Simulation Games and the Development of Competences. Empirical Evidence in Marketing

The use of simulation games in education is a growing tendency in Spanish universities. This has been spurred on by their need to renovate their teaching methodologies to adopt them to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). These simulators are used in teaching to develop the students’ capacities and skills related to, for example, encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit, teamwork and competitiveness among peers. On the other hand, as they allow the students to adopt a business role and apply their acquired knowledge, they contribute to narrowing the gap between theory and practice. Nonetheless, the usefulness of this valuation depends on the users’ involvement and active participation. This is conditioned by their global assessment of the simulators. This is why, knowledge of the factors which affect this assessment is considered to be a key addition to the success of the simulator-based didactic methods. This study means to contribute by presenting the results of an experience in teaching innovation founded on the use of the Quantum marketing simulator, which was developed by investigators in the Carlos III University, Madrid. From a questionnaire given to 138 students, the global valuation of the Quantum experience is analyzed, as well as its relationship with motivational aspects and the acquiring of capacities and competences. The results suggest a positive global valuation conditioned by prior motivation and the student’s perception of the simulator’s impact on the acquiring of capacities and skills.