Incentive design and gamification for knowledge management

Knowledge is one of the most important resources for businesses. Knowledge management systems (KMS) are implemented to guarantee an adequate handling of this resource. While innovations in Knowledge Management often focus on technical approaches or structural aspects of knowledge storing, less attention is paid to the different aspects of human motivation and the individual willingness to knowledge sharing. The employee as sharer and receiver of knowledge, however, has to be motivated properly in order to ensure a high content quality within the KMS and appropriate handling of knowledge. Gamification has proven to be a feasible approach to increase employee motivation. This paper, therefore, analyses the effects of game mechanics on motivation and knowledge sharing behavior. In addition, advantages and risks of implementing game components in KMS are illustrated.