Entrepreneurs rarely face ethical decisions with clear right or wrong answers. Instead, they navigate ambiguity, pressure, competing interests, and real consequences. Yet ethics in entrepreneurship education is often taught through lectures or case discussions that keep learners at a distance from the lived experience of decision-making.

As a result, students may understand ethical concepts without developing the judgment required to apply them in practice.

What narrative role-play offers

Narrative role-play places learners inside unfolding situations where decisions must be made under uncertainty. Rather than analyzing ethics after the fact, participants experience ethical tension as it emerges—through time pressure, incomplete information, and social dynamics.

In narrative role-play, learners collectively navigate a structured story guided by a facilitator. They make choices, face consequences, and reflect on how their values and assumptions shaped their actions. Ethics becomes something they practice, not just discuss.

How narrative role-play was used

In the classroom setting described in the study, students participated in a facilitated narrative experience centered on entrepreneurial and ethical dilemmas. Students did not perform characters or act theatrically. Instead, they engaged in collaborative decision-making within a story world that responded to their choices.

Key design elements included:

• Realistic entrepreneurial dilemmas embedded in a narrative context
• Decision points requiring trade-offs rather than “correct” answers
• Consequences that unfolded based on collective choices
• Structured reflection following the experience

The goal was not simulation accuracy or competition, but ethical sensemaking.

What learners gained

Students reported that narrative role-play:

• Increased engagement and emotional investment
• Made ethical tensions feel real rather than abstract
• Highlighted how group dynamics influence decisions
• Encouraged reflection on personal values and leadership identity

How practitioners can apply this approach

Narrative role-play does not require specialized software or dramatic skill. Educators and trainers can adapt the approach by:

1. Identifying common ethical tensions in their entrepreneurial or professional context

2. Designing short scenarios that evolve based on participant decisions

3. Facilitating discussion, rather than directing outcomes

4. Building in reflection, asking participants what guided their choices and why

Narrative role-play works well in entrepreneurship courses, leadership development programs, incubators, and professional training environments where judgment matters.

The bottom line

Ethical judgment develops through experience, reflection, and accountability. Narrative role-play provides a practical way to help learners rehearse ethical decision-making before the stakes are real—preparing future entrepreneurs to lead with awareness, responsibility, and integrity.

Read the full paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352673426000077

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Author bio

Shawn E. Schooley is an Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship in the College of Business at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His work focuses on narrative-immersive pedagogy, ethical leadership development, and experiential learning in entrepreneurship education.