Virtual Reality Case Studies Demo

Over the last 60 years, teaching in business schools has been mainly based on the written case study method. The main idea behind this approach is to put learners in real life situations where they read about one or several protagonists who are faced with a challenging situation. Through class discussion, learners are exposed to models and analytical tools that can help cope with the challenge. Yet, more and more business professors are feeling discontent with standard written case studies for failing to bring into the classroom subtle dilemmas and convey tension or other feelings in human exchange. It is also unclear how many people read case studies before classes, and how engaged they become with them. With the advancement of virtual reality (VR) technologies most of these issues can be resolved. VR case studies do not require much preparation on the learner’s part and provide a truly experiential and immersive way of "getting into" real life situations and solving managerial dilemmas. VR technologies elicit in participants the illusion of being present in a simulated reality, experiencing environments, and social interactions as if they were real. The key to understanding the essence of the technology is rooted in the role that sensorimotor processing and body-centered interaction play in this technology. VR head-mounted-display devices track head movement in six dimensions and apply this information to correspond with the visual rendition of an environment – resulting in the sense of presence in its participants. In the past four years numerous VR case studies have been produced at business schools and thousands of students experienced them, both in the classroom and remotely.

INSEAD Professor of Strategy Ithai Stern, who has produced and taught several VR cases and simulations, will demonstrate, explain, and discuss these exciting pedagogical breakthroughs during the 8th ICGS conference. As a governance scholar, Ithai has been using VR to study the social and psychological processes underlying directors’ behaviors and decisions. Ithai will thus also review research in this area and will demonstrate how VR helps to better understand directors’ behaviors and decisions and improve boards’ decision making. In order to allow participants to get the chance to experience this new technology, yet given the limited number of VR headsets available, he will offer three demonstration sessions and each session will be limited to 20 participants. If you are interested in learning more about the application of VR in case studies, please register here.