Over the past decade, innovation has stopped being a process confined within R&D departments to become a distributed, horizontal, and participatory activity.
Today, value is no longer generated through closed, vertical models, but through open ecosystems in which companies, startups, universities, public bodies, and citizens contribute, each with their own expertise, to the creation of new solutions.

This paradigm shift is driven by factors belonging to both the organizational and human dimensions: curiosity, creativity, systemic vision, the ability to learn rapidly, and the willingness for continuous improvement.
Innovating means in fact adopting a mindset that embraces change, encourages ideation, and recognizes experimentation as a structural part of the process. Not an option, but a necessary condition for operating in complex, dynamic, and uncertain contexts.

Innovation manifests in multiple sectors, such as business, science, technology, the public sector, and social impact, and produces measurable effects: it generates economic growth, enables improvements in the quality of life, strengthens the competitiveness of regions, and contributes to sustainable development.
At the center of it all, however, remains the same constant: people and their ability to dialogue, collaborate, and build collective knowledge.

In this scenario, play, and in particular gamification, emerges as a strategic lever as unexpected as it is effective.
Not an accessory element, but a true cultural infrastructure that allows organizations to activate the behaviors necessary to innovate: openness, trust, experimentation, critical thinking, coordination, continuous learning.

The playful dimension indeed creates the conditions to overcome organizational rigidity and inertia, reduce asymmetries, generate active participation, and stimulate collective intelligence.
It is a safe, regulated, and structured space where teams can observe their own dynamics, explore alternatives, and co-create new solutions with a level of engagement that is difficult to achieve through traditional methods.

Let's explore the topic together.

From Open Innovation to the continuous learning culture

What is Open Innovation and how is it changing business models

Open Innovation, a concept introduced by Henry Chesbrough in the early 2000s, has transformed the way companies think about innovation: no longer as a closed, linear, and protected process, but as a open ecosystem, where ideas, technologies, and skills circulate among different actors.

From a technical standpoint, OI is defined as the intentional management of knowledge flows across organizational boundaries, using both tools based on economic transactions, such as investments, corporate venture capital, and licenses, and non-monetary collaborative tools such as partnerships, co-creation paths, and hackathons.

It is divided into three directions:

  • Inbound OI → integrate ideas and technologies coming from the outside.
  • Outbound OI → transferring one's knowledge outside (spin-offs, licenses, collaborations).
  • Coupled OI → symmetric collaborations with multiple actors (universities, startups, industries, research centers).

Open Innovation is born precisely from this: recognizing that no organization, on its own, can capture all the intelligence needed to innovate.

From external collaboration to internal co-creation

Open innovation does not work if a company continues to think like a closed system. It requires a culture that fosters exchange, experimentation, and continuous cross-fertilization between departments, roles, and skills. For Open Innovation to truly work, it demands much more from organizations than just tools or processes; it requires a mindset shift, a cultural evolution that involves habits, beliefs, and forms of collaboration.

In practice, this means allowing people to bring out insights, take responsibility, test rapid prototypes, and learn quickly from mistakes. It means transforming employees into intrapreneurprofessionals capable of seeing opportunities where others see constraints, of building cross-functional connections, and of driving high-value ideas forward even without top-down orders.

Why open innovation requires a new organizational mindset

Collaborating openly also means accepting an inevitable dose of risk, vulnerability, and uncertainty.
And for many companies this is a significant cultural shift. It requires moving from control-based mindsets to trust-based ones, from rigid organizational charts to dynamic networks, and from closed procedures to cycles of experimentation.

The main barriers are not technical, but cultural, such as:

  • the tendency to reject external ideas;
  • the difficulty in leveraging internal technologies outside company boundaries;
  • organizational inertia, which drives the repetition of what is known even when it no longer works;
  • the difficulty of unlearning obsolete routines;
    the lack of an “ambidextrous” mindset, capable of managing the present and planning for the future.

To overcome this cultural inertia, a new mindset is needed, capable of going through the three phases of change described by Lewin: unfreezing, moving, institutionalizing.

1 – Unfreezing — sciogliere le resistenze e mettere in discussione l’esistente

The first step is psychological: the company must recognize that what it knows is no longer enough and that opening up to the outside world is not a threat, but a growth accelerator.

In this phase, the most deeply rooted barriers emerge: the tendency to reject external ideas, the fear of sharing what one possesses, and the protective attitude toward internal competencies.

Open Innovation, on the other hand, requires curiosity and trust, and the awareness that collaboration multiplies opportunities and accelerates learning.

2 – Moving — apprendere, sperimentare, diventare ambidestri

The second phase is that of action: trying, testing, unlearning obsolete routines and opening up to new ways of working. It requires a mindset ambidextrous, capable of balancing exploitation and exploration.

