Gamification in Proprietary Innovation: Identifying a Technical Framework Based on Patent Data

This paper reveals dominant patterns of gamification in proprietary innovation and develops a technical framework. In recent years, a rash increase in securitizing gamification-related inventions has taken place. By analyzing the content of 134 unique patents from USPTO and EPO with an in-depth raw data text analysis, the technical background is explored holistically. To discover meaningful patterns and thus to derive implications from the patent data they are visually summarized. Especially predominant are the topics of device, data, user and game. Based on the nature of the data, being evidence-based and future directed, our technical framework integrates these patterns and sets it into relation. An additional analysis provides further insights into fundamental game elements. As patents serve as a decisive indicator of future product introductions, the information gathered in this paper represents essential strategic information to guide practitioners and researchers in the area of gamification.