Collaboration or competition: The impact of incentive types on urban cycling. Issue 10 (3rd August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pajarito Grajales, Diego Fabian; Degbelo, Auriol; Gould, Michael
• Is Part Of: International journal of sustainable transportation. Volume 14:Issue 10(2020)
• Page Start: 761
• Page End: 776
• Publication Date: 2020-08-03
• Subjects: Urban cycling -- gamification -- engagement -- mobile apps -- collaboration -- competition; ; Transportation -- Periodicals; Sustainable development -- Periodicals; 388
• DOI: 10.1080/15568318.2019.1627619
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1556-8318

Abstract

Abstract: Bicycling is an important mode of transport for cities and many cities are interested in promoting its uptake by a larger portion of the population. Several cycling mobile applications primarily rely on competition as a motivation strategy for urban cyclists. Yet, collaboration may be equally useful to motivate and engage cyclists. The present research reports on an experiment comparing the impact of collaboration-based and competition-based rewards on users' enjoyment, satisfaction, engagement with, and intention to cycle. It involved a total of 57 participants in three European cities: Münster (Germany), Castelló (Spain), and Valletta (Malta). Our results show participants from the study reporting higher enjoyment and engagement with cycling in the collaboration condition. However, we did not find a significant impact on the participants' worldview when it comes to the intentions to start or increase cycling behavior. The results support the use of collaboration-based rewards in the design of game-based applications to promote urban cycling.