Online Simulation Games for Guided Learning: A Sport Business Case Study

Business simulation games (BSG) have become a very popular pedagogical tool in university courses and programmes all around the world. Their immense popularity has been a subject of research and academic discourse, especially the past couple of decades when many experts have called for more student-centric and reality based pedagogical approaches. Their implementation in business schools has been particularly successful, leading to improved student outcomes, satisfaction and skills improvement. Their use in sport business courses, though, has been surprisingly neglected in the pertinent literature. In the present study, we attempt to close this gap in the literature by exploring the effectiveness of BSG implementation in sport business courses, as well as the conditions and factors that facilitate the teaching and learning experience in such cases. In doing so, this research followed a mixed methods case study approach. Our findings expand previous conclusions and arguments on the effectiveness of the use of BSG in universities, to the case of sport business courses. They also identify conditions under which the teaching and learning experience is improved, namely effective group work, student engagement, satisfaction from the game and others. Based on these findings we propose useful recommendations and suggestions for future research. We also establish BSG as a form of independent, guided learning activity which is facilitated merely by individual engagement and group work and less from the tutors.