The LARP Effect

Creating Connection and Competitive Advantage Through Story, Ritual, and Roleplay
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-28733-5
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 202 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Management for Professionals

This book demonstrates how live action roleplay (LARP) and immersive scenario-based training are powerful tools for building high-performing organizations, and establishing competitive advantage. Drawing on organizational psychology and experiential learning, it explains how work itself functions as a socially constructed “game” shaped by goals, roles, and culture—and how intentionally redesigning these elements can shift team dynamics quickly and sustainably. Through practical examples and research-backed methods, the book demonstrates how storytelling, shared narratives, and structured roleplay build trust, accelerate team development, and strengthen decision-making under pressure. It tackles common organizational challenges from conflict resolution and emotional safety to leadership identity, goal alignment, and crisis rehearsal, illustrating how immersive techniques compress months of team learning into hours.

Offering a toolkit of evidence-based and experiential practices, this book equips managers, HR professionals, and consultants as well as scholars, academics, and students with innovative approaches for driving engagement, resilience, and cohesive performance across teams and organizations.

The LARP Effect

“ .” -- Rosanne Roberts, PhD, Research Liaison, ORS, Capella University

" The LARP Effect David Yu, Summer Program for Applied Rationality and Cognition (SPARC)

" ” -- Ryan Hart, Creative Director, Sinking Ship Creations (Blooloop's Top 50 Immersive Influencer)

" ." — Sid Probstein, CEO, SWIRL

"...[Steve's] ... the ."--Ronald Espinosa, Director, Google Category, Softchoice, Inc

" ” -- Eric Bloom, Executive Director, IT Management and Leadership Institute

Zielgruppe

Professional/practitioner

Autoren/Hrsg.

Balzac, Stephen R

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Bereichsspezifisches Management Personalwesen, Human Resource Management
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologische Disziplinen Wirtschafts-, Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Management Strategisches Management

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Endorsements.- Preface.- Chapter 1: Why Team Building Doesn't Work.- Chapter 2: The Fantasy Workplace.- Chapter 3: What is a LARP?.- Chapter 4: The Secret Engine.- Chapter 5: Decision Making Under Pressure.- Chapter 6: Leadership in a Mask.- Chapter 7: Building Teams that Work.- Chapter 8: Creating Organizational Stories.- Chapter 9: Debriefing the Game.- Chapter 10: Change is a Competition between Stories.- Chapter 11: The Optimistic Organization.- Chapter 12: Putting it Together.- Appendix A: 2006 NCR Pandemic Flu Dramatization.- Appendix B: Panflu Sample Characters.- Appendix C: Sample Game Materials.- Bibliography.

Über Autor(innen)

Stephen R. Balzac is a consultant, author, and speaker. He is the president of 7 Steps Ahead (www.7stepsahead.com), an organizational development firm focused on helping businesses get unstuck and turn problems into opportunities. He has been designing and running live action roleplaying (LARP) games for over 30 years and used LARP in his business consulting practice. His dissertation research explored the connections between LARP games and leadership development, decision-making, and working with a group. Prior to this research, he has published two books on organizational development, (2010) and (Springer 2014).