Business schools are arguably some of the most influential institutions in contemporary society. The research and education they provide set the standard for how future leaders manage local and global organizations - a responsibility requiring continual discussion, development and challenge. This exciting book explores the role of business schools through 3 key dimensions: - How business school legitimacy has been challenged by the recent economic crisis and corporate scandals; - How schools contribute to shaping and transforming business conduct; and - How institutions, past and present, develop their identities to face the challenges presented by the ongoing globalization process. Combining global perspectives from business school Deans, scholars and stakeholders, this book presents a unique discussion of the current and future challenges facing business schools and their contributions to society.

Business schools are arguably some of the most influential institutions in contemporary society, heavily influencing the way much socioeconomic activity is conducted. The education they provide is an important theme to be considered in its own right -- and perhaps even challenged. This exciting book explores the role of business schools in contemporary global society through 3 key dimensions: How business school legitimacy has been challenged by the recent economic crisis and corporate scandals; How business schools contribute to shaping and transforming business conduct; and How business schools, past and present, develop their identities to face the challenges presented by the ongoing globalization process. Combing perspectives from business school Deans from around the world, as well as scholars and business leaders, this book presents a unique discussion of the current and future challenges facing business schools today.

The Innovative Business School formulates a blueprint for the innovative business school of the next decade, with proposed areas of innovation which will train executives to transform the coming technological disruptions into an avenue for world economic development and prosperity. Offering a new model of business education, the book maps the way forward for business school innovators in exploring questions related to innovation and strategy needed on the part of academic and industry leaders and educators across demographic divides. The chapters cover an overall international and cross-cultural approach in examining the factors at play for business schools of the future and the challenges they face across a range of megatrends affecting today’s business environment. The authors impress the need for stakeholders to strategically engage others in the business and education ecosystems through commitment to experimentation, innovation, and sustainable business strategy. Identifying such opportunities for development of a new model for business schools is important to educators and policymakers in preparing to leverage and contribute to existing megatrends to create shared value for regional economies and in new directions. The Innovative Business School is written for business schools’ management and decision-makers, related stakeholders, universities, accreditation agencies, and postgraduate students.

Are business schools on the wrong track? For many years, business schools enjoyed rising enrollments, positive media attention, and growing prestige in the business world. However, due to the disruption of Covid-19, many previously ignored issues relating to MBA programs resurfaced. As a result, MBA programs now face lower enrollments and intense criticism for being deficient in preparing future business leaders and ignoring essential topics like ethics, sustainability, and diversity and inclusion. The Future of Business Schools discusses these issues in the context of three critical areas: complexity, sustainability, and destiny

This publication attempts to gather a number of opinions and visions from leaders in the field of business education. Business schools are an essential component of market economies and optimizing their competitivenesss, relevance and performance is of the utmost importance. Includes papers by Gabriel Hawawini, Dean of INSEAD, Peter Lorange, Nestle Professor at IMD, Angel Cabrera, President of Thunderbird, Garvin School of International Management, Paul Verhaegen, Dean of RSM, Erasmus University and Eric Cornuel, Director General and CEO of the EFMD Originally published as Journal of Management Development (2005, Vol.24, No.9)"

In recent times, the fastest growing part of the higher education system has been business schools. With an established set of university based business schools in the USA since the early part of the 20th century, the growth since then has come in Europe between the 1960's and the 1990's, and in Australasia and Asia over the past 20 years. This has meant that, for example, in the UK by 2010 management and business studies staff made up 7% of the UK higher education sector and taught 14% of the students. In that same year, 1 in 8 undergraduates, 1 in 5 postgraduates and 1 in 4 international students were studying management business studies in UK business schools. This growth has inevitably attracted the interest of those applauding and sceptical of these developments, and more scholarly literature on business schools has also developed. The purpose of this book is to assess the character and quality of selected research themes on the study of business schools and to articulate a forward looking research agenda on the study of business schools as institutions. The book provides novel empirical findings on the change and development of business schools, the causes and consequences of the ranking, and branding wars around business schools in particular and higher education systems more generally. The book also offers a stimulating critique of some of the intellectual, professional and economic challenges facing business schools in the contemporary world. The book's authors are internationally renowned scholars from the fields of organisation theory, strategic management, management development, and higher education management and policy.

