Learning sustainability under tension: experiential learning and reflexive sensemaking in a place-based simulation

Authors

• Moon Kyung Cho, TAMIUFollow
• Nereu F. Kock, TAMIUFollow
• Nargis Sultana, TAMIUFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Learning sustainability under tension: experiential learning and reflexive sensemaking in a place-based simulation

Abstract

This study examines how sustainability judgment develops in place-based experiential learning as learners navigate tensions between financial performance and environmental responsibility. Using a team-based, technology-enabled business simulation situated in a place-based context, participants managed a simulated company over eight quarters and subsequently reconsidered their decisions from the perspective of external auditors. The findings show that sustainability judgment developed iteratively through experience, reflection, and sensemaking. Participants distinguished sustainability practices according to their strategic and integrative potential and increasingly recognized that sustainability investments could support operational efficiency, innovation, and long-term financial viability rather than necessarily conflict with financial objectives. Place directed attention toward locally salient environmental, economic, regulatory, and community concerns, while governance and communication shaped how participants interpreted and reassessed their decisions. In particular, the transition from management to external auditor redirected attention from strategic and operational outcomes toward accountability and decision-making authority, while narrative and numerical sustainability information supported complementary forms of sensemaking. The study conceptualizes sustainability judgment development as a relational and iterative learning process and demonstrates how place-based experiential learning and professional role transition can connect locally responsive sustainability decisions with broader expectations for governance, reporting, and assurance in accounting education.

Publication Date

2026

Comments

dataset only

Recommended Citation

Cho, Moon Kyung; Kock, Nereu F.; and Sultana, Nargis, "Learning sustainability under tension: experiential learning and reflexive sensemaking in a place-based simulation" (2026). Business Faculty Publications. 185.
https://rio.tamiu.edu/arssb_facpubs/185