Learner Satisfaction in Marketing Simulation Games

Abstract

Simulation games have become widespread in business courses, yet the understanding of their learning effects remains limited. The effectiveness of using simulation in marketing classes is not uniform, and not all students welcome it to the same extent. Drawing on a survey among 173 students engaged in a simulation game as part of a course in a 2-year business graduate program, we employ “expectation–confirmation theory” and the “unified theory of acceptance and use of technology” to develop a model to investigate the relation between Learner Satisfaction and Performance Expectancy and Effort Expectancy with a marketing simulation game. In addition, we examine the influence of Age, Gender, Course Type, Course Stage, and Recalled Performance. We report that Performance Expectancy and Effort Expectancy drive Learner Satisfaction. We also find Recalled Performance of students to be related to Learner Satisfaction. We discuss the implications of our results for the use of marketing simulation games in business programs in relation to experiential learning theory linking Learner Satisfaction to learning outcomes. In light of our results, instructors can affect the learning experience from simulation games by acting on Performance Expectancy and Effort Expectancy as antecedents of Learner Satisfaction.

Keywords

simulation game satisfaction marketing learning education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alpert

(1993). Large-scale simulation in marketing education. Journal of Marketing Education, 15(2), 30-35.

Amstutz

A. E.

(1967). Computer simulation of competitive market response. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Balderson

F. E.

Hogatt

(1964). Simulating market processes. In Day

R. L.

(Ed.), Marketing models (pp. 29-39). Scranton, PA: International Textbook.

Bhattacherjee

(2001). Understanding information systems continuance: An expectation-confirmation model. MIS Quarterly, 25, 351-370.

Bobot

(2010). Teaching sales and negotiation with combining computer-based simulation and case discussions. Marketing Education Review, 20, 115-122.

Brennan

Vos

(2013). Effects of participation in a simulation game on marketing students’ numeracy and financial skills. Journal of Marketing Education, 35, 259-270.

Buche

M. W.

Davis

L. R.

Vician

(2012). Does technology acceptance affect e-learning in a non-technology-intensive course? Journal of Information Systems Education, 23, 41-50.

Chapman

K. J.

Sorge

C. L.

(1999). Can a simulation help achieve course objectives? An exploratory study investigating differences among instructional tools. Journal of Education for Business, 74, 225-230.

Churchill

G. A.

Jr. Surprenant

(1982). An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction. Journal of Marketing Research, 19, 491-504.

10.

Clark

Yates

Early

Moulton

(2009). An analysis of the failure of electronic media and discovery based learning: Evidence for the performance benefits of guided training methods. In Foshay

W. R.

Silber

K. H.

(Eds.), Handbook of training and improving workplace performance: Instructional design and delivery (pp. 263-297). Washington, DC: International Society for Performance Development.

11.

Cook

Owens-Swift

(2006). The pedagogical efficacy of a sales management simulation. Marketing Education Review, 16(3), 37-46.

12.

Cronin

J. J.

Jr. Taylor

(1992). A measuring service quality: A reexamination and extension. Journal of Marketing, 56(3), 55-68.

13.

Cyert

R. M.

March

J. G.

Moore

C. C.

(1963). A specific price and output model. In Cyert

R. M.

March

J. G.

(Eds.), A behavioral theory of firm (pp. 128-148). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

14.

Davis

F. D.

(1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13, 319-340.

15.

Davis

F. D.

(1993). User acceptance of information technology: System characteristics, user perceptions and behavioral impacts. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 38, 475-487.

16.

Doyle

Brown

F. W.

(2000). Using a business simulation to teach applied skills: The benefits and the challenges of using student teams from multiple countries. Journal of European Industrial Training, 24, 330-336.

17.

Drea

J. T.

Tripp

Struenkel

(2005). An assessment of the effectiveness of an in-class game on marketing students’ perceptions and learning outcomes. Marketing Education Review, 15(1), 25-33.

18.

Elam

E. R. L.

Spotts

H. E.

(2004). Achieving marketing curriculum integration. Journal of Marketing Education, 26, 50-65.

