An Investigation of the Relationship of Plan Quality, Forecast Accuracy and Earnings Performance Under Equal and Unequal Starting Positions in Marketing Positions in Marketing Simulations

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between participant planning quality, sales and earnings forecasting accuracy, and earnings performance in two different marketing management simulation games. The subjects of the study were fourth year strategic marketing management students who competed from an equal starting position in the Compete simulation game (n=32) or from an unequal starting position in the StratsimMarketing Simulation game (n=34). A bivariate partial correlation analysis of two of the three variables of plan quality, forecasting accuracy and earnings performance controlling for the third variable was undertaken. For both the equal and unequal starting positions, the findings were: there were no significant relationships between plan quality and forecasting accuracy controlling for performance; and there were no significant relationships between plan quality and earnings performance level controlling for forecast accuracy; finally, there was a significant relationship between forecasting accuracy and earnings performance level controlling for plan quality.