Gamification Supporting Small Business Owners’ Work-Based Learning

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: This study attempts to apply gamification to support the training of small business owners in business web development from a work-based learning perspective. Background: Web design describes the process of creating a website and embodies many different aspects, such as webpage layout, content production, and graphic design. However, there are many obstacles that small business owners face when developing their websites, such as time and budget constraints, lacking technical skills, and difficulties with content creation. Methodology: Based on the literature review, a gamified training program was developed for website development. The new website design and development training method was compared with the traditional lecture training method from small business owners’ perspectives in the specific work-based learning context. Contribution: This study contributes to the field of work-based learning by developing an innovative gamified training program for small business owners in website development learning. Findings: The results confirm that the gamified training program improved learning outcomes and satisfaction. The results of this study help advance the understanding of work-based training program design and provide insights to support small business owners in learning new technologies. Recommendations for Practitioners: Results confirm that this new training system is superior to the traditional lecture training method. While much attention has been directed to website design and development learning or business activities of small business owners, this study emphasizes the need for work-based learning in such a context. Recommendation for Researchers: This study also shows a potential way for future research by combining technology education and small business owners’ needs. Impact on Society: The results of this study show the advantages of gamified training programs. For their future training program selections, small business owners should pay more attention to gamified training and education systems in the market. Furthermore, gamified training and education systems not only help small businesses but also could be adopted by mid-size or even large companies in their training programs. Future Research: Future research should be conducted to investigate to what extent gamification improves work-based learning and how to design gamification to improve work-based learning.