19.

Faria

A. J.

(2001). The changing nature of business simulation/gaming research: A brief history. Simulation & Gaming, 32, 97-110.

20.

Faria

A. J.

(2006). History, current usage, and learning from marketing simulation games: A detailed literature review. Proceeding of the Marketing Management Associations, 138-139. Retrieved from http://www.mmaglobal.org/publications/Proceedings/2006-MMA-Fall-Educators-Conference-Proceedings.pdf

21.

Faria

A. J.

Wellington

W. J.

(2004). A survey of simulation game users, former-users, and never-users. Simulation & Gaming, 35, 178-207.

22.

Fenwick

G. D.

Neal

D. J.

(2001). Effect of gender composition on group performance. Gender, Work & Organization, 8, 205-225.

23.

Forrester

J. W.

(1959, March-April). Advertising: A problem in industrial dynamics. Harvard Business Review, 37, 100-110.

24.

Garber

L. I.

Hyatt

E. M.

Boya

Ausherman

(2012). The association between learning and learning style in instructional marketing games. Marketing Education Review, 22, 167-183.

25.

Giese

J. L.

Cote

J. A.

(2000). Defining customer satisfaction. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 1(1), 1-22.

26.

Glazer

Winer

R. S.

Steckel

J. H.

(1987). Group process and decision performance in a simulated marketing environment. Journal of Business Research, 15, 545-557.

27.

Gupta

Singh

Verma

(2010). Simulation: An effective marketing tool. International Journal of Computer Applications, 4(11), 8-12.

28.

Harrigan

Hulbert

(2011). How can marketing academics serve marketing practice? The new marketing DNA as a model for marketing education. Journal of Marketing Education, 33, 253-272.

29.

Hoover

J. D.

Whitehead

(1975). An experiential-cognitive methodology in the first course in management: Some preliminary results. Simulation Games and Experiential Learning in Action, 2, 23-25.

30.

Hossain

M. H.

Quaddus

(2011). Expectation-Confirmation Theory in information system research: A review and analysis. In Dwivedi

Y. K.

Wade

M. R.

Schneberger

S. L.

(Eds.), Information systems theory, explaining and predicting our digital society (pp. 441-469). New York, NY: Springer.

31.

Kaenzig

Hyatt

Anderson

(2007). Gender differences in college of business educational experiences. Journal of Education for Business, 83, 95-100.

32.

Kaplowitz

Block

(1998). Gender-related group dynamics in problem-based learning: A retrospective study. Academic Psychiatry, 22, 197-202.

33.

Kolb

A. Y.

Kolb

D. A.

(2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4, 193-212.

34.

Kolb

D. A.

(1984). Experiential learning: Experience as a source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

35.

Kotler

(1965). Competitive strategies for new product marketing over the product life cycle. Management Science, 12, 104-119.

36.

Larréché

J-C.

(1987). On simulations in business education and research. Journal of Business Research, 15, 559-571.

37.

LaTour

S. A.

Peat

(1979). Conceptual and methodological issues in consumer satisfaction research. Advances in Consumer Research, 6, 431-437.

38.

Laughlin

J. L.

Hite

R. E.

(1993). Game and simulation effectiveness in marketing education: An experimental investigation. Journal of Marketing Education, 15, 39-46.

39.

Laverie

(2006). In-class active cooperative learning: A way to build knowledge and skills in marketing courses. Marketing Education Review, 16(2), 59-76.

40.

Lowe

D’Alessandro

Winzar

Laffey

Collier

(2013). The use of Web 2.0 technologies in marketing classes: Key drivers of student acceptance. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 12, 412-422.

41.

Murray

J. P.

Dacin

P. A.

(1996). Cognitive moderators of negative-emotion effects: Implications for understanding media context. Journal of Consumer Research, 22, 439-447.

42.

Nunnally

J. C.

(1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

43.

Oliver

R. L.

(1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 17, 460-469.

44.

Oliver

R. L.

(1996). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

45.

