Organizational factors influencing simulation performance: A large scale simulation approach to strategic management pedagogy

Simulations have been part of instruction in business schools for many years. Researchers have dealt extensively with the prediction of performance in simulations. While some studies believe that success in simulation games is entirely due to random effects, some others attempt to identify antecedent factors on performance and suggest that several simultaneous factors influence performance. Gosenpud and Miesing (1992) identified key factors that influence performance. Results indicated that while motivational and interest factors were significant influences on performance, factors related to ability, confidence, cohesion and formal organization were unimportant. The purpose of this study is to validate the results by replicating the study in a different context using a large-scale simulation approach (LSS) and to address some of the limitations identified by Gosenpud and Miesing (1992). The study is important for pedagogical reasons. Identification of key factors that influence performance will help to understand potential problem areas related to student performance. Factors that affect game performance are systematically investigated to differentiate them from random effects.