Towards Americanisation and the corporate university in an elite business school: A leadership history of the Helsinki School of Economics/Aalto University School of Business, 1974–2022

Abstract

Leading business schools all over the world increasingly tend to conform to the American-style business school model. During recent years, a global discourse about the emergence of the corporate university has also arisen. The term has been used to refer to universities that have uncritically adopted management concepts and practices from corporations. However, little is known about how elite business schools from different parts of the world are strategically developed towards increased Americanisation and corporatisation, and what are the consequences. Therefore, this paper offers a leadership history of the Helsinki School of Economics/Aalto University School of Business, the leading elite business school in Finland, over the research period of 1974–2022. During the research period, the idea of an American-style top-tier business school gradually gained more and more ground among faculty. Moreover, after the Aalto University was created in a large university merger in 2010, increased corporatisation occurred.