Impact of an ERP simulation game on online learning

Abstract The ever increasing use of online education dictates that the use of traditional face-to-face tools for students be expanded into the virtual classroom. Business students in online MBA courses at two universities are tasked with making decisions using SAP's ERPSim Manufacturing Game. The students are polled before and after their simulation experience on five dimensions including attitude toward SAP and several dimensions in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) knowledge. Students were found to have increased their attitudes toward SAP and knowledge of ERP upon completing the three-period simulation game. These results are significant for business educators of online courses because it shows that increased learning due to ERPSim not only takes place in face-to-face education classrooms but in an asynchronous environment as well. A comparison of our results with those reported in prior studies involving traditional classes revealed additional insights and potential topics for future research.

[1]  Susan A. Santo.  Relationships between Learning Styles and Online Learning , 2008 .

[2]  S. Epstein,et al.  Conflict Between Intuitive and Rational Processing: When People Behave Against Their Better Judgment , 1994 .

[3]  David C. Lane,et al.  On a Resurgence of Management Simulations and Games , 1995 .

[4]  Yves Levant,et al.  Business simulation as an active learning activity for developing soft skills , 2016 .

[5]  Thomas D. Snyder,et al.  Digest of Education Statistics , 1994 .

[6]  Timothy Paul Cronan,et al.  A Student ERP Simulation Game: A Longitudinal Study , 2012, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[7]  Timothy Paul Cronan,et al.  Assessing ERP Learning (Management, Business Process, and Skills) and Attitudes , 2013, J. Organ. End User Comput..

[8]  J. B. Arbaugh,et al.  Is Identical Really Identical? An Investigation of Equivalency Theory and Online Learning , 2008 .

[9]  Mary Sue Love,et al.  A Comparison of Learning Outcomes in Skills‐Based Courses: Online Versus Face‐To‐Face Formats , 2016 .

[10]  Blake Ives,et al.  Web-based Virtual Learning Environments: a Research Framework and a Preliminary Assessment of Effectiveness in Basic It Skills Training Author(s): Piccoli Et Al./web-based Virtual Learning Environments Web-based Virtual Learning Environments: a Research Framework and a Preliminary Assessment of Effe , 2022 .

[11]  Ellen F. Monk,et al.  Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning , 2001 .

[12]  Nico van der Merwe,et al.  An evaluation of an integrated case study and business simulation to develop professional skills In South African accountancy students , 2013 .

[13]  S. Epstein.  Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. , 1994, The American psychologist.

[14]  Morgan M. Shepherd,et al.  Distance Learning in Accounting: A Comparison between a Distance and a Traditional Graduate Accounting Class. , 2001 .

[15]  Lindsay Redpath.  Confronting the Bias Against On-Line Learning in Management Education , 2012 .

[16]  Marc Prensky,et al.  Digital game-based learning , 2000, CIE.

[17]  Donald R. Jones,et al.  The Motivation for Collaborative Discovery Learning Online and Its Application in an Information Systems Assurance Course , 2000 .

[18]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Methods of Meta-Analysis: Correcting Error and Bias in Research Findings , 1991 .

[19]  Shawnta S. Friday-Stroud,et al.  Abstract , 2005, Annals of Hematology.

[20]  I. Jung,et al.  Quality Assurance in Asian Distance Education: Diverse Approaches and Common Culture. , 2011 .

[21]  Abida Ellahi,et al.  Analysis of Higher Education Policy Frameworks for Open and Distance Education in Pakistan , 2015, Evaluation review.

[22]  Timothy Paul Cronan,et al.  Comparing Objective Measures and Perceptions of Cognitive Learning in an ERP Simulation Game , 2012 .

[23]  Jennifer Lyke,et al.  Comparison of Student Learning Outcomes in Online and Traditional Classroom Environments in a Psychology Course , 2012 .

[24]  Jessica L. Wildman,et al.  Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education , 2009 .

[25]  Morgan M. Shepherd,et al.  Distance Learning in Accounting , 2001 .

[26]  Comparing the Performance of Distance-Earning and Traditional Students in a Business Simulation Exercise , 2005 .

[27]  Timothy Paul Cronan,et al.  Decision Making in an Integrated Business Process Context: Learning Using an ERP Simulation Game , 2011 .