Abstract:

Inherent competitiveness in the globalized world requires professionals master skills, which enable them to meet the challenges presented to them by the workplace, such as creativity, team work, the resolution of unstructured problems, understanding an unstable context, etc. Given these circumstances, these professionals have these skills before their immersion in this competitive world. Therefore, tertiary education must develop a process of socialization of the students in the labor market, providing them with these competences. The importance of introducing teaching methodologies favor to obtain a solid base of knowledge and the development of skills such as teamwork, problem and conflict solving, creativity, etc.

A recent methodology that allows the development of these skills is gamification that consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game contexts (Mishra & Kotecha, 2017). Previous studies have shown a series of advantages derived from the implementation of this methodology (Zeynep et al., 2016, Redondo & Vilas, 2013).

Gamification is especially used in business studies (Zeynep et al., 2016), because this discipline covers numerous abstract theoretical contents, based on the identification of opportunities, the development of non-systematic strategies, etc., in an unstable, hyper-competitive and uncertain context. Thus, this teaching activity has a high tacit component, since it is not based on mathematical formulas or exact models, but rather on abstract knowledge that must be transmitted and whose internalization requires experimentation by students. Therefore, it is necessary to implement methodologies that allow the understanding and internalization of these theoretical contents with a high degree of tactical components for a subsequent effective application.

Taking into account the importance of gamification in the social sciences, the need to apply this teaching methodology in the subject of Strategic Management is highlighted. This is because this subject aims for students to learn to make strategic decisions in unstable, hypercompetitive and uncertain environments. Therefore, the development of creativity, group work, competitiveness, the problem and conflict solving, among others, are competences pursued to develop this subject.

Although the study and application of gamification have covered many types of games, a specific type of game, that is room scape, has emerged as a relevant methodology to bring great value to the study of Strategic Management. This consists of an activity aimed at discovering and solving the different mysteries that are hidden in a room, where the goal is to escape before the end of the established time. Therefore, it has a clear link with the business contexts and also allows articulating and systematizing tacit knowledge in explicit through the metaphor understood as the mysteries and enigmas that hide the room.

Despite these benefits, there is neither solid theoretical basis nor an empirical support that supports the advantages of this teaching methodology.

Therefore, this study aims to propose a theoretical model that establishes the effects that the implementation of gamification could have on the academic performance of the students and to test empirically if the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation derived from the implementation of this methodology affect the academic performance of students in tertiary education.

Keywords:

Gamification, tertiary education, academic performance, motivation.