In her admirable book, Wedlin entangles what [business school] rankings really are and why they have become so important. . . The book contains plenty to interest the growing army of business school employees whose duties, at least in part, are concerned with boosting their institution s position in the rankings. Education and Training In times when the management education field is increasingly impacted by a proliferation of ranking exercises, this book is a timely and welcome contribution. Linda Wedlin unpacks for us the real meaning of the contemporary explosion of rankings. Rather than simple classification schemes and mechanisms, rankings are, she suggests, arenas where the field of business education is being created and re-created. They are the loci of boundary-work , whereby a field is progressively evolving and constituting itself. This is a convincing study relying on rich empirical data and carefully anchored in relevant theoretical debates. A must-read for all those, academics, students, policy-makers and education professionals, who want to understand the complex contemporary logics of higher education in management but also probably well beyond. Marie-Laure Djelic, ESSEC Business School, Paris, France League tables appear everywhere and have become important aspects of business school environments. Based on in-depth and creatively combined empirical studies, Linda Wedlin provides us with explanations and insights on the emergence and impact of such rankings. This book should be of great value for all those who seek to "play the ranking game". It gives a fresh perspective on how classification mechanisms drive the emergence, boundary setting and change of organizational fields. Kerstin Sahlin-Andersson, Uppsala University, Sweden A fascinating study of the complex issues surrounding MBA rankings. Business schools really hate them but at times have to pretend to love them. Magazines and newspapers are really interested in their sales potential but have to make pretensions about their veracity. Linda Wedlin focuses on an area rich in hypocrisy and hype, but also one where there are real consequences: ranking furthered re-inforces the homogenising tendencies of MBAs. Anthony Hopwood, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, UK This is a most fascinating topic, dealt with in a manner which is both serious and entertaining everyone in a business school would want to read it. Linda Wedlin s excellent research is presented with a no-nonsense approach if there is anything worth counting, she counts it, and then interprets it, no fuss. Exemplary! Barbara Czarniawska, Göteborg University, Sweden This engaging book offers a fresh perspective on the burgeoning field of European management education and its intense concern with rankings. Using a creative mix of well-crafted research tools, Wedlin deftly captures a professional field in transition as it both expands and develops shared standards. Walter W. Powell, Stanford University, US International comparisons and rankings of universities and business schools have proliferated in recent years. Ranking Business Schools provides a welcome analysis of this development and its implications for the field of management education, theorizing the role of classifications such as rankings in forming and structuring organizational fields. Focusing on the European experience with rankings and the subsequent response, the book illustrates how business schools use rankings to form identities and positions, and to draw boundaries for the field. By both creating and confirming belonging to a business school community and providing distinction within that group, rankings are important for defining an international field of management education organizations, constructing an international business school market, and constitute an arena for debating and establishing the boundaries of this field. Building an extensive theoretical framework for understanding classification

With contributions from some of the leading thinkers in business school education, this book explores the impact and purpose of the business school, and addresses some of the most important questions facing management education today. The diverse perspectives brought together by the EFMD in this volume examine a number of common questions, themes and challenges. These include: whether business schools should be viewed as schools of management, given the complexity of the business environment; what is the positive impact of business school research, and the balance of relevant, practical impact and academic rigour; the strategic evolution of business schools and how they may evolve in a more purposeful direction; and why business school leaders compete strongly but are reluctant to collaborate, and how collaboration may encourage greater positive societal impact. With insightful commentary and illustrative case studies, this book serves as a landmark publication on the value and impact of business schools. The book will be of particular interest to those working in business schools, higher education leaders, policy makers and business leaders seeking insight into the value, impact and future of business and management education.

This second book in the EFMD Management Education series explores business schools’ increasing focus on, and search for, meaningful societal and economic research impact. This involves, in particular, co-operation and collaboration in both knowledge creation and implementation of the findings of academic research in practice. Business schools have a critical role to play in ‘rewiring’ our missions for research relevance, impact and reach, and in recognising needs and addressing real issues of society and economy. With cases from a range of international business schools, the book doesn’t simply highlight the need for the dominant research model in business schools to evolve, but illustrates how this can happen in practice. In so doing, it opens the discussion on how the business school can contribute in very real ways to solving global and complex challenges such as climate change, rising inequalities, international isolationism, eroding democratic systems, and the spread of fake news. These are goals that the EFMD has championed since its inception, and this book will be of value and interest to policy makers and business leaders seeking insight into how management education will be shaped to support business and wider society, as well as those working in business schools and higher education leaders.

Bridging the gap between business and business schools: fulfilling potential or thwarted ambition. The Engaged Business School is a road map to unlocking the potential between business and business schools at a time when it really matters, responding to a global, economic and social recovery.