Serious games to study the management of paradoxes in family firms: Introducing a research agenda

Abstract

Entrepreneurs face seemingly conflicting goals in a rapidly changing and complex world. Especially family businesses are prone to such paradoxical tensions due to the interconnectedness of the family and the firm. Despite their relevance in entrepreneurial business practice, current research lacks methods to examine individual behavior in the management of paradoxes. We introduce serious games as a method capable of simulating context-rich and immersive environments to understand entrepreneurial decision-making in paradoxical situations. In an exploratory study, we quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed the behavior of 181 players in a self-programmed serious game with a focus on decision-making in a family firm. With this initial implementation of a serious game, we show the method's potential for advancing (family) entrepreneurship research and behavioral management theories. We propose a new research agenda that harnesses context-rich games for behavioral analyses, entrepreneurship education, and the development of coping strategies for the management of paradoxes.