Harald Warmelink's presentation from CounterPlay '14.

2. Nice to meet you!
HKU University of the Arts UtrechtDelft University of Technology

3. The notion of a playful organization  Online gamers’
communities  Online gamers’ work organizations 
Are online gamers fueling playful organizations?

4.  Broad interest in serious gaming, games for learning
 Gaming as a way of thinking and doing – an attitude:
 The ‘gaming generation’ or ‘net generation’
 The gamification of products and services
 Surely playful organizations could emerge –
organizations in which work is experienced as play
 But… how can we research that?
>> through online gamers!!

5.  Play in ‘guilds’, ‘clans’, ‘communities’
 Playful organizations by definition…?
 Also work for organizations
 Looking for playful ones…?
What are characteristics of a playful organization,
and to what extent are online gamers’ communities
and work organizations playful organizations?

7. Based on an understanding of play derived from…

9. A playful organizational culture:
6 values people would implicitly uphold if
employees are to experience their work as play
>> with football (‘soccer’) and Google as central examples

11. Contingency

12. Contingency

14. Agility

15. Agility

17. Equality

18. Equality

20. Teachability

21. Teachability

23. Meritocracy

24. Meritocracy

26. Conviviality

27. Conviviality

28. And…

29. What are characteristics of a playful organization,
and to what extent are online gamers’ communities
and work organizations playful organizations?
Sequential exploratory strategy
Qualitative research >> quantitative research

30. Virtual-organizational ethnographic research

32.  Joined a ‘start-up’
corporation
 Became a manufacturer,
cargo-hauler and trader
 Joined ‘Major’, an old,
well-known corporation

33. 95 Dutch working online gamers

34. By
Cameron
& Quinn
‘Diagnosing and
Changing
Organizational
Culture’: Based on
the Competing
Values Framework

35. Yes No
Age
Organizational
commitment
Time of existence
Competitive rationale
Time of existence
+

36. Yes No
Organizational
commitment
Weekly gameplay time
Time of existence

37. Significance of the comparison
Weekly gameplay time
Weekly working time
Diversity in national culture
within the community
Organizational commitment
to community

38. The notion of a playful organization  Online gamers’
communities  Online gamers’ work organizations 
Are online gamers fueling playful organizations?

39. harald.warmelink@hku.nl
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