On the use of Serious Games in Operations Management: an investigation on connections between students' game performance and final evaluation

In last twenty years, interest in Serious Games has continuously raised, especially thanks to the technological improvement in computer science and virtual laboratories. A common objective of these games is to enhance practical skills of users by simulating realistic universes in which players could operate and learn. We present a study on the application of a Serious Game in an Operations Management course at the University of Parma. The game is designed as a web-based application replicating a realistic universe in which different e-bike producing companies compete, having a limited number of suppliers and customers. Each company is composed by different students, playing different roles within the company, and collaborating in order to take company strategical decisions. A KPI system has been implemented in order to best evaluate students' work during the game sessions. Also, a post-test has been submitted to students to better understand the perceptions they had towards the game. At the end of the courses, students received their final evaluation in Operations Management. The present paper has the objective to analyse (i) KPIs, (ii) game session duration, and (iii) post-test results, and look for a connection between the data analysed and the final evaluation gave to each student.