RESEARCH www.commprac.com ISSN 1462 2815 COMMUNITY PRACTITIONER 887 APR Volume 21 Issue 04 THE EFFECT OF GAMIFICATION ON CUSTOMER RETENTION IN AUTOMOTIVE AFTER-SALES SERVICES: A CASE STUDY OF THE AUTHORIZED CAR DEALER IN INDONESIA Yuly Kridiawan 1 , and Gunawan Wang 2 1,2 Information Systems Management Department, BINUS Graduate Program, Master of Information Systems Management, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta. Email: 1 yuly.kridiawan@gmail.com (*Corresponding Author), 2 gunawan.wang@binus.ac.id DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11044529 Abstract The automotive industry, an important pillar in the global economy after the 2008 global financial crisis, is facing new challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with a projected increase in car sales and a decline in new car sales margins. Automotive after-sales service proved to be crisis-proof during COVID-19 and made car manufacturers prioritize it as a source of profit. To retain customers and profits, high-quality after-sales service is key. In the context of intense competition, gamification is an attractive strategy to achieve sustainable business growth. However, the impact of gamification on customer retention in automotive after-sales service is still not well understood and few studies have addressed it. This study investigates the impact of gamification on customer retention in automotive after-sales service through questionnaire data from main dealer customers. The analysis shows that gamification has both direct and indirect effects on customer satisfaction and engagement on customer retention. The findings provide important insights for the automotive industry in improving after-sales service strategies and understanding the role of gamification. Practical implications include developing more effective gamification strategies and a better understanding of customer preferences. Future studies could focus more on exploring additional variables and longitudinal research over a longer period to further explore the resilience of gamification's impact. Keywords: Gamification, Customer Retention, Automotive Aftersales Service, Customer Satisfaction, Automotive Dealership. 1. INTRODUCTION After recovering from the 2008 global financial crisis, the automotive industry has become an important pillar in the global economy, as it is a profitable and viable industry. Practitioners predict that in the most likely outcome scenario after covid-19, annual car sales will increase from 77 million in 2020 to 97 million in 2025 and 121 million in 2030 (Harrison, 2020). With the extension of product life, the profit margin in the automotive sales sector decreases. This has led automakers to prioritize the aftermarket, which has become a source of profit for manufacturers and dealers (Aboltins & Rivza, 2014). Increased competition in the automotive industry has encouraged automotive companies to focus on after-sales strategies to retain customers. High-quality after- sales service is a key factor in building customer satisfaction, which in turn contributes to long-term customer retention. In the automotive industry, understanding and retaining customers is crucial as losing customers can be detrimental to a business while retaining existing customers can provide sustainable profits. Therefore, focusing on customer retention is an important step in maintaining profits and growth of the automotive business in the long term (Akaeze & Akaeze, 2017).