Team Behavior and Team Success: Results from a Board Game Simulation

Abstract

The paper describes team behavior during a business simulation (the Advanced Business Strategies version of the Income/Outcome™ simulation) and relates team behavior to the business results achieved during the simulation. Good teamwork and “gentle leadership” resulted in the highest retained earnings during the simulation. Board based simulation allow experiential learning for individuals as well as for teams. In addition to individual learning of a specific knowledge item or skill, board based simulation can also teach through interaction with other participants. If the board based simulation requires teams or groups to compete against each other, there is opportunity for individual learning, learning through within-team interaction, and through between-team interactions. The paper describes the Advanced Business Strategies version of the Income/Outcome™ simulation and how individual, within-team, and between-team activities are relevant to business results in the simulation. Team behavior is characterized and linked to simulation results.