Purpose This study aims to find empirical evidence on how video games can foster innovation skills and change perceptions about entrepreneurship and general aspects related to the industry in Colombia while innovative pedagogical processes in teaching entrepreneurship in higher education. Design/methodology/approach Based on design-based research, serious games (SGs), entrepreneurial education and the innovator DNA framework, the authors collected data from undergraduate students enrolled in two online entrepreneurship courses at a Colombian university. One course is used as a treatment group where students play a video game created for the purpose of this research while the other group is used as control where traditional learning activities are performed. A self-reported method was used on the perceptions of the students after participating in the activities through questionnaires to find differences between the mean scores reported by both groups. Findings The results indicate that students who participated in the video game reported a higher fostering of their innovation skills and a broader change in their perception of entrepreneurship and aspects related to the coffee industry, in contrast to the students of the control group. Originality/value Using a video game created by EAFIT University in Colombia, this study responds to an identified need for studying the adequate use of SGs in online class contexts and the need of fostering both innovation skills and positive perceptions on entrepreneurship among students.

Innovation is quite important for economies and entrepreneurs around the world, especially for developing countries such as Colombia, where this study was based. Therefore, education for innovation becomes as important, and newer and innovative educational means must be adjusted for developing skills in innovation and entrepreneurship. Innovator’s DNA is a framework of skills that are meant to be developed by innovators. This framework proposes five discovery skills, which are: observing, associating, experimenting, networking, and questioning. This paper studied whether and how videogames can develop innovators’ skills in students of entrepreneurship and innovation in online-learning environments, by directly observing the participation of 23 participants during an interaction with a game specifically tailored for fostering these skills. The videogame used is called CAFET, and it consists of a card-based game where players enact coffee industry entrepreneurs in Colombia. A mixed-methods research was carried out by coding each observable action conducted by the participants and interviewing them about their behaviors. Results showed that participants enact actions that may involve and develop innovator’s DNA skills, specifically observing, associating, and experimenting. This study analyzed how videogames can develop innovation skills and explains the behaviors observed among other insights.

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This study aimed to understand whether serious games in entrepreneurship education can improve the antecedents and entrepreneurial intention. Serious games are defined as tools designed to educate or train through entertainment, and providing environments that facilitate deeper learning. A pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design was used by considering 963 undergraduate students. This study adopted analysis techniques such as one-way repeated measures analysis of variance, two-sample t-test and structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses. The findings show that students in the treatment group increased their attitudes, perceived control, and overall entrepreneurial intention compared to the control group. Equally important is highlighting the positive relationship between learner satisfaction using serious games and the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention in the treatment group. These findings provide insights into the discussions that remain open about the effects of entrepreneurship education on the intention by revealing the impact of specific benefits for students derived from serious games in the course. The study also has broader implications for the theory and practice of teaching entrepreneurship.