Call for papers: Games and play through the prism of economic intelligence

Coordinators : Julian Alvarez, Lucile Desmoulins et Stéphane Goria

The French concept of “intelligence économique”, i.e. economic intelligence (EI), which brings together strategic, business and competitive intelligence; is both a sector of activity and a set of techniques, methods and informational actions useful to the various economic players. In a deliberately extensive vision, EI can involve practices of intelligence, monitoring, environment scanning, influence, lobbying, information protection and security, territorial intelligence, knowledge management, foresight, economic warfare or corporate diplomacy (Smith et al, 2012; Marcon, 2016; Cansell and Desmoulins 2018; Amairia, 2022). The interaction between EI and gaming is still little explored in terms of research, despite the growing importance of this sector (Marcon, 2016; De las Heras-Rosas & Herrera, 2021; De Sousa Lopes et al, 2022; Chaudiron et al, 2023; Desmoulins et al., 2024). Yet the gaming sector is highly dynamic and competitive. Indeed, EI plays a central role in preserving or improving the competitiveness of the organizations concerned. At the same time, serious games (or not) can be a pretext, a place or a means for carrying out EI-related activities, or for improving EI training.

Thus, the video game sector represents a multi-billion dollar market (Massé and Paris, 2022) with exacerbated tensions (Richaud, 2024) involving restructuring, company takeovers, redundancies and bankruptcies in the event of a crisis, where the sector’s major companies seem cornered into repeating commercial successes (Leroy, 2022). At the same time, the introduction of GAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence) calls for a rethinking of value chains (Boily, 2024), encouraging many players to practice EI to best adapt to their environment. Similarly, this sector also embodies the challenges of videogame soft power, as illustrated by the strong appeal of the Ubisoft employer brand in France, or the distribution of titles such as Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science), which combine cultural, economic and political strategies…

The use of games in utilitarian contexts began in antiquity. Aristotle (cf. The Politics) already referred to the use of games for educational purposes. Similarly, Roman circus games were used to promote power and influence public opinion (Bougard, 2012). History shows that games have been used to network, socialize or influence, objectives that can be linked to contemporary EI practices (cf. life of the emperor Vitellius in Suetonius, The Lives of the Caesars). In addition, since the end of the 18th century, gaming has also been seen as a tool for simulating military conflicts. The Prussian kriegsspiel, for example, became a standard tool in war schools as early as 1824 (Wintjes, 2021). These simulations, known as wargames, are used not only to teach, but also to test strategic hypotheses, reflecting both operational and diplomatic aspects. Today, they are adapted on behalf of companies to explore competitive dynamics as “business wargames”, or to manage computer attacks as “cyber wargames” (Curry & Drage, 2020). More recently (from the 1980s-1990s), other “business games” have appeared, based on the use of toys such as Lego bricks (Lego serious play) in professional environments to foster innovation and problem-solving (Kristiansen & Rasmussen, 2014).

The end of the 2000s saw the serious game assert itself in various sectors, such as education (Bogost, 2007; Popescu et al, 2013; Sanchez, 2014) and healthcare (Damaševičius et al, 2023). This is a rediscovery of the work of Clark Abt (1970), which was revitalized by the success of America’s Army, a serious video game commissioned by the US Army in 2002 as a recruitment tool (Alvarez et al., 2012). In fact, the development of information technology has also led to the emergence of new types of games or play.

Today’s increasingly sophisticated serious games enable experiential learning based on practical application through play (Gouveia et al, 2011). They simulate complex decision-making and crisis management situations, taking into account ethical, legal and deontological aspects (Desmoulins, 2017). These games help to develop communication, loyalty and negotiation skills, which are essential in the field of EI (Duke & Geurts, 2004). However, their ability to deal with complex moral dilemmas remains debated (Amadieu & Tricot, 2020). In the field of entertainment games, titles such as Ingress or Pokemon Go have proposed original approaches to exploring the relationship between game and territory (Ter Minassian, 2018). Moreover, contemporary video games, with monetizable digital objects, are rethinking the relationship between gaming and the economy (Asperge et al., 2024). More broadly, the e-sport phenomenon also mobilizes EI practices to ensure their success, both in terms of security and reputation (Latty, 2024; Le Saux, 2024).

