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By distinguishing between core business service and value-added service in mobile payment applications, this paper aims to incorporate point mechanisms (point rewarding and point exchanging) into these two separated roles of services to understand user loyalty formation. Specifically, this study aims to examine the mediating role of need satisfaction and perceived value in the relationships between point mechanisms and user loyalty.

Drawing upon self-determination theory and perceived value lens, this study develops a theoretical model that examines the mediation effects of multiple psychological outcomes on the relationships between point mechanisms (point rewarding and point exchanging) and user loyalty in the context of mobile payment. Data were collected from 731 users of a leading mobile payment application in China through an online survey. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships.

Empirical results suggest that point rewarding enhances users’ need satisfaction of core service, whereas point exchanging increases users' perceived value of additional value-added service. Results also reveal that need satisfaction and perceived value mediate the relationships between point mechanisms (i.e. point rewarding and point exchanging) and user loyalty. In sum, the findings enhance our understanding of user loyalty formation from a dual channeling perspective.

This study informs the managers of mobile payment applications on how to build user loyalty by enhancing users' experience of core business service and value-added service through point mechanism implementation.

This study highlights the importance of both core business service and value-added service in mobile payment applications and provides new insights into the effects of point mechanisms on user loyalty by considering different service routes. Additionally, this study uncovers the mediation mechanisms of users' need satisfaction of core service and users' perceived value of additional value-added service on the two service routes, which further enrich our understanding regarding the user loyalty formation of mobile payment applications.

Given the controversial nature of the effectiveness of loyalty programs (LPs), this paper examines the effect of a new type of LP, namely green LPs, on consumers' perceived value of LPs. Specifically, the authors identify three types of green LP design and test their impact on perceived value.

An experimental protocol involving 1,016 shoppers was adopted in order to analyze the three types of green LPs identified in the literature.

Supported by social exchange theory (SET), the results show that a green LP can influence the perceived value of LPs. Such programs can drive psychological value in addition to the economic value linked only to monetary incentives. LPs rewarding sustainable behavior appear to be the most significant generators of value.

Since corporate social responsibility (CSR) is now critical to a company's success, this study investigates how firms can integrate it in order to improve the effectiveness of their LP design.

New approaches in loyalty programs try to activate membership by rewarding not just financial transactions but also customer engagement. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of rewarded customer engagement on loyalty intentions and behavior by applying a social media context.

A field study in the mobility service industry (focus groups (n=18) and questionnaire (n=1,246)) and a laboratory experiment (n=141, 2 (rewarded engagement and transaction/rewarded transaction)×2 (low/high reward) between subjects design) were conducted to determine the effect of rewarded engagement on loyalty.

In the field study, the participants could gather loyalty points through their social media engagement. Their attitudinal loyalty to the loyalty program and the company was significantly higher than that of the loyalty members who collected points solely through transactions. This effect is especially prevalent with respect to engagements rewarded with monetary incentives and is underlined by behavioral data. The results of the laboratory experiment show that rewarded engagement positively moderates the impact of intrinsic motivation on loyalty intentions. Offering rewarded engagement in loyalty programs offsets the undermining effect of rewards.

Rewarding customers for social media engagement can be a beneficial way of boosting active participation in loyalty programs, but this experience should be enjoyable and self-determined.

The study is the first to show the impact of rewarded customer engagement on the attitudinal and behavioral loyalty of members of a loyalty program.

The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: why Google Answers and Yahoo! Kimo Knowledge+, both virtual communities built on users asking and answering questions with different rewarding mechanisms, have different outcomes.

Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the authors developed the constructs, including self‐efficacy, altruism, reward, and the sense of virtual community, that influence the intention of sharing knowledge in terms of answering questions on Knowledge+.

The results show that users showing higher levels of contribution tended to be motivated by virtual rewards, such as advanced ranks, and the need for self‐fulfillment. Additionally, for these knowledge providers, altruism is also an important factor. Therefore, these users share not because of a reward but because of altruism and fulfillment. The findings can answer why Google Answers failed with its monetary rewards but Knowledge+ remains with its virtual rewarding mechanism.

