Skip to main content

Ludic Leadership: The Counter-Intuitive Case for Playing Games in the Life Science Industry

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Life Science Management

Part of the book series: Management for Professionals ((MANAGPROF))

Abstract

Leadership in the life science industry differs from leadership in other industries. We propose a ludic leadership framework that can benefit this industry’s process complexities, social responsibilities and academic work culture. We do this on three levels: (1) Using game-like techniques as tools for situational interventions by a leadership figure, (2) using game thinking as a method to design the workplace culture and (3) using games as the means of leadership training itself. The life science industry may profit from a leadership model derived from game-inspired mechanics due to the pressure for an innovative culture, high employee demands on the workplace environment, ever faster employee transitions, changes to agile working styles, and as a counterbalance to high regulation and SOP thinking.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbasi, A. Z., Ting, D. H., & Hlavacs, H. (2017). Engagement in games: Developing an instrument to measure consumer videogame engagement and its validation. International Journal of Computer Games Technology, 2017, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allision, S., & Cecilione, J. (2016). Paradoxical truths in heroic leadership: Implications for leadership development and effectiveness. In R. Bolden, M. Witzel, & N. Linacre (Eds.), Leadership paradoxes (p. 42). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • BioGamesLab. (2018). Herausforderungen und Tätigkeiten im Laborkontext. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from http://www.biogameslab.org/Ergebnisse/Workshop2

  • Bogost, I. (2013). Exploitationware. In R. Colby, M. S. S. Johnson, & R. S. Colby (Eds.), Rhetoric/composition/play through video games. Palgrave Macmillan’s digital education and learning. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137307675_11

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Coonradt, C. (2012). The game of work: How to enjoy work as much as play. Gibbs Smith.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costikyan, G. (2015). Uncertainty in games. MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cugelman, B. (2013). Gamification: What it is and why it matters to digital health behavior change developers. JMIR Serious Games, 1(1), e3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darino, L., Ogeah, A., & Srinivasan, R. (2018). Developing tomorrow’s leaders in life sciences. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/life-sciences/our-insights/developing-tomorrows-leaders-in-life-sciences

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. A. (1982). Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life. Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fold.it. (2021). Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://fold.it/

  • Gerow, J. E., Ayyagari, R., Thatcher, J. B., & Roth, P. L. (2013). Can we have fun@ work? The role of intrinsic motivation for utilitarian systems. European Journal of Information Systems, 22(3), 360–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghaban, W., & Hendley, R. (2019). How different personalities benefit from gamification. Interacting with Computers, 31(2), 138–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. (1991). Servant-leadership in organisations: Inspirational and moral. The Leadership Quarterly, 2(2), 105–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamari, J. (2013). Transforming homo economicus into homo ludens: A field experiment on gamification in a utilitarian peer-to-peer trading service. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 12(4), 236–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasbach, T. (2021). Moonshot: The innovation game. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from http://www.theinnovationgame.de/

  • Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and organisations. Software of the mind (2. Aufl.). McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossain, T., & Li, K. K. (2013). Crowding out in the labor market: A prosocial setting is necessary. Management Science, 60(5), 1148–1160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huizinga, J. (1956). Homo Ludens: Vom Ursprung der Kultur im Spiel. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt. Übersetzung der niederl. Originalausg. (1938). Homo ludens. Universität Leyden.

    Google Scholar 

  • ISPE. (2021). Good manufacturing practice (GMP) resources. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://ispe.org/initiatives/regulatory-resources/gmp

  • Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 692–724.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A’s, praise, and other bribes. Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, T. S. (1996). The structure of scientific revolutions (3. Aufl.). University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwok, R. (2018). How lab heads can learn to lead. Nature, 557, 457–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazzaro, N. (2015). The four keys to fun. xeodesign. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from http://www.xeodesign.com/research/

  • Maat, P. M., & Lentz, L. (2010). Improving the usability of patient information leaflets. Patient Education and Counseling, 80(1), 113–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maylett, T., & Wride, M. (2017). The employee experience: How to attract talent, retain top performers, and drive results. John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meister, J., & Mulcahy, K. J. (2017). The future workplace experience: 10 rules for mastering disruption in recruiting and engaging employees. McGraw Hill Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicklisch, H. (1922). Der Weg aufwärts! Organisation. Versuch einer Grundlegung (2. Aufl.). C.E. Poeschel.

    Google Scholar 

  • ProClinical. (2018). Employee engagement report 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://info.proclinical.com/hubfs/staff-science/Life%20Sciences%20Employee%20Engagement%20Report%20-%20UK%202018.pdf?t=1532704905820&utm_campaign=Staff%20Science&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=64710523&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8hx-dQjG0_1eh-rW3UjnMZJ_EcyXT6NWJ4sPkPQe2ZD6Kl3RvVcjQcW8W7dB-r1hxrI411wHMrREtcIW5o2n5sb3Tb-A&_hsmi=64710523

  • Puppatz, M. (2021). Person schlägt Prozess. Harvard Business manager, 10/2021.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rathert, W. (2019). Performance by Design: Die fünf Aufgaben agiler Führung in einer digitalisierten Welt und was Führungskräfte dabei von Game Designern lernen können. In P. Buchenau (Ed.), Chefsache Zukunft. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sardi, L., Idri, A., & Frenández-Alemán, J. L. (2017). A systematic review of gamification in e-Health. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 71, 31–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schell, J. (2008). The art of game design. A book of lenses. Taylor & Francis Group.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schlicker, N., Uhde, A., Hassenzahl, M., & Wallach, D. (2020). Nachhaltige Motivation durch wohlbefindensorientierte Gestaltung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schönbohm, A. (2018). Ludic Control. Entwurf eines hedonischen Controllingsystems. In CARF Luzern 2018 (pp. 62–74). IFZ Hochschule Luzern.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schönbohm, A. (2019). Ludic Leadership – Spielerische Antworten auf die kulturellen Herausforderungen der Digitalisierung. In A. Schönbohm, A. Lange, & M. Graffius (Eds.), Digitalkultur – Facetten Digitaler Transformation (pp. 2–19). IFAF BERLIN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schönbohm, A., & Urban, K. (2014). Can gamification close the engagement gap of generation Y? A pilot study on the digital startup sector in Berlin. Logos Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. (2019). Leadership in the life sciences. Taylor & Francis Ltd.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Upton, B. (2015). The aesthetic of play. MIT Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J., & Schäffer, U. (2001). Controlling als Rationalitätssicherung der Führung—Zum Stand unserer Forschung. In J. Weber & U. Schäffer (Eds.), Rationalitätssicherung der Führung. Schriften des Center for Controlling & Management (CCM) (Vol. 2). Deutscher Universitätsverlag.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Woodcock, J., & Johnson, M. R. (2018). Gamification: What it is, and how to fight it. The Sociological Review, 66(3), 542–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J., & Lu, X. (2013). Effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators on using utilitarian, hedonic, and dual-purposed information systems: A meta-analysis. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 13(3), 153–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zichermann, G., & Cunningham, C. (2011). Gamification by design: Implementing game mechanics in web and mobile apps. O’Reilly.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Avo Schönbohm .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Schönbohm, A., Walter, JH. (2022). Ludic Leadership: The Counter-Intuitive Case for Playing Games in the Life Science Industry. In: Schönbohm, A., von Horsten, H.H., Plugmann, P. (eds) Life Science Management. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98764-0_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics