Academic Capitalism in Question:Making Sense of the Legitimacy Issues Facing Business Schools

Abstract

Our objective in this paper is to examine the legitimacy issues business schools have faced throughout their existence. The topic has received growing research interest but few tackle the multifaceted nature of legitimacy. We examine epochs in the history of business schools and isolate three major challenges to them that have subsequently threatened perceptions of their legitimacy. The last of these three brings forth the problems in academic capitalism which we see as the most critical for the whole institutions. We argue that it jeopardizes the most stable and long- term source of business schools legitimacy, namely academic institutions.