The Global Business Game History

Computerized business games have been used in management education and development since the late 1950s. Accordingly a long tradition as to their form has been established. Two things, however, have changed: their content and their presentational or delivery method.

The content of The Global Business Game was designed to capture what the fields of strategic management and international business believed should be taught. The "knowledge domain" of these fields was determined through a content analysis of the major textbooks used to support their teaching. Thus the game's content was derived through empirical evidence rather than the opinions and biases of its author.

This content analysis resulted in a business simulation that allowed its participants to consider and implement the widest possible array of business-level and international corporate-level strategies available to real world, internationally competitive companies. Players must choose which country markets to enter and what their entry strategy will be if they want to compete internationally. If they do so, rather than remaining a domestic manufacturer of television sets, they can tap international financial capital and factory equipment sources as they pursue these new opportunities.

The Global Business Game's delivery method, or the way players and instructors interact with the game, has changed with its latest edition. The game's original 2000 and 2003 editions were published by South-Western College Publishing. In those versions it was a locally administered game with all processing chores handled by the instructor. In this form it was successfully used by over 50 institutions in such countries as the United States, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand. These applications have been business colleges, government training programs and even an American prison.

With its latest edition The Global Business Game introduces a new elegant web-based format that is easy to use and access by both the students and instructors. Because The Global Business Game offers flexible options regarding the game complexity, it is suitable for audiences with wide range of skill levels. In the past these have included an integrative junior-level programs, undergraduate and MBA-level candidates in both business schools and engineering programs and Executive MBA programs.