Effectiveness of a Negotiation Simulation Game in IB Learning

ABSTRACT

This study describes a foreign investment negotiation simulation game and evaluates its effectiveness on the teaching and learning of international business. The game involves the application of the major topics of an introductory international business course to a setting that is close to the real world, thus allows students to explore the association between theory and practice. By quantitative and qualitative analysis on the primary data collected from both face-to-face and online classes at the same time, the study finds strong evidence that the negotiation simulation game significantly improves students learning in both class settings, and the poor performers benefit the most from the simulation game. Evidence also shows that the simulation game is more effective in enhancing students learning in the traditional face-to-face class than the online class, indicating class settings matter. The findings suggest higher-level learning requires deep engagement of students, and student-centered active learning strategies like the negotiation simulation game can effectively engage all students, including those who are difficult to engage with other traditional pedagogical methods. Therefore, the simulation game can be an important addition to the teaching portfolio to accommodate students with different learning styles. Moreover, the game offers an experiential learning opportunity that improves both the cognitive and affective experiences of students learning, and provides hands-on experience of business negotiations. Professors, especially those who are searching for an active learning tool for teaching international business online could benefit from this study.

KEYWORDS:

• Simulation game
• Students learning
• International business
• Face-to-face
• Online

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ https://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/highered.html accessed on 11/23/19.

² Pasin and Giroux (2011) define pedagogical simulation games as “challenging interactive pedagogical exercises, wherein learners must use their knowledge and skills to attain specific goals, played within an artificial reproduction of a relevant reality.”

³ https://www.theclassroom.com/problems-online-classes-1331.html accessed on 4/11/19.

⁴ Video Bridge refers to the virtual rooms (also known as bridges) for faculty and students to meet online at any time and from anywhere. It allows multiple participants to meet and collaborate with full two-way HD video and audio, screen sharing, and chat. The meeting time is set from 7 pm to 8:45 pm to accommodate the schedule of most students who take online classes.

⁵ The results are not reported but available upon request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Haiyan Yin

Haiyan Yin is an Associate Professor of International Business in Indiana University South Bend. She has taught different international business and finance courses in multiple institutions and won various teaching awards.