The Strategic Management Practice in an Online Experiential Learning Laboratory

Abstract

Objective : Managing strategically is a challenge of management practice. It is important that business schools offer an education that can prepare managers to act strategically in organizations. The Online Management Laboratory (OML) is a management education model that combines virtual and face-to-face education using elements of strategic management in the teaching and learning process. This study aims to analyze the opinion of participants exposed to this model to know how much it has contributed to the learning of the strategic management process. Method : We adopted a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews with 29 participants of the model. Data processing was performed through content analysis (Bardin, 2011). Originality / Relevance : The importance of OML is based on literature that identifies the limitations of traditional methods of education. A model that complements the expository method with experiential activity in online environment gives meaning to the learning of strategic management. Results : The results indicated that the stages of formulation and implementation of strategic management were the most applied by participants in the business game, to the detriment of the control stage. It was possible to verify that the emergent strategies were more frequent than the deliberate strategies and that the participants learned from the mistakes in the decision making. Theoretical / methodological contributions : The study contributed to advances in strategic management, reinforcing that active method such as simulation and business play can be used in an online environment to promote the learning of strategic management in a dynamic and meaningful way.