Melanie A. Robinson

Management educators regularly innovate by designing and/or integrating experiential exercises into their classrooms. Many then endeavor to publish their exercises in academic journals, providing readers with a roadmap for how to use them in their classes. To convince colleagues that an activity helps students learn, authors will often include evidence demonstrating its impact. Importantly, there is a dearth of research exploring the types of evidence authors use to do so. We analyzed 185 articles presenting in-class management-related experiential exercises, published across seven journals between 1 January 2018 and 1 June 2024. In so doing, we contribute to the literature by synthesizing the ways in which authors demonstrate the effectiveness of their activities. We offer both a portrait of current practices and framework of strategies (by source, type, and preparation required) that prospective authors may draw on as they reflect on impactful ways to structure upcoming data collection efforts. We are, however, mindful that most authors in our sample were affiliated with institutions in North America. As norms regarding evidence for experiential exercises are collectively shaped by journal expectations and authors, we reflect on how our methodological choices contribute to shaping practices about what “counts” as credible evidence in management education.