Co-constructed Pretensive Realities in Organizations: Roleplaying and Other Action Methods in Human Resource Development

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the role of roleplaying and other pretensive action methods, including gaming simulations, applied roleplaying games, and psychodrama in organizational contexts, with a particular focus on their application in human resource development (HRD) and learning and development (L&D). Although roleplaying once held a central position in management and organizational research, its academic presence has diminished despite its continued practical relevance. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that integrates management education, game and play studies, and design sciences, the study addresses this gap by clarifying conceptual foundations and examining how pretensive methods contribute to experiential learning, leadership development, and organizational change. The dissertation is structured around three interconnected papers. The first explores the educational value of gaming simulations and leisure games, culminating in an evaluative framework of thirteen criteria for assessing pretensive methods. The second presents a multiple case study of leadership development live-action roleplaying games (larps), identifying thirteen design dimensions, formulating eleven practical recommendations, and situating larps as legitimate HRD interventions. The third applies psychodramatic techniques to investigate organizational adoption of generative AI, demonstrating the diagnostic potential of role reversal and monodrama techniques for uncovering hidden assumptions and emotional dynamics in technology acceptance. Through literature reviews, case studies, and methodological innovation, the dissertation consolidates fragmented research traditions, reframes informal, leisure-derived activities as serious organizational tools, and advances both theoretical and practical understanding of pretensive action methods. While not claiming broad empirical generalizability, it provides a strong conceptual and methodological platform for future scholarship, offering trainers, consultants, and HR professionals new ways to design, evaluate, and facilitate experiential learning interventions.