Adoption of gamified persuasive systems to encourage sustainable behaviors:interplay between perceived persuasiveness and cognitive absorption

Abstract Gamification and persuasive technologies can change behaviors leading to desired outcomes, such as increasing consumer loyalty, raising health awareness, or developing eco-friendly mindsets. Since gamification triggers a state of flow enabling deep engagement with information systems, we consider the impact of perceived persuasiveness and cognitive absorption on the adoption of gamified persuasive systems aimed at encouraging sustainable behaviors. Having built a research model based on existing theories and frameworks, we survey 93 participants introduced to a gamified app with persuasive systems design features. The app is a social platform that rewards users for sustainable activities, like using renewable energy, recycling, and choosing pro-environmental modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling, public transport, or carsharing. Structural equation modeling shows significant influence of the persuasive design features with perceived persuasiveness exceeding the predictive value of cognitive absorption in explaining the intention to use the gamified app