This study extends the literature on understanding the antecedents of sharing knowledge in terms of answering others’ questions in virtual communities. Especially, it identifies different factors affecting the intention of users in different levels of engagement with the community to share knowledge.

The various effective factors influencing users’ knowledge sharing behavior identified in this study can guide the incentive mechanism design for virtual communities.

Besides proposing research models to identify the constructs affecting the users’ intention to answer questions in a virtual community, such as Knowledge+, this study compares the models explaining the intention to share knowledge in different user groups with different levels of knowledge contribution. This research design is unique from the prior literatures; Moreover, the results shed light on designing incentive mechanisms for knowledge sharing in virtual communities.

Gamification, the integration of game mechanics to influence behavior and engagement, is a much-touted method of improving participant action. Characteristics of online video games (e.g., World of Warcraft, Farmville, The Sims) have been shown to improve motivation, sustain learner engagement, and increase satisfaction. Gamification is used in websites, businesses, medicine, law enforcement, and increasingly in education. However, gamification is only beneficial to an activity if the relationship between the activity and the final goal are understood. This chapter looks at the gamification in education, in particular second language acquisition, and examines seven basic game mechanics: achievement, appointment, rewards, leaderboards, privacy, social engagement loops (or viral mechanics), and modifiers. The discussion describes implementation of game mechanics and potential pitfalls of gamification.

The purpose of this study is to explore polygamous program loyalty in hotel loyalty programs and the relationship between members’ behavioral loyalty and their perceptions of the program effectiveness.

Descriptive statistics, discriminant analysis, ordinary least square regression and one-way ANOVA methods.

This study suggests that the flexibility to purchase points in a loyalty program is significantly associated with the polygamous program loyalty. Members will stay in only one program if they perceive such flexibility. Although members tend to emphasize purchasing accommodation from the loyalty programs’ hotels, they do not necessarily advocate or pay price premiums for the brand. Compared with basic members, elite members exhibit higher levels of loyalty behaviors in general, but not in terms of paying price premiums.

The results suggest that how customers value a loyalty program can differentiate the number of membership(s) they have. Increasing the flexibility of point purchase in hotel loyalty programs encourages customers to stay in only one program. With a majority of the participants in the study being senior travelers, the results and implications should be generalized only in the senior market. A larger and more diverse sample is recommended for future research.

If loyalty programs seek to keep members from joining other loyalty programs, they should increase members’ likelihood to achieve their expected benefits such as increased flexibility of point purchase. In addition, loyalty programs should encourage, recognize and incentivize members’ reciprocal behaviors based on the norm of reciprocity to build a reciprocal chain in loyalty programs. However, in seeking sustained loyal behavior, loyalty programs need to demonstrate value beyond transactional rewards.

This paper explores the reason why customers join multiple loyalty programs (i.e. polygamous program loyalty) and identifies a broken reciprocity link in hotel loyalty programs. Many members primarily focus on the utilities of loyalty programs rather than contributing back to the program; therefore, the norm of reciprocity is suggested to improve loyalty program effectiveness.

This study aims to investigate customer preferences towards loyalty reward programs in the restaurant industry. Willingness to join such programs and expected benefits are also examined.

Focus group interviews followed by a survey methodology were used to test the research questions. The study sample included participants in a popular arts festival in Pennsylvania, USA and restaurant patrons in Las Vegas, USA.

A vast majority of study respondents favored immediate, necessary, and monetary gratification. These results were consistent across restaurant types (fast‐food versus casual dining). Although savings was the most sought‐after benefit, intangible benefits such as quality and convenience also received high ratings. Casual dining customers, in particular, seemed to be highly motivated by exploration and entertainment‐type benefits.

Future research should investigate the optimal level or combination of rewards. In addition, other types of restaurants (e.g. fine dining) might require different types of reward schemes.

The findings of this study suggest that restaurant operators in the casual dining and fast‐food segments should consider employing immediate, necessary, and monetary rewards as opposed to points‐system, luxury, and non‐monetary rewards. In terms of motivation to join loyalty reward programs, the study results indicate that casual dining patrons are looking for exciting and entertaining rewards in addition to mere cost savings.

