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mksc.2022.1392"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/isre.1100.0308"},{"issue":"6","key":"B34","first-page":"3037","volume":"22","author":"Sitra O","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ed. Inform. Tech."},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1541-0420.2008.01058.x"},{"key":"B36","unstructured":"TechCrunch (2011) Google News badges? We don\u2019t need no stinking Google News badges.\n                      TechCrunch\n                      (July 15), https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2011\/07\/15\/google-news-badges-we-dont-need-no-stinking-google-news-badges\/."},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1561\/0800000005"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11222-016-9696-4"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.25300\/MISQ\/2020\/13726"},{"issue":"12","key":"B40","first-page":"3571","volume":"11","author":"Watanabe S","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. 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User Modeling Adaptation Personalization\n                      (Association for Computing Machinery, New York), 113\u2013120.","DOI":"10.1145\/3320435.3320438"}],"container-title":["Information Systems Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pubsonline.informs.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1287\/isre.2023.0091","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T07:23:56Z","timestamp":1782458636000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pubsonline.informs.org\/doi\/10.1287\/isre.2023.0091"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"references-count":40,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1287\/isre.2023.0091"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1287\/isre.2023.0091","relation":{},"ISSN":["1047-7047","1526-5536"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1047-7047","type":"print"},{"value":"1526-5536","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}}}