Ex-AMBA chair publishes paper on the strategic renewal of business schools

The paper, published in the Journal of Marketing Education, examines the challenges that business schools face today. These include students questioning the value of their education; managers seeking more practical research; and policy makers worrying about balancing profit orientation with societal needs.

The former chair of AMBA & BGA proposes a pathway for strategic renewal to help business schools better align with external stakeholder demands, while leveraging their unique resources and capabilities. The rise of business schools around the globe has been a success story. However, paradigmatic changes in technology, fundamental shifts in values and major demographic developments have put business schools on the defensive.

Students question whether business schools still adequately prepare them for their future careers, managers are concerned about the relevance of business schools’ research output, and some stakeholders even debate whether business schools prioritise profit and neo-liberal values over societal needs. Consequently, there is an urgent need for management education to enhance its legitimacy.

The article offers a pathway to the strategic renewal of the business school sector. Using a Socratic questioning approach, it proposes a guide to review a business school’s key strategic decisions. This offers insights on selecting a competitive positioning that aligns external stakeholder demands with the resources and capabilities of a business school.

The full paper can be accessed at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02734753241265278