The aim of this special issue of the Revue Internationale d’Intelligence Economique is to provide an up-to-date and wide-ranging overview of approaches to the use of games for strategic, economic or territorial intelligence, influence and information protection. Although this list is by no means exhaustive, the editorial team hopes to receive proposals for articles in which the following may be discussed:

– game-based training or learning in economic intelligence, its tools, methods, techniques and challenges, but also games as spaces for observing and experimenting with decision-making, influence and information processes;

– games used to collect data, and the legal, deontological and ethical issues this raises;

– the contributions and limits of wargames and other simulation games for raising awareness, training, encouraging strategic and forsight thinking, or training decision-making in complex situations;

– gaming as a tool for influence, persuasion and/or governance;

– mega-events linked to games, such as e-sports, as promotional or soft power tools;

– the gamification of territorial spaces to improve their management or attractiveness;

– the evolution of value chains and professions associated with the various forms of play or gaming;

– exposing, listing and analyzing ways of bypassing rules and regulations in relation to games, players, publishers, etc. (for examples: Pan European Game Information standards, cultural adaptations, paradoxical uses);

– game sustainability, both in terms of replayability and environmental awareness (prevention, awareness-raising, sharing best practices, crisis management training);

– approaches to monitoring / intelligence, influence / lobbying and information security in the highly dynamic and competitive gaming sector. 

The proposed articles must be written in French or English and make a significant and original contribution to the fields mentioned above. There is no publication fees.

Schedule

– Abstract submission deadline: February 15 ;

– Notification of acceptance: March 16, 2025 ;

– Submission of full papers for evaluation: September 1, 2025;

– Return of expert reviews: October 15, 2025

– Return of revised articles: November 15

(planned publication date: end 2025)

Instructions for abstracts

Abstracts should be written in French in one of the following formats: doc, docx, odt, rtf, pdf. They should be between 3,000 and 5,000 characters including spaces, but excluding the bibliography. Abstracts should highlight the research question(s), hypothesis(es), methodology used, any feedback or conclusions, as well as an argument as to the relevance of the proposal to the journal’s call for papers and/or the broad outlines of the results, whether the investigation has already been carried out or is in progress.

Abstracts must include the following information:

Title

Author(s) : NAME 1, First name, title (e.g. Professor, University …, laboratory ; Responsable of … , entreprise Y), e-mail address ; NAME 2, First name, job title, e-mail address ; NAME 3, First name, job title, e-mail address.

Keywords: 6 maximum

Summary and bibliography

Additional questions and abstracts should be sent jointly to each of the following addresses: julian.alvarez@univ-lille.fr, lucile.desmoulins@univ-eiffel.fr, stephane.goria@univ-lorraine.fr

The email header should read: R2ie response to the call: The game through the EI prism

Bibliographie

Abt, C. (1970). Serious game. Viking press.

Alvarez, J., Djaouti, D., & Rampnoux, O. (2012). Introduction au Serious Game. Questions Théoriques, Quercy, 2012.

Amadieu, F., & Tricot, A. (2020). On apprend mieux en jouant grâce au numérique. In F. Amadieu & A. Tricot (dir.) Apprendre avec le numérique, Retz, 77-88. https://www.cairn.info/apprendre-avec-le-numerique–9782725638768-p-77.htm

Amairia, A. (2022). Quand l’intelligence économique devient territoriale : principes et agenda de recherche. Revue internationale d’intelligence économique, 14(1), 85-109. https://stm.cairn.info/revue-internationale-d-intelligence-economique-2022-1-page-85?lang=fr

Asperge, X., Laborderie, G., & Tashjian, N. (2024). Les jeux à objets numériques monétisables : marché émergent, innovation et régulation. Annales des Mines-Enjeux numériques, 26(2), 90-95. https://stm-cairn-info.bases-doc.univ-lorraine.fr/revue-enjeux-numeriques-2024-2-page-90?lang=fr

Aristote (ed. 1976). The politics of Aristotle. Oxford University Press.

Boily, A. (26 juillet 2024). L’IA vole déjà des emplois dans l’industrie des jeux vidéo. Le journal de Montréal. https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2024/07/26/lia-vole-deja-des-emplois-dans-lindustrie-des-jeux-video

Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames, Massachusetts, The MIT Press.

Bougard, F. (2012). Des jeux du cirque aux tournois : que reste-t-il de la compétition antique au haut Moyen Âge. In F. Bougard, R. Le Jan & T. Liehnard (dir.) Agon : la compétition, Ve-XIIe siècle, Turnhout, Brepols, 5-41.

