Abstract
Researchers claim that experiential learning approaches (e.g., gamification) are well-suited to management and entrepreneurship education. However, this research has been conducted mostly in small classroom settings. With the increases in the number of university business students, many business courses have also increased in size. The large classroom setting introduces new pedagogic concerns, in particular regarding the complexity of the teaching–learning environment, as a result of students having diverse educational backgrounds, skills, and learning styles. This article explores this concern in its investigation of the ways in which business higher education can prompt various business behaviors among students in large classrooms.By utilizing the gamification of concepts, we created an experiential learning exercise—the Strategic Business Game. Questionnaire surveys conducted with the 126 university students enrolled into two majors during the game reveal that this educational learning experience prompts the students’ causation and effectuation behaviors. In this educational learning experience, the complexity of the large classroom is seen as an advantage and gives the educators an opportunity to increase the quality of the student interaction. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the appropriateness of experiential learning through gamification on individuals’ business behaviors as revealed in large classes in management and entrepreneurship education.
Highlights
The management literature frequently argues that organizations owe their success to their employees’ knowledge and skills (e.g., Macey et al, 2011; Richman, 2006)
Employees acquire much of this knowledge and many of these skills in the learning process that occurs in higher education
We justify our selection of the gamification approach for the following reasons: First, we argue that the gamification approach compensates for the negative effect of the low interaction among students and educators in large classrooms; second, the gamification approach provokes curiosity in students and motivates them to become engaged in the learning process (Buckley & Doyle, 2016; Kim, 2012); third, the gamification approach can be used to mirror conditions in practical business environments
Summary
The management literature frequently argues that organizations owe their success to their employees’ knowledge and skills (e.g., Macey et al, 2011; Richman, 2006). The expectation is that this education will give students the knowledge and teach them the skills needed to undertake creative activities, identify and react to opportunities, take risks, and solve problems using a critical mind-set essential for organizations’ survival and success (Collins et al, 2004; Roffe, 1996). This knowledge and set of skills are referred to as entrepreneurship knowledge in the management literature (e.g., Morris et al, 2013; Sarasvathy, 2008). The increasing popularity of classes in higher education that offer instruction in these areas suggests there is a demand by students for such entrepreneurship knowledge (Katz, 2003; Kuratko, 2005; Solomon, 2007)
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