Opportunities for gamified learning in purchasing and supply management education

Kelly, SJH; Vangorp, P; Stek, K; Delke, V

Abstract

Gamification has been used in a wide variety of subject-specific education contexts. Examples of such usage in the
Supply Chain Management (SCM) context include the oft-played beer distribution game, developed by MIT Sloan School of
Management (Forrester, 1961), which simulates the coordination of typical problems in supply chain processes, promoting
information sharing and collaboration throughout a supply chain (Sterman, 1984). Purchasing and Supply Management
(PSM), a subset of this wider SCM area, focuses on the direct relationships between organisational buyers and suppliers,
covering aspects such as establishing trust, identifying and selecting suitable suppliers, managing supplier performance and
the overall relationship. A systematic review of the PSM gamified learning literature establishes that there has been limited
research to date and that which there is tends to focus on quantitative representations of managing overall supply and
demand, using wider SCM elements. This suggests that there are opportunities to gamify PSM learning, in particular focusing
on the human element in PSM and developing soft skills, as strong buyer-supplier relationships can generate significant
benefits to both parties. To provide a more focused PSM contribution, a second systematic literature review distils the
relevant principles, techniques and processes to inform the development of two gamified PSM learning activities.
Negotiation and supplier relationship management rely heavily on personal interactions and are both seen as key activities
at different stages of the PSM process. The development of the two gamified learning activities is strengthened by being
underpinned by a synthesis of the literature review’s key findings, ensuring they are domain-meaningful abstractions of
reality, contain rewards and rankings based on clear objectives and have appealing gameplay. It is hoped that this paper
provides a platform for future domain specific PSM research and will be of use to educators in this field in developing their
own gamified learning.

Citation

Kelly, S., Vangorp, P., Stek, K., & Delke, V. (2020, September). Opportunities for gamified learning in purchasing and supply management education. Presented at ECGBL 2020 14th European Conference on Game-Based Learning, Brighton, United Kingdom

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: ECGBL 2020 14th European Conference on Game-Based Learning
• Conference Location: Brighton, United Kingdom
• Start Date: Sep 24, 2020
• End Date: Sep 25, 2020
• Publication Date: Sep 24, 2020
• Deposit Date: Aug 1, 2022
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.34190/GBL.20.149
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.34190/GBL.20.149
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference