Do Gaming Simulations Substantiate That We Know More Than We Can Tell?

Abstract

Background. Revealing tacit knowledge often is seen as very valuable for organizations, although it is usually challenging to enunciate and share this type of knowledge. Methods. This study uses a participatory design and the application of a board gaming simulation as instruments to extract tacit knowledge. To illustrate this application, the gaming simulation is played with entrepreneurs from horticulture. Horticulture represents a complex social system where tacit knowledge plays a major role in the trade process. A participatory design process is used to explore whether the design and play of gaming simulations enable participants to explicate their tacit knowledge. Participants’ participation in designing the gaming simulation explicated that reconstructing reality was a prerequisite for their commitment. Results. The results from playing simulation sessions show that participants were able to: (1) narrow down the anecdotic behaviour to a few factors; (2) to structure these factors; (3) explore how these factors relate to trade barriers and (4) to explain which tactics are applied to foster trade. Conclusion. The educational value of this study is that it helped entrepreneurs in understanding complex real-life situations.

Ghosts of the Titanomachy: Structure, Commitment, Economics, and Risk as Causal Mechanisms in an Online Battle

“…However, the author does not have exhaustive summary statistics specifically for EVE Online players. CCP Games tracks age distributions, account duration, and login activity, but these data do not easily explain player skill or economic knowledge (let alone political belief spectrums), the combination of which could further illuminate player behavior (van Haaften et al, 2021). While the author can infer some age and geographic distribution data from the Battle of B-R5RB, the author cannot conclusively state that players do or do not fit within specific ethnic, sex, economic, political, geographic, or other population.…”

“…Inductive case studies often take the form of 'total history,' which assumes that everything is connected to everything else and which consequently aims to explain all aspects of a case and their interconnections" (pp. 4; also Verba, 1967;Eckstein, 1975;Lijphart, 1971). The author chose the inductive ideographic case study approach since their intent is to inductively tease out causal mechanisms after immersing in this single battle case, then deductively apply the mechanisms in follow-on research.…”

Learning through Play: A Serious Game as a Tool to Support Circular Economy Education and Business Model Innovation

“…The in-game collaboration with a teammate, in combination with a group debriefing during which players' strategies are discussed, encourage players to make explicit their tacit views [71] about risk-management, priority-setting, short-term vs. long-term profitability, and producer responsibility to create sustainable products. By helping players to reflect on their actions and to articulate the reasons behind their decisions, Risk&RACE helps players to gain a deeper understanding of their drivers and barriers, raises awareness of the sustainability impacts of their decisions, and encourages them to explore new solutions.…”