This paper helps restaurant managers to better understand customer preferences for loyalty reward programs and to realize the value of targeted rewards.

Loyalty programs (LPs) in a business-to-business (B2B) context have been under-researched when compared to consumer markets. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if and to what extent the loyalty program activity (LPA) based on recency, frequency and monetary framework reflects the effectiveness of a specific LP.

Using the data obtained from 818 business customers enrolled in a LP, logistic regression models are run to find the impact of LPA on the company’s sales.

The results suggest that in a linear LP, the frequency of rewards impacts sales the most, compared to recency and amount of points redeemed. The intensity of a LPA is influencing the expected sales in a company.

The current study is not focused on the redemption patterns and the value of the rewards offered in the program. Limitation of the study only to one country and in a single company does not allow to generalize presented findings.

Companies should focus their efforts on defining the best level of frequency rewards in their LPs. Reward timing should be considered as a factor that influences the change in customer purchasing behavior more than the amount of points accumulated.

The research provides empirical evidence to support the highest influence of frequency of rewards on sales, compared to recency and amount of points redeemed. This is one of the few LP studies conducted in the context of the B2B market.

In the retailing sector, consumers typically patronize multiple outlets, which leaves outlets striving to earn a greater portion of consumer expenditures. The purpose of this paper is to improve theoretical and empirical knowledge about the impact of retailing loyalty programmes on customer purchasing behaviour.

The effects of two loyalty programmes on customer behaviour are studied through marketwide panel data on supermarket purchases.

The impact of loyalty programme membership on customer purchase behaviour is significant.

All behavioural indicators show that members and non‐members of loyalty programmes demonstrate significantly different purchase behaviours, irrespective of other factors. The purchase intensity of cardholders, in terms of total and average shopping baskets, share of purchases, purchase frequency and inter‐purchase time, is significantly higher than that of non‐members throughout the entire three‐year period and the trading areas. The findings require confirmation in other retailing sectors before they may be considered fully generalisable.

Retailers may apply the findings in their attempts to segment their target market, which enables them to allocate their marketing expenditures more effectively.

The study contributes to more “generalisable” knowledge by investigating marketwide scanner panel data about competitive purchasing, loyalty programmes and store locations.

The motivation to participate in crowdsourcing (CS) platforms is an emerging challenge. Although researchers and practitioners have focused on crowd motivation in the past, the results obtained through such practices have not been satisfactory. Researchers have left unexplored research areas related to CS pillars, such as the evolution of the crowd’s primary motivations, seekers applying effective policies and incentives, platform design challenges and addressing task complexity using the synchronicity of the crowd. Researchers are now more inclined to address these issues by focusing on sustaining the crowd’s motivation; however, sustaining the crowd’s motivation has many challenges.

To fill this gap, this study conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to investigate and map the challenges and factors affecting sustained motivation during CS with the overcoming implications. Studies that satisfied the inclusion criteria were published between 2010 and 2021.

Important sustainable factors are extracted using the grounded theory that has sustained participation and the factors' cohesion leads to the identification of challenges that the pillars of CS face. Crowds being the most vital part of CS contests face the challenge of engagement. The results reported the factors that affect the crowd’s primary and post-intentions, perceived value of incentives and social and communal interaction. Seekers face the challenge of knowledge and understanding; the results identify the reason behind the crowd’s demotivation and the impact of theories and factors on the crowd's psychological needs which helped in sustaining participation. Similarly, the platforms face the challenge of being successful and demanding, the results identify the latest technologies, designs and features that seekers proclaim and need the platforms designer's attention. The identified task challenges are completion and achievement; the authors have identified the impact of trait of task and solving mechanisms that have sustained participation.

The study identifies, explores and summarizes the challenges on CS pillars researchers are facing now to sustain contributions by keeping participants motivated during online campaigns. Similarly, the study highlights the implication to overcome the challenges by identifying and prioritizing the areas concerning sustainability through the adoption of innovative methods or policies that can guarantee sustained participation.