Ludic knowledge transfer: How immersive games enable cultural and sustainability learning

Abstract

Video games have become one of the most pervasive and cognitively demanding learning environments of the twenty-first century. However, how immersive gameplay translates into durable knowledge, attitudes, and real-world behavioral intentions remains under-theorized within knowledge management and sustainability learning research. This study introduces and empirically validates the Ludic Knowledge Transfer framework, which advances existing work by conceptualizing games as decentralized, emotionally immersive infrastructures for cultural and sustainability knowledge creation rather than as information-delivery tools. Grounded in absorptive capacity, narrative persuasion, and self-referencing theories, the study reframes game-based learning as a voluntary, identity-driven process through which players construct and internalize knowledge. Data were collected from 418 gamers and analyzed using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling. Findings reveal that virtual cultural immersion significantly enhances knowledge absorption (cognitive), narrative transportation (affective), and self-relevance mapping (identity), which in turn strengthen cultural heritage attitude and sustainable behavioral intentions. Perceived authenticity emerges as a boundary condition rather than a linear amplifier: moderate realism supports identity-based learning, while excessive realism constrains self-identification, though emotional engagement remains largely unaffected. The study contributes theoretically by reframing play as a mechanism of knowledge integration and by refining authenticity theory through an optimality logic. Practically, it offers actionable insights for developers, educators, and policymakers on how to calibrate authenticity, embed moral narratives, and design identity-linked experiences that translate digital immersion into real-world sustainability outcomes.