Abstract
Despite growing interest in attendee wellbeing at business events, little is known about how gamified wellness applications (apps) can drive meaningful behavioral outcomes and sponsorship value. Grounded in transformative service research (TSR) and transformative gamification frameworks, this study examines how five transformative gamification dimensions—enjoyment, social, knowledge, distraction, and simulation—influence attendees’ engagement with an event wellness app, their wellbeing intentions, and their attitudes towards event sponsors. Data were collected from 161 attendees across three professional events and analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results indicate that enjoyment and social dimensions drove app engagement, while distraction and integration were the key predictors of wellbeing intentions and event sponsor attitudes. App engagement positively influenced wellbeing intentions, which in turn shaped sponsor attitudes, with wellbeing intentions serving as a full mediator. Findings extend transformative gamification theory into the event context and offer actionable implications for event organizers, app designers, and event sponsors.