Investigating the value of immersive virtual reality tools for organizational training: An applied international study in the biotech industry

Background Immersive virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in organizational training interventions. However, few studies have systematically investigated VR compared to standard training methods in actual organizational contexts. Objectives The focus of this study was to evaluate the effectiven...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of computer assisted learning Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 470 - 487
Main Authors: Baceviciute, Sarune, Cordoba, Ainara Lopez, Wismer, Philip, Jensen, Tine Vitved, Klausen, Mikkel, Makransky, Guido
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-04-2022
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Summary:Background Immersive virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in organizational training interventions. However, few studies have systematically investigated VR compared to standard training methods in actual organizational contexts. Objectives The focus of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a VR simulation for training professionals in the biotech industry. Aligning training needs to unique media affordances, the study designed an immersive story‐based VR simulation for training customer‐facing employees on a new product and tested it in an international biotech company. Methods The system was evaluated by comparing its effectiveness to a traditional video presentation with the same content in a randomized between subjects experiment. The sample consisted of 95 employees across three locations: Brazil, Denmark, and USA. Results The VR simulation group performed better than the video presentation group on the outcomes of conceptual knowledge (d = 0.41) spatial knowledge (d = 0.61), transfer intentions (d = 0.57), enjoyment (d = 1.74), self‐efficacy (d = 0.68), perceived learning (d = 0.89), personal value (d = 0.83), and organizational value (d = 0.82), but no significant difference was found for factual knowledge (d = −0.10). Implications Results suggest that VR simulations can be effective across cultures in organizational training interventions. VR is specifically effective when the goals of the training are to increase conceptual and spatial understanding as well as enjoyment, and self‐efficacy, but not factual knowledge. Furthermore, employees report higher levels of perceived learning, personal and organizational value and transfer intentions after VR training compared to standard video‐based training. Lay Description What is currently known about the subject matter Immersive virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in organizational training interventions. This interest has especially surged amid recent global challenges, and the sudden need for companies and employees to adapt to the new remote working conditions. However, few studies have systematically investigated VR compared to standard training methods in actual organizational contexts that include a real‐world scenario and a representative testing sample. Applied research that assesses the outcomes of VR based training in realistic learning and training settings is needed. What their paper adds We propose and test an interdisciplinary approach that links unique features of VR with training needs and multidimensional outcome measures in an organizational training context within the biotech industry in Brazil, Denmark and USA. The findings suggest that a specifically designed VR tool is superior to a comparable video presentation for the outcomes of spatial and conceptual knowledge acquisition and transfer intentions, but not factual knowledge acquisition. The VR group also reported significantly higher personal value, organizational value, self‐efficacy, perceived learning, and enjoyment compared to the video group. Implications of study findings for practitioners The results support the value of using VR simulations in organizational training, specifically related to affective outcomes as well as spatial and conceptual knowledge and transfer intentions. The study suggests that it is not the medium of VR, but rather the alignment between the training goals with the instructional methods and the unique affordances of VR that will contribute to better or worse learning outcomes. The article describes how to evaluate the effectiveness of VR tools in applied contexts, suggesting that we have to evaluate the effectiveness of tested content with respect to different outcome variables, which coincide with the training outcomes of a particular organizational context. The project as a whole, can be used as a blueprint for future applied research efforts, exemplifying how to bridge gaps between small‐medium‐enterprises, international corporate companies and academic institutions.
Bibliography:Funding information
Innovationsfonden, Grant/Award Number: SIPROS
ISSN:0266-4909
1365-2729
DOI:10.1111/jcal.12630