Abstract:

Organizations increasingly leverage gamification to enhance employee learning and adaptability. However, ensuring that these digital interactions lead to effective training transfer remains a complex challenge. This study investigates how the perception of work-environment design influences training transfer through the mediating role of a gamified learning experience—specifically, an empowering learning experience (ELE).

Using survey data from 255 employees with prior exposure to gamified learning, we tested a mediation model using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrate that opportunity to use (β = 0.252, p = 0.002), peer support (β = 0.256, p = 0.005), and supervisor support (β = 0.174, p = 0.037) significantly enhance the quality of the gamified learning experience. This experience, in turn, strongly drives training transfer (β = 0.506, p < 0.001; f² = 0.344). Interestingly, Organizational culture did not show a direct significant path to ELE, suggesting that, in the context of digital learning, immediate social support and practical opportunities are more influential than overarching cultural values.

The findings suggest that the success of training transfer is not merely a product of game mechanics but depends on how the workplace environment facilitates a sense of agency and control (dominance), deep cognitive involvement (absorption), and flexible problem-solving (creative thinking) during the learning process. By identifying ELE as the critical psychological mechanism, this study provides a new perspective on how organizations can design supportive environments that turn gamified experiences into tangible behavioral changes in the workplace.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Knowledge and Learning

Keywords: opportunities of learning;Higher Education Institutions;digital learning;learning environment

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Dr. Omid Mirmotahari