The effect of teaching multiple approaches to management on students’ subsequent investment decisions: Implications for Responsible Management Education

Abstract

Responsible Management Education (RME) seeks to prepare students to address social and ecological crises via going beyond a traditional narrow understanding of shareholder wealth maximization. Past research has shown mixed results regarding the effectiveness of RME courses to change students’ subsequent behavior. We examine whether taking an RME course that teaches multiple approaches to management affects students’ subsequent investment decisions. We find that such students allocate less money to investments that focus only on financial returns without regard for social and ecological well-being, thereby counterbalancing our finding that greater investment knowledge is associated with allocating more money to such investments. Implications are discussed.