AACSB-accredited Business Schools Research Articles

DEVELOPING WHAT CAN’T BE TAUGHT: CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PORTFOLIO OF STUDENT OUTCOMES THROUGH A STUDENT-RUN DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to provide an extended case study of the development of and early outcomes of a student-run digital marketing agency. Employers are looking to hire graduates who are “work ready.” In the area of digital marketing, this is especially challenging given the rapid pace of change in the industry where new technologies, companies and business processes seem to be introduced on a weekly basis. To build a bridge between the undergraduate marketing curriculum and the practice of digital marketing, an AACSB-accredited business school in northern New England created a student-run digital marketing agency that functions within and alongside the marketing course structure. This required the development of an ecosystem to support the agency and provide the business school’s undergraduate students with an opportunity to work with real clients and industry professionals using the latest tools and techniques. Initially focusing on the application of hard skills of digital marketing and industry technologies, we found that equal or higher value and interest for our students were the soft skills and client interactions they developed as part of the agency experience.

Scholarship of teaching and learning at AACSB accredited business school: who’s doing it, and how’s it captured?

PurposeThis paper explores who among the AACSB categorization of academics conducts the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research within business schools and how AACSB-accredited business schools capture SoTL research as part of their portfolio of intellectual contributions.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a qualitative-method research design by collecting primary data through surveys, semi-structured interviews and secondary data in policy documents focused on AACSB-accredited business schools in Canada and the United States.FindingsThe findings establish that scholarly and practice academics who possess rigorously acquired research skills due to their terminal degrees are most likely to conduct SoTL research. The results also reveal an even split among respondents regarding whether their AACSB-accredited business school captures SoTL with their journal ranking frameworks.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, two recommendations are offered to foster more SoTL research at AACSB-accredited schools. First, higher education leaders (e.g. business school deans) can further inculcate a culture of SoTL research at the department and institutional levels by creating communities of practice (CoPs). Second, AACSB-accredited business schools could adopt more inclusive journal ranking frameworks to capture better and incentivize SoTL research.Originality/valueThis is the first known study to explore how AACSB Standards 3 and 8 are implemented and operationalized regarding SoTL research. Understanding how these standards are adopted and implemented could help institutional leaders, standard setters and administrators better facilitate SoTL research.

A Curriculum Model of Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Programs in AACSB-Accredited Business Schools in the US

A Curriculum Model of Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Programs in AACSB-Accredited Business Schools in the US

The role of accreditation on financial innovation and business sustainability: a study of AACSB-accredited business schools in the GCC region

Purpose Accreditation represents a quality of academic standards and validation, and its impact on business schools is multifaceted. Accredited institutions are widely acknowledged for their higher quality, financial stability, stakeholder acceptance and overall growth compared to non-accredited educational institutions. Given these positive outcomes, this study aims to explore the role of accreditation in fostering financial innovation and business sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative design to understand this relationship, engaging 36 leaders from Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited business schools in the Gulf Cooperation Council region as participants to collect data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic. Data were analysed using the content analysis method. Findings That accreditation significantly influences the business sustainability of these schools. In addition, although the direct impact of accreditation on financial innovation may not be immediately apparent, it was observed that financial inflows experienced remarkable growth after obtaining accreditation. Originality/value While the effects of accreditation have been thoroughly researched, its influence on financial innovation and business sustainability remains unexplored. This study aims to discern if accredited educational institutions excel in financial innovation and maintaining sustainable business practices. These findings have important implications as they guide university administrators to maximise the benefits of accrediting their business schools.

Aligning strategy, curriculum, and research for societal impact: Designing an actionable framework for business schools globally

ABSTRACT During the pivotal year 2020, a groundbreaking shift occurred: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) released new accreditation standards requiring business schools globally to serve as catalysts for societal good to retain their accreditation. This systemic shift has ripple effect implications for business education by mobilizing over 4 million students at 90+ top business schools in over 50 countries to become agents for positive change. However, with this monumental change, one question looms: “How”? How can business schools coordinate and focus their societal impact efforts to maximize positive societal impact across research, teaching, and service? This case study provides academic leaders in business schools a blueprint for how one AACSB-accredited business school harnessed the globally respected framework, Sustainable Development Goals, to align societal impact efforts across research, teaching, and service. The study also provides policy makers some insight into sustainable entrepreneurship education’s role in promoting positive societal impact through economic growth and social entrepreneurship.

Redesigning a Course Evaluation Instrument: Experience, Practical Guidance, and Lessons Learned

Course evaluation instruments (CEIs) are widespread, influential components of faculty