A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Decision-Making in a Real-Time Business Simulation Game: Cultural and Demographic Aspects in Small Group Dynamics
Authors: Bragge Johanna, Kallio Henrik, Seppälä Tomi, Lainema Timo, Malo Pekka
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
Publication year: 2017
Journal: International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making
Volume: 16
Issue: 3
First page : 779
Last page: 815
Number of pages: 37
ISSN: 0219-6220
eISSN: 1793-6845
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219622017500171
Web address : http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S0219622017500171
Simulated virtual realities offer a promising but currently underutilized source of data in studying cultural and demographic aspects of dynamic decision-making (DDM) in small groups. This study focuses on one simulated reality, a clock-driven business simulation game, which is used to teach operations management. The purpose of our study is to analyze the characteristics of the decision-making groups, such as cultural orientation, education, gender and group size, and their relationship to group performance in a real-time processed simulation game. Our study examines decision-making in small groups of two or three employees from a global manufacturing and service operations company. We aim at shedding new light on how such groups with diverse background profiles perform as decision-making units. Our results reveal that the profile of the decision-making group influences the outcome of decision-making, the final business result of the simulation game. In particular, the cultural and gender diversity, as well as group size seem to have intertwined effects on team performance.