Podsakoff

P. M.

MacKenzie

S. B.

Lee

J-L.

Podsakoff

(2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903.

46.

Ranchhod

Gurau

Trivedi

Euripides

(2014). Evaluating the educational effectiveness of simulation games: A value-generation model. Information Science, 264, 75-90.

47.

Shen

Eder

(2009). Intentions to use virtual words in education. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20, 225-233.

48.

Shycon

H. M.

Maffie

R. B.

(1960, November-December). Simulation tool for better distribution. Harvard Business Review, 4, 21-41.

49.

Smith

L. W.

Van Doren

D. C.

(2004). The reality-based learning method: A simple method for keeping teaching activities relevant and effective. Journal of Marketing Education, 26, 66-74.

50.

Smith-Lovin

Brody

(1989). Interruptions in group discussions: The effects of gender and group composition. American Sociological Review, 54, 425-435.

51.

Soper

D. S.

(2016). A-priori sample size calculator for hierarchical multiple regression [Software]. Retrieved from http://www.danielsoper.com/statcalc

52.

Spreng

R. A.

Mackoy

R. D.

(1996). An empirical examination of a model of perceived service quality and satisfaction. Journal of Retailing, 72, 201-214.

53.

Taylor

S. A.

Baker

T. L.

(1994). An assessment of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in the formation of consumers’ purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing, 70, 163-178.

54.

Tonks

D. G.

(2012). Using marketing simulation for teaching and learning: Reflections on an evolution. Active Learning in Higher Education, 3, 177-194.

55.

Tonks

D. G.

(2005). The processing and pedagogy of marketing simulations. Marketing Review, 5, 371-382.

56.

Tse

D. K.

Wilton

P. C.

(1988). Models of consumer satisfaction formation: An extension. Journal of Marketing Research, 25, 204-212.

57.

Van Hiel

Schittekatte

. (1998). Information exchange in context: Effects of gender composition of group, accountability, and intergroup perception on group decision making. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 2049-2067.

58.

Venkatesh

Bala

(2008). Technology acceptance model 3 and a research agenda on interventions. Decision Sciences, 39, 273-315.

59.

Venkatesh

Davis

F. D.

(2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46, 186-204.

60.

Venkatesh

Morris

M. G.

Davis

F. D.

Davis

G. B.

(2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27, 425-478.

61.

Vos

Brennan

(2010). Marketing simulation games: Student and lecturer perspectives. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 28, 882-897.

62.

Walker

Tsarenko

Wagstaff

Powell

Steel

(2009). The development of competent marketing professionals. Journal of Marketing Education, 31, 253-263.

63.

Wellington

W. J.

Faria

A. J.

(1993). An investigation of the relationship between simulation play, performance level, and recency of play on exam scores. Development in Business Simulation & Experience Exercises, 18, 111-117.

64.

Wellington

W. J.

Faria

A. J.

(1996). Team cohesion, player attitude, and performance expectations in simulation. Simulation & Games, 27, 23-40.

65.

Wilson

K. A.

Bedwell

W. L.

Lazzara

E. H.

Salas

Burke

C. S.

Estock

. . . Conkey

(2009). Relationships between games attributes and learning outcomes: Review and research proposals. Simulating & Gaming, 40, 217-266.

66.

Wolfe

Roberts

C. R.

(1993). A further study of the external validity of business games: Five year peer group indicators. Simulation & Gaming, 24, 21-33.

67.

Wright

L. K.

Bitner

M. J.

Zeithaml

V. A.

(1994). Paradigm shifts in business education: Using active learning to deliver services marketing content. Journal of Marketing Education, 16(3), 5-19.

68.

Gao

(2011). Applying the extended technology acceptance model to the use of clickers in student learning: Some evidence from macroeconomics classes. American Journal of Business Education, 4(7), 43-50.

69.

Young

M.R.

Klemz

B.R.

Murphy

J.W.

(2003). Enhancing learning outcomes: The effects of instructional technology, learning styles, instructional methods, and student behavior. Journal of Marketing Education, 25(2), 130-143.