Teaching with business simulation games: Identifying and overcoming hurdles to adoption.

Abstract

Although the use of business simulation games (BSG) in higher education has grown steadily, there are still many instructors who have never taught with BSG and their use in several academic disciplines remains very low. Existing research has primarily used quantitative surveys to identify the hurdles that prevent faculty from teaching with BSG. This article uses a focus group methodology to further investigate the obstacles to using BSG and subsequently applies a change management framework to identify levers that can be used to promote the use of BSG. The obstacles to adoption are classified into categories of suitability, risk and resources. Focus group participants expressed concerns over the suitability of existing BSG for their courses and the expected time required to identify, evaluate and prepare to teach with BSG. These factors made most focus group participants consider teaching with BSG as fraught with risk. In response, universities can encourage faculty to start using BSG in their teaching through the provision of resources, information and training, and through organizational adjustments such as incentives and flexibility to adjust course syllabi. A full range of measures is identified and the environmental contexts in which each one is likely to be effective are discussed. The individual levers that can bring about change have different environmental contexts in which they are likely to be effective.