Objective: Winning or Learning? A Study of Marketing Simulation Games

Abstract

Simulation Games are now broadly used by scores of business schools, especially in marketing. These games favour active, feedback-based learning, normally in groups, and exhibit characteristics of intrinsic motivation channelled into a learning perspective. If Simulation Games clearly spur individuals to “win”, it is more difficult to assess whether they effectively empower them to “learn”. This study is a literature review that examines the limitations of learning effectiveness of Simulation Games. The article then proposes two theses intended to explain the potential causes of Simulation Game ineffectiveness: (1) the incompatibility of evaluation tools and (2) pedagogical deficiency inherent in Simulation Games.