And it is necessary to cultivate motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, because experimentation inevitably entails mistakes, attempts, and uncertainties.

Change requires energy, and without a system to sustain it—through autonomy, significant challenges, feedback, and engagement-activating game mechanics—people tend to return to the comfort of the status quo.

3 – Institutionalizing — rendere il cambiamento parte della cultura

The final phase is consolidation: the moment when Open Innovation stops being a project and becomes standard practice.
This is where they become crucial:

  • alignment between departments and functions;
  • explicit values that guide behaviors and decisions;
  • motivation sustained, because innovation is a continuous process

When these conditions are present, Open Innovation ceases to be a top-down initiative and becomes part of the organizational identity.

And this is where gamification comes in, which can transform organizational change into a shared and motivating journey.

Gamification makes it possible to go through the three phases of change with greater fluidity:

  • in unfreezing create a safe and relaxed environment that lowers resistance and makes trying new paths natural;
  • nel moving supports experimentation, fuels motivation and curiosity, builds positive routines through immediate feedback and symbolic rewards;
  • in institutionalizing helps transform sporadic practices into shared and recognized behaviors, making the change “liveable” and not just theoretical.

Gamification, if well designed, therefore becomes the bridge that links open innovation to cultural transformation.

Gamification: from game to strategic lever for organizational change

What is gamification and how does it work

We had already talked about gamification in the article Gamification and Game-Based Learning: Design Thinking for Training and Consulting. 

Gamification is the application of game mechanics in non-gaming contexts to make complex activities more engaging, clear, and motivating.
Its value lies not in the “games” themselves, but in structure which introduces: clear goals, immediate feedback, safe experimentation, progression.

In the corporate world, this means transforming training, collaboration, and decision-making processes into more participatory and learning-oriented experiences.

From extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation: the cognitive and emotional value of play

Several studies show that game dynamics activate deep cognitive processesexploration, curiosity, experiential learning.

This is why it is essential to distinguish between two types of motivation: that extrinsic, che arriva dall’esterno, tramite meccanismi come punti, badge e classifiche. Questi meccanismi, se usati da soli, generano un engagement superficiale, poco adatto a obiettivi complessi come l’Open Innovation, dove serve profondità, non quantità. La motivazione intrinseca, invece, è la spinta che nasce dal desiderio di autonomia, dalla competenza, e dalla volontà di migliorarsi.
This is the lever that sustains long-term commitment, stimulates authentic ideas, and helps people overcome internal inertia and resistance.
Is this the level that allows an organization to move from simple engagement to a true culture of innovation, where people are motivated not because they have to, but because they want to.

How gamification activates engagement, learning, and collaboration

The strength of the game lies in satisfying the three psychological needs identified by Self-Determination Theory:
 – Autonomy
 – Competence
 – Relationality

When these needs are activated, people enter a state of flowhigh attention, fast learning, willingness to continue.
For this gamification is recognized as a learning acceleratormakes training more active, improves comprehension and memory, reduces cognitive fatigue, and develops soft skills such as decision-making, critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication.

A key contribution is also’unlearningPlay helps unlearn obsolete routines, accept mistakes as part of the process, and adopt new perspectives. It is a safe context for risk-free testing.

Gamification and Open Innovation: a combination for collaborative creativity

Gamified workshops and hackathons: the value of experiential learning

As emerged in the study by Zhang and Zurlo (2024), if there is one place where gamification is at its best, it is precisely in the spaces where innovation is created together: workshops, co-design labs, and hackathons.
These formats are not “events,” but social technologies that make complexity more manageable and transform uncertainty into fertile ground. Play orders chaos, lowers stress, and opens up possibilities: especially in the early stages of Open Innovation, which are the most ambiguous and delicate, requiring courage, listening, and speed.

1. Gamified workshops: the gym where co-creation is born

I gamification workshop they work because they create a space where roles, hierarchies, and resistances are suspended. Clear rules, defined timeframes, and game dynamics put everyone on the same level and make interaction natural.
This approach is particularly effective in the phases early stage of innovation, when problems do not yet have a precise shape and organizational inertia is strongest. Play loosens caution, lowers defenses, allows for fearlessness in experimentation, and brings out insights that would not appear in a traditional meeting. Furthermore, participants report very concrete psychological effects: less stress, more motivation, and greater open-mindedness.

The “novelty” of playing together produces a positive shock what free creativity, generates unexpected insights and invites a reconsideration of solutions taken for granted.

2. Gamified Hackathons: High-Intensity Sprint Innovation

The hackathon they are perhaps the most iconic application of gamification in Open Innovation.

