Abstract
The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the critical resources and capabilities that business schools (BS) have developed to achieve sustainable development. Framed within the resource-based theory, it analyzes seven of the top 50 BS from emerging markets (EM). It argues that these schools have grown through a development process of adopting and adapting business models, including teaching and research methodologies, organizational structures, and business practices; when they consolidated their local leadership, they started to follow a more idiosyncratic process. The findings shed light on the challenges that schools from EM face to deliver local impact while being measured by international standards and have implications for theory development, practice, and policymaking. In terms of theory, the findings show how the Global North model has exerted a determining influence in the development path of BS in EM, and, subsequently, how the pressure to respond to domestic demands has guided the acquisition of resources and the development of capabilities. For practice, the study reveals development patterns, clues about the challenges these BS face, and the range of solutions they have implemented. For policymaking, the case studies offer valuable lessons on how governments can design support systems for BS development.
Highlights
How have business schools (BS) based in emerging markets (EM) developed and grown? What have been their drivers, enablers, and barriers; and how have they developed/overcome them? Have they followed/are they following the same paths seen in BS in the Global North? How do they see their future challenges? Understanding these issues is relevant as more than 50% of the estimated 15,000 BS in the world are located in EM (Newsweek, 2018) and increasingly these BS are appearing in the most relevant international rankings of schools and Masters of Business Administration (MBAs)
The sample based on case studies was deemed appropriate to identify common patterns related to the resources and capabilities needed for the development of BS in EM [80,81] as well as to acquire a thorough understanding of BS beyond the Global North, including their motivations, academic and pedagogic capabilities, and perceived challenges, which are the main objectives of this research
The main contribution of this study is understanding, from a growth-related perspective, the role that learning from adoption and adaptation have played in the process of acquiring and developing the resources and capabilities BS in EM need to achieve a sustainable prospect
Summary
How have business schools (BS) based in emerging markets (EM) developed and grown? What have been their drivers, enablers, and barriers; and how have they developed/overcome them? Have they followed/are they following the same paths seen in BS in the Global North? How do they see their future challenges? Understanding these issues is relevant as more than 50% of the estimated 15,000 BS in the world are located in EM (Newsweek, 2018) and increasingly these BS are appearing in the most relevant international rankings of schools and Masters of Business Administration (MBAs). Most of the BS that every year receive a new international accreditation are not located in the Global North, which means that a growing number of EM-based institutions are joining the elite 1% of accredited schools in the world (at the time of writing, the number of accredited BS by AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS was 1000+ [1]) Despite this evident need to have a better understanding of the rising globalization of management education, very little has been published on the topic. As noted by Westwood, et al [2], there is an unequal, asymmetrical relationship between the Global North and the Global South, in which the former is constituted by the developed countries of the Western world, while the latter is comprised by underdeveloped, peripheral countries This terminology reflects a geographical and income distribution divide, and predominance in the cultural and educational domain, granting superiority to the ideas and practices from the North in detriment of those from the South.
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