Abstract
ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to develop knowledge on why some accredited programmes are more distinct. Accreditation and distinctiveness are both important in higher education: maintaining accreditation signals quality, while distinctiveness helps programmes meet their stakeholders’ preferences. Our application of two-stage valuation theory implies that programmes are higher on distinctiveness when they view distinctiveness as beneficial without it posing a substantial risk to their reaccreditation. We quantitatively test the implications of two-stage valuation theory through text analysis of 369 mission statements of business programmes with accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). We examined mission statements, because the AACSB requires that mission statements reflect programmes’ aspirations such as distinctiveness. The multisource data show an inverse U-shaped relationship between accreditation tenure and distinctiveness. The data also show that public programmes have lower distinctiveness than private programmes across lengths of accreditation tenure. This research contributes by helping to shift the discussion from whether reaccreditation helps or harms distinctiveness to how and when reaccreditation impacts distinctiveness. Further, it demonstrates that affiliation serves as a boundary condition on the effect of reaccreditation on distinctiveness.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call