Using a Game-of-Chance to Motivate Employee Learning: Evidence from the Field

Our study examines the effectiveness of a novel approach intended to motivate employee behavior desired by the company, i.e., the use of a virtual slot machine that employees can play to possibly win gift card rewards of up to $500. We use proprietary data from a company that implemented an online learning platform where employees could voluntarily self-administer training on a daily basis. Employees who complete the daily training modules and answer quiz questions correctly earn points that they can then use to bid on gift cards through an online auction site linked to the learning platform. The company subsequently activated an option of allowing employees to also use their accumulated points to play a virtual slot machine to possibly win the same gift cards available through the online auction site. Based on psychology theory related to gambling behavior, we predict that for employees who choose to use the slot machine, the enjoyment derived simply from playing will motivate increased completion of daily training modules and improved quiz performance to acquire the currency (points) required to play. Using a difference-in-difference approach based on matched samples of employees who never played the slot machine (‘control’ group) or played it at least once (‘treatment’ group), we find support for both of our predictions. Our results suggest that the use of games-of-chance such as a slot machine that are enjoyable to play can be a cost-effective means of motivating desired behavior.