The Impact of Serious Games in Economic and Business Education: A Case of ERP Business Simulation

Abstract

Digitalisation nowadays impacts business environments significantly. Therefore, if higher education wants to educate students properly for a successful career path, the business and economics curriculum must be enriched with innovative teaching approaches covering actual topics, such as, for example, the implementation of the ERPsim business simulation, a representative of serious games. The ERPsim business simulation is based on SAP ERP, and is aimed at teaching ERP concepts. It covers different business processes, and allows students to learn using a hands-on approach, simulating real-life scenarios. The presented research focuses on using an ERPsim business simulation as the introduction to the course. The simulation was implemented to ease the introduction of ERP and IT concepts to the business and economic oriented students. Considering the positive effects of serious games and gamification, our research was formed and focused on knowledge acquisition and future student engagement. We researched whether participation in the introductory simulation results in significant knowledge gain and impacts students’ future course engagement. The data were gathered using a self-assessment questionnaire before and after an introductory simulation. The results were highly positive, confirming many positive aspects of business simulation, among others, significant knowledge increase in the domains of business process and ERP transactions, and in the domain of technical knowledge for SAP ERP. The results confirmed that the introductory simulation is appropriate for introducing ERP concepts to newcomers, and, nevertheless, confirmed the positive impact on their intent on future course engagement.

Business Simulation Games in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research

“…Specific simulation games were used in different courses to improve the content knowledge of students. For example, the pre-postgame survey' results of a study by Beranič and Heričko [62] showed a positive impact on students' knowledge in the business process and ERP transactions and in the domain of technical knowledge for SAP ERP. Similarly, a quantitative study by Angolia and Pagliari [119] discussed an ERP simulation game to aid students' conceptual learning of ERP systems in a supply chain course.…”

“…They observed students' active participation and social interaction and reported an overall positive impact on interactive skills. Other reported that the interactive skills enhanced by playing BSGs are communication, persuasion, and conflict resolution (i) Positive effects were reported concerning students' engagement with the simulation activity [43,46,62,65,67,68,76,83] (ii) Increased motivation toward playing simulation [4,41,42,64,65,69,84] (iii) Higher satisfaction levels with the course content [4,42,47,65,84] (iv) Increased self-efficacy [39,50,64,66,68,76] (v) Increased self-awareness and confidence [38,39,68,91] To conclude, most of the selected papers reveal positive effects regarding the use of computer simulation games on learning outcomes. Figure 12 shows the most common learning outcomes of BSGs identified in the selected papers of this review.…”

Attractiveness of Collaborative Platforms for Sustainable E-Learning in Business Studies

“…(e.g., [62]), different groups of students (e.g., economics, computer science, law, etc.) (e.g., [130,131]), differences by using the same e-learning platforms in different countries (e.g., [132,133]), gender of students (e.g., [134]), age, etc. Another limitation of the research is that, over time, the importance of the studied factors of the research model changes [34], so it would be sensible to conduct longitudinal research in the future.…”

Revisão sistemática da literatura sobre a gamificação no ensino superior em administração e ciências contábeis

“…A docência do ensino superior traz consigo muitos desafios, sendo que um dos principais obstáculos enfrentados pelos profissionais atuantes nessa modalidade de ensino, é reter a atenção dos alunos em sala de aula diante de um conglomerado de informações e avanços tecnológicos tais como: big data 1 , internet das coisas 2 e outros (Fardo, 2013). Essa explosão tecnológica faz com que a atenção dos alunos em sala de aula se disperse, principalmente quando não recebem estímulos suficientes para se concentrarem nas aulas (Beranic & Hericko, 2022).…”

“…A gamificação é um método de ensino que utiliza jogos de forma dinâmica com o protagonismo dos envolvidos no processo de aprendizagem (Beranic & Hericko, 2022). Especificamente, sua implementação nos cursos de Administração e Contabilidade coloca os estudantes em um ambiente de negócios, para que utilizem seu potencial e sua capacidade crítica à resolução dos conflitos.…”