Exploring Gamification in Management Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Interdisciplinary approaches are sought in academia as a means to help resolve aspects of unsustainability. In management education, one of many challenges that relate to interdisciplinary working is the development and reinforcement of disciplinary working in teaching sessions. Indeed, perspectives on sustainable development from different disciplines can be brought into teaching activities and presented to students. However, taking different perspectives into education require students to be actively engaged. Drawing on the novel approach known as gamification, this paper explores how it can be used to elevate students’ engagement in management education for sustainable development. Gamification is a broad concept, which has been used in multiple settings such as marketing to promote actor engagement. Using case study research, a case was developed to illustrate the use of gamification in an education management context. Findings show how gamification can be used in teaching to increase motivation and engagement among students. The paper concludes that gamification may offer a pedagogic approach to elevate students’ engagement in management education for sustainable development and to promote multi-disciplinary working.