The impact of virtual corporate social responsibility co-creation on consumers’ willingness to participate

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of gamified and non-gamified virtual corporate social responsibility (CSR) co-creation on consumers’ willingness to participate, the underlying psychological mechanisms, as well as the moderating effect of incident urgency. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on dual-process theory and value co-creation theory, a series of three scenario-based experiments was conducted. Study 1 involved 156 participants, Study 2 involved 83 participants and Study 3 involved 274 participants. Findings Consumers prefer gamified virtual CSR co-creation, with perceived trust and perceived pleasure as mediators. Incident urgency moderates this effect, which only exists under low urgency. Research limitations/implications Practical implications This study challenges the stereotype of gamification as a panacea. It offers practical guidance for businesses and provides a reference for policymakers in designing urgency-based response systems and other digital social responsibility frameworks. Social implications Originality/value This study finds that gamification is context-dependent rather than universally applicable. It boosts engagement in low-urgency scenarios, while non-gamified methods work equally well under high urgency.