Cansell, P., & Desmoulins, L. (2018). Régimes de vérité et de sincérité des livrables des prestataires de services en intelligence économique. In L. Balicco, E. Broudoux, Chartron, V. Clavier, & I. Paillart (dir.) L’éthique en contexte info-communicationnel numérique, De Boeck Supérieur, 51-69. https://doi.org/10.3917/dbu.balic.2018.01.0051

Chaudiron, S., Goria, S., & Knauf, A. (2023). Une cartographie des recherches sur la « veille » comme objet scientifique. Le cas de la France sur la période 2000-2022. Etudes de communication, 60(1), 9-35. https://shs.cairn.info/revue-etudes-de-communication-2023-1-page-9?lang=fr

Curry, J., & Drage, N. (2020). The handbook of cyber wargames: wargaming the 21st century. History of Wargaming Project.

Damaševičius, R., Maskeliūnas, R., & Blažauskas, T. (2023). Serious games and gamification in healthcare: a meta-review. Information, 14(2), 105. https://doi.org/10.3390/info14020105

De las Heras-Rosas, C., & Herrera, J. (2021). Innovation and competitive intelligence in business. A bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Financial Studies, 9(2), 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs9020031

De Sousa Lopes, B., Amorim, V., Au-Yong-Oliveira, M., & Rua, O. L. (2022). Competitive and business intelligence: a bibliometric analysis. In International Conference on Quality Innovation and Sustainability (pp. 187-197). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12914-8_15

Desmoulins, L. (2017). Pédagogie et dilemmes de l’enseignement de l’éthique du lobbying. Communication & professionnalisation, 5, 122-144. https://doi.org/10.14428/rcompro.vi5.913

Desmoulins, L., Zetlaoui, T., Debray, S. Challah, R., Serghini, Z. (Apr 2024). Conception polyphonique d’un jeu sérieux multivalent sur la régulation, la déontologie et l’éthique de l’influence, l’XP#CharlieDilemme. Diversité, Réussite[s] dans l’Enseignement Supérieur (2024), Nantes Université, France. https://hal.science/hal-04553957/document

Duke, R. D., & Geurts, J. L. A. (2004). Policy games for strategic management: Pathways into the unknown, Dutch University Press.

Gouveia, D., Lopes, D., & De Carvalho, C. V. (2011). Serious gaming for experiential learning. Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Rapid City, SD, USA, 2011, pp. T2G-1-T2G-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2011.6142778

Kristiansen, P., & Rasmussen, R. (2014). Building a better business using the Lego serious play method. John Wiley & Sons.

Latty, F. (2024). Les Jeux olympiques à l’épreuve du droit (et inversement), Pouvoirs. Revue française d’études constitutionnelles et politiques, 189, 25-36. https://doi.org/10.3917/pouv.189.0025

Le Saux, N. (2024). Eviter le chaos : le renseignement privé, entre solution et controverse. Revue Lexsociété. https://hal.science/hal-04548474v1/file/Nicolas%20LE%20SAUX.pdf

Leroy, F. (2022). Vie et mort de l’éditeur THQ. Entreprises et histoire, (4), 81-100. https://doi.org/10.54695/eh.109.0081

Marcon C., La recherche française en intelligence économique. In N. Moinet & A. Guilhon (dir.), Intelligence économique. S’informer, se protéger, influencer, Editions Pearson, 322-329.

Massé, D., & Paris, T. (2022). Jeux vidéo : petite histoire de la structuration d’une grande industrie. Entreprises et histoire, (4), 7-17. https://doi.org/10.54695/eh.109.0007

Popescu, M. M., Romero, M., & Usart, M. (2013). Serious games for serious learning using SG for business, management and defence education. International Journal of Computer Science Research and Application, 3(1), 5-15.

Richaud, N (27 mai 2024). 10.000 licenciements dans le secteur depuis le début de l’année. Les Echos. https://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/hightech/jeux-video-plus-de-10000-licenciements-dans-le-secteur-depuis-le-debut-de-lannee-2097175

Sanchez, E. (2014). Serious Games? Four ideas that should be considered when it comes to introducing games into the classroom. InMedia. The French Journal of Media Studies, (5). https://doi.org/10.4000/inmedia.814

Suetonius (ed. 2007). Lives of the Caesars. Penguin, London.

Smith, J. R., Wright, S., & Larivet, S. (2012). Public policy initiatives for French SMEs: accelerating competitive intelligence proficiency. In Proceedings of International Small Business & Enterprise Conference (ISBE), 7th-9th November, Dublin, Ireland.

Ter Minassian, H. (2018). Drawing Video Game Mental Maps: From Emotional Games to Emotions of Play. Cartographic Perspectives, (91), 47-62. https://doi.org/10.14714/CP 91.143

Wintjes, J. (2021). A school for war–a brief history of the Prussian Kriegsspiel, Simulation and Wargaming, 23-64. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119604815.ch2