Response to relative performance feedback in simulation games

We empirically examine how relative performance feedback (RPF) in simulation games influences students' learning and outcome performance. We use the Littlefield Technologies simulations (developed by Responsive Technologies) as the contextual background of this study. The study was conducted based on the rich theoretical foundation of RPF that has been extensively studied in the field of Psychology, Economics, and Education. We collected survey-based data from students of four operations management courses at two universities in the United States. We developed a feedback response (FR) construct to measure the perceived level of a team's exerted effort in response to the publicly available team standing information (i.e., RPF availability) and hy-pothesized that it fully mediates the effects of RPF availability on learning and outcome perfor-mance. The study findings suggest that providing RPF via leaderboard improves FR, which in turn leads to both higher learning and outcome performance.

Automated summary

This study empirically examines the impact of relative performance feedback (RPF) in simulation games on students' learning and outcome performance. The findings suggest that providing RPF through leaderboards improves teams' feedback responses, leading to higher learning and outcome performance.