Gamification for teaching social responsibility in business schools

Many social responsibility issues involve complex problems requiring critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Gamified learning environments can present learners with real-world dilemmas, encouraging them to analyze situations, explore solutions, and make ethical choices. While evidence supports the effective use of gamification tools in teaching social responsibility, debates also surround their application in educational settings, including concerns related to the perception of manipulative motives, often referred to as “persuasion knowledge.” This chapter discusses how gamification can enhance the teaching of social responsibility by introducing additional incentives for students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation while considering potential drawbacks. The discussion is supported by a description of practices for implementing gamification tools, such as badges, leaderboards, reward systems, contests, and achievement collections, designed to help students understand the importance of social responsibility. We analyze the following gamification practices: the use of achievement collections and subtle integration of social responsibility themes to foster responsible competition, and inclusive cooperation, and achieve individual and group excellence, all while maintaining a focus on the practical relevance of student projects. As a result, our contribution helps address SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).