They are intense creative marathons (24–72 hours) that combine challenges, missions, time constraints, multidisciplinary teams, and continuous feedback, all typical elements of game design.
They work because they create a “controlled-pressure” environment that accelerates creativity and allows testing real ideas in rapid prototyping.

The #ENAVThinkingCup is a prime example: three days of work, over 25 teams, hours of coaching, and concrete solutions for the future of air mobility. It is a perfect example of gamified, intense, and inclusive open innovation, in which startups, companies, and researchers contribute—as players in the same ecosystem—to solving a real-world problem.

One of the most interesting pieces of evidence is that repeating the same gamified workshop produces better solutions than the first edition. The playful iteration creates incremental learning, reduces risk and strengthens internal group relationships.

The real limits: remote working is not enough

The sources reveal a clear limitation: fully digital gamified co-design formats still fail to replicate the relational intensity of in-person work. Online, engagement drops, creativity is dispersed, and collaboration loses depth.

Because of this, the future will be hybrid: digital when speed is needed, physical when cognitive intensity and quality of interactions are required.

Gamification as a lever for cultural change and a training tool

Beyond the “engagement game”: gamification as a cognitive tool

When gamification is designed with pedagogical intent, it shifts from a tool of pure engagement to a cognitive device that changes the way people learn and interact.

From classroom training to skills gyms: how serious games transform corporate learning

In Flowerista, play has become a language for building shared culture.
Through our serious games, teams experience real challenges in a safe environment.

Games like Business’n’Play for Impact they train corporate teams on ESG and sustainable governance topics, transforming training into an immersive and participatory experience.

Prompt’n’Play teaches how to chat with the AI thanks to the AI itself, trained to provide constructive feedback in real time.

This is how corporate training transforms: play becomes a real skills and relationship gym, a safe space to explore possibilities, experiment without fear of making mistakes, and design together.

How to design a sustainable and inclusive gamification experience

Designing effective gamification means building a system that works over time and truly includes everyone involved. It is not enough to introduce points, challenges, or rewards; it requires a design that carefully regulates the social, motivational, and ethical dynamics of the experience.

The first element is the’balance. Good design alternates competition and cooperation, keeping the creative tension alive without turning it into rivalry or, conversely, into a climate that is too soft and unfocused. 

The second pillar is inclusivity. Well-executed gamification does not exclude, does not create barriers, and does not reward only a certain “type” of player. It requires attention to language, accessibility, representation, and the diversity of motivational profiles. Sustainable design must be capable of accommodating different needs, including technological ones, and generating a meaningful experience for everyone, not just those most familiar with gaming dynamics.

Finally, there is the dimension of’impact. Every gamified experience produces valuable data: participation, quality of ideas, level of engagement, and collaboration skills. Measuring them makes it possible to understand what works and what doesn't, refine the design, and scale the most effective practices. 

The future of gamification in innovation processes

Gamification is undergoing a radical transformation: from an engagement tactic to a true strategic infrastructure, capable of influencing the culture, decision-making processes, and learning capabilities of organizations.

The future of gamification is moving along three main directions.

1. From individual engagement to strategic workforce management

For years gamification has been associated with’employee engagement. Today, however, it is becoming a strategic management element: it supports goals, performance, well-being, and human capital development. Careers are beginning to be thought of as narrative paths, with progressions that make visible not only what is done, but what is learned. And gamified information systems, which are more fluid, more pleasant, and more intuitive, show a clear direction: working will less and less be about “executing tasks” and more and more about experiencing an evolutionary journey.

2. From Open Innovation to “innovation gamification”

Gamification will become a structural ally of open innovation, especially to overcome cultural resistance and make complex processes collaborative.

Research shows that gamification helps organizations navigate the early stages of innovation (crowdsourcing, ideation, co-creation, participatory design) and to progress in the three phases of change: unfreezing silos and resistance (unfreezing), experimenting and safely unlearning (moving), and consolidating culture and shared values (institutionalizing). It is a journey that leads from the anxiety of the new to curiosity, and then to building a culture of openness.

It is equally evident that the future will reward quality design: fewer points and leaderboards, more scenarios, role-playing, complex choices, shared narratives. Gamification will become a cognitive technology to facilitate critical thinking, collaboration and value creation.

3. Artificial Intelligence, behavioral data, and radical personalization

The most profound transformation concerns the intersection of gamification and AI. This intersection makes adaptive design possible, capable of shaping itself to the motivational profile of each person and evolving in real time.

Gamification will no longer be a one-size-fits-all experience, but an ecosystem that recognizes behavioral patterns, anticipates drops in motivation, proposes tailor-made challenges, and optimizes team collaboration. Learning will become more like a dynamic journey that changes as we traverse it, integrating cognitive, emotional, and relational aspects. With AI, it will be possible to create learning experiences that are shaped “in real time” for the user.

