受到技术变更、商业模式创新、资本注入等因素的持续驱动，中国互联网产业在过去迅速发展，逐渐形成了相对成熟的生态。在流量增速放缓的背景下，互联网应用产品及依赖互联网营销的消费品牌面临愈发激烈的竞争，如何获取更多流量、吸引并转化更多顾客成为品牌的共有焦虑。而另一方面，以Z世代为代表的年轻一代呈现追求体验、依赖虚拟社交等特征，倒逼品牌更新营销策略。在这样的行业变化趋势下，包括天猫在内的部分互联网平台及消费品牌采用“战队式”的游戏化活动方法，通过对竞争与合作游戏化机制的运用，提升顾客在营销活动中的参与度，实现了不错的获客与转化效果。但在理论层面，过往研究对该机制讨论较少，且未能有效阐释竞争与合作机制致顾客参与与品牌态度的影响机理。本研究围绕品牌营销中，游戏化活动里的竞争与合作游戏机制展开，通过定性的深度访谈研究探索顾客在竞争与合作场景下的感知利益，并通过问卷调查的方法，运用结构方程模型与独立样本T检验的工具对理论模型进行实证检验。研究发现，在游戏化活动中，竞争与合作机制均能促进顾客参与与品牌态度，但二者的作用路径存在差异：竞争机制下，顾客分别通过感知“成就虚荣感”与“利益占有感”影响“对成功的渴望”，并进一步影响顾客参与与品牌态度；而合作机制下，“团队责任感”通过正向影响顾客“对成功的渴望”与“对失败的恐惧”增强顾客参与，“社会支持感”通过正向影响顾客“对失败的恐惧”增强顾客参与。研究还发现，顾客自我建构类型影响顾客在游戏化活动中对各类感知利益的感知程度，并进一步影响了从感知利益至顾客参与的路径实现。从理论创新角度，本研究为竞争与合作的理论研究提供了新的视角，丰富了营销研究中游戏化理论的应用场景，验证了竞争与合作的游戏化机制对于顾客参与与品牌构建的积极效果。基于理论成果，本研究对品牌营销时采用游戏化活动提供如下启发：品牌在未来可以更多地运用竞争与合作的游戏机制，尝试相关的游戏化活动类型；在应用游戏机制的过程中，品牌需要重视场景与规则的设定；基于新兴技术，品牌可加强对顾客性格的洞察，实现游戏化活动的个性化，提升营销效果；警惕过度游戏化，防止活动过程中顾客的不端行为。
In the context of continuous technological innovation, evolving business models, and influxes of capital, China‘s internet industry has seen sustained growth, leading to the formation of a mature ecosystem with a slower pace of user expansion. Amidst this landscape, the competition among brands, fueled by internet applications and digital marketing, has intensified, with the acquisition of traffic and customer engagement emerging as a shared challenge. Concurrently, the younger demographic, epitomized by Generation Z, is increasingly seeking experiential and virtual social interactions, prompting brands to innovate their marketing approaches. In response to these industry trends, certain internet platforms and brands, including Tmall, have embraced "team-based" gamified marketing strategies. By leveraging the dynamics of competition and cooperation, these strategies have yielded promising results in customer acquisition and conversion. Despite their practical success, theoretical research on the mechanisms underpinning gamified marketing remains limited, with a particular gap in understanding how these mechanisms influence customer engagement and brand equity.This study examines the game mechanisms of competition and cooperation within gamified marketing activities. Through qualitative in-depth interviews, we explore customers‘ perceived benefits in competitive and cooperative scenarios. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey is conducted, employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Independent Samples T-tests to empirically test the theoretical model. The findings indicate that both competitive and cooperative mechanisms in gamified marketing can enhance customer engagement and brand attitude, albeit through distinct pathways. Specifically, under the competitive mechanism, the Sense of Achievement Vanity and the Sense of Benefit Possession positively and negatively impact customer engagement and brand attitude through the customers‘ "Strive for Success", respectively. In the cooperative mechanism, the Sense of Team Responsibility positively influences the " Strive for Success " and "Fear of Failure," thereby strengthening customer engagement. Additionally, the Sense of Social Support positively affects the "Fear of Failure", enhancing customer participation. The research also reveals that customers‘ self-construction types influence their perception of benefits in gamified marketing, which in turn impacts the pathway from perceived benefits to customer engagement. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of competitive and cooperative dynamics and provides actionable insights for brands to effectively implement gamified marketing strategies. This research offers new insights into the theoretical study of competition and cooperation, enriches the context of gamified marketing research, and confirms the positive effects of competitive and cooperative game mechanics on customer engagement and brand building. Based on the theoretical findings, the study provides the following implications for brand gamification strategies: Brands can increasingly incorporate competitive and cooperative game mechanics and explore various types of gamified marketing. During the application of game mechanics, it is crucial to focus on the establishment of scenarios and rules. Leveraging emerging technologies, brands can gain deeper insights into customer personalities, enabling personalized gamified marketing to enhance effectiveness. Additionally, it is important to be vigilant against excessive gamification to prevent cheating behaviors during the campaign.
