Replicating the impact of gamified learning on awareness of management competencies: a two-cohort mixed-methods study

Purpose This study aims to examine whether a brief simulation game produces changes in management students’ awareness of managerial competencies, distinguishing awareness revelation from skill development and investigates temporal pressure as the underlying mechanism. Design/methodology/approach A convergent mixed-methods design combined a quasi-experimental pre-post study across two independent cohorts (n = 91) with semi-structured interviews (n = 24). The 90-minute Shipwreck survival simulation game – individual prioritization, team consensus under a 15-minute constraint, strategic decision and structured debriefing – was assessed across three awareness dimensions: valorization, self-awareness and applied comprehension. Interview themes were independently double-coded (Cohen’s κ = 0.73). Findings Significant pre-post improvements emerged across all dimensions (d = 2.81–3.85, p < 0.001), largest for applied comprehension and smallest for valorization (ceiling effect). Pressure-management subfactors showed the strongest effects (d ≈ 4.16–4.56) and the pattern was replicated across cohorts. These magnitudes are unusually large for educational interventions and should be interpreted considering the within-subjects design and self-report measurement. Qualitative accounts converged with these results, identifying the transition from unconscious to conscious incompetence as the core learning process. Research limitations/implications Self-report measures and the absence of a control group constrain causal inference; single-institution sampling limits generalization. Replication logic and the theoretical coherence of the differential effects support their interpretation as awareness revelation. Practical implications Simulation games function as diagnostic interventions optimally positioned before skill-building modules, using temporal pressure to expose competency gaps and debriefing to consolidate metacognitive awareness. Originality/value The study distinguishes competency awareness from behavioral competence as distinct outcomes, identifies a differential pattern consistent with temporal pressure as a candidate revelatory mechanism and extends the evidence base to under-researched Latin American management education.