4. Technological convergence: VR, metaverse, smart cities, industry 4.0

Immersive technologies are expanding the scope of gamification: from experiential training in Virtual Reality (VR), to metaverse platforms for collaborative creativity, from smart cities that reward sustainable behavior to industrial contexts that use playful dynamics for safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Gamification will enter processes, public services, and infrastructure to design systems that guide people through complexity, making innovation more accessible, participatory, and understandable. For example, with cities showing the impact of mobility choices in real time, public services that make the steps and processing times of paperwork transparent, onboarding paths that read like clear maps, and business processes that provide immediate feedback instead of abstract instructions.

This is how gamification will help people navigate increasingly complex systems with more orientation, motivation and awareness.

Conclusion

In an era when’innovation it is no longer born only inside R&D laboratories, but takes shape in the bridges built between companies, startups, universities, institutions and citizens; it is increasingly evident that the best ideas do not come from the top, but from the’collective intelligence.

Contemporary innovation is a porous, distributed process that works when people have the space to think, discuss, experiment, and imagine alternative scenarios. 

And for this very reason the game emerges as one of the most powerful allies of change.
Not a pastime, but a true cultural infrastructure. A common language that makes it possible to overcome rigidities, activate curiosity and collaboration, and make room for listening and creativity.

In a fast-changing world, innovation no longer just demands technical skills, but environments capable of continuously learn, organizations that know how to open up to the outside world, teams that face complexity with courage and a critical spirit.
The game thus becomes a mental and relational gym, a safe space to explore new possibilities, experiment without the fear of making mistakes, and design together the future we want to build.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

KEY DATA AND INSIGHTS

  • Contemporary innovation is a process open, distributed and collaborative, where private companies, tech startups, universities, public bodies, and citizens contribute to the creation of new solutions through knowledge exchange and continuous co-creation. .
  • Open Innovation is based on three recognized directions (Inbound, Outbound, Coupled) that regulate the flow of knowledge inside and outside company boundaries, using tools such as corporate venture capital, partnerships, licenses, and collaborative co-design paths. .
  • Gamification activates the three fundamental psychological needs identified by Self-Determination Theory — autonomy, competence, and relatedness — generating accelerated learning, persistent motivation, and a greater capacity for problem-solving in complex contexts.
  • Gamified workshops and hackathons represent social technologies high relational intensity: they create psychological safety, reduce resistance, facilitate lateral thinking, and encourage the emergence of insights that rarely surface in traditional meetings. .

CONCRETE ACTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

  • Driving cultural transformation following Lewin's three-phase model — unfreezing → moving → institutionalizing — using the game to reduce inertia, support iterative experimentation, and consolidate new behaviors until they become established organizational practice. .
  • Design gamification workshop that suspend roles and hierarchies, make collaboration more equitable, and enable high-value co-creation, especially in the early stages of open innovation where open-mindedness and a willingness to make mistakes are required. .
  • Integrate gamified hackathon (24-72 hours) to stimulate innovation sprint, rapid prototyping, multidisciplinary teamwork and continuous feedback; cases like #ENAVThinkingCup they demonstrate that these formats generate concrete outputs and real inter-organizational collaboration. .
  • Prioritize mechanics of intrinsic motivation (autonomy, significant challenges, immediate feedback) compared to extrinsic incentives alone (points, badges, leaderboards), which by themselves produce superficial engagement and do not sustain complex processes such as Open Innovation. .

RISKS, LIMITS AND CRITICAL ISSUES

  • Open innovation fails if a closed organizational culture persists, characterized by rejection of external ideas, excessive protection of internal skills, procedural inertia, and difficulty in unlearning obsolete routines .
  • Fully digital co-design and gamification formats do not yet replicate the relational strength and engagement intensity of in-person contexts, with negative impacts on creativity, active participation, and the speed of alignment among teams. .
  • Gamification designed solely as a “points system” risks producing mechanical behaviors and failing to sustain the deep cognitive processes necessary for an innovation culture, experiential learning, and stable organizational change. .

TOOLS AND LEVERS TO USE

  • Gamification design frameworkexplicit goals, transparent rules, visible progress, immediate feedback, and safe experimentation spaces.
  • Gamified workshops for early ideation and overcoming psychological barriers related to hierarchies, judgment, and fear of failure.
  • Hackathon for rapid innovation, continuous iteration, high-energy experimentation, and collaboration among diverse ecosystem players (startups, corporations, students, researchers).
  • Intrinsic motivation mechanics to support sustained participation: shared narrative, meaningful challenges, autonomy of choice, clear and immediate feedback, sense of progression.