Teaching Marketing Through a Micro-Economy in Virtual Reality

Teaching retailing principles to students is a challenge because although real-world wholesale and retail decision making very heavily depends on dynamic conditions, classroom exercises are limited to abstract discussions and role-playing. This article describes two interlocking class projects taught using the virtual reality of secondlife.com, which allowed students to use their recently gained skills in wholesaling and retailing. The exercises provided students with unique educational experiences without the need of "bricks and mortar" product development, wholesale, or retail spaces. This spurred students' creativity and entrepreneurship. Students described the simulations as "fun" and "interesting." Students also reported a greater depth of learning as a result of participating in the virtual simulation. This article describes the interdisciplinary team efforts to develop educational experiences for students. It also uses previous research in virtual reality implementation for classroom use to provide a framework for assessing the credibility of the set of assignments.