Video Game-Based Methodology for Business Research

Larry L. Lawson and Catherine L. Lawson
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Larry L. Lawson: Missouri Western State University, USA, lawson@missouriwestern.edu
Catherine L. Lawson: Missouri Western State University, USA, lawsonc@missouriwestern.edu

Simulation & Gaming, 2010, vol. 41, issue 3, 360-373

Abstract: Experimental research in business and economics has exploded in recent years in both laboratory and field settings. The generality of findings from field experiments is limited by the specificity of the experimental environment. Laboratory studies, on the other hand, are criticized for being devoid of the contextual cues that may indicate to decision makers the nature of the problem and, thus, the appropriate approaches to problem solving. Virtual experiments provide a hybrid of strengths from each of these two experimental protocols that may overcome some of the limitations of each. Using a modified, commercial, adventure game with an appended Sequel database, this research reprises a well-known study of risk aversion within a virtual context. The results indicate that very similar overall measures of risk aversion can be obtained within an adventure game context. Furthermore, it shows that experimentation within this virtual environment permits outcomes to be recorded and analyzed regarding decision consistency, decision revisions, and psychological/behavioral variables that have not been available using either traditional lab or field research methods. As such, this study contributes both to the literature on behavioral business research methodology in general and to the literature on risk aversion in particular.

Keywords: behavioral economics; behavioral finance; experimental economics; experimental finance; research contexts; risk aversion; video game research; video games; virtual research environments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:simgam:v:41:y:2010:i:3:p:360-373

DOI: 10.1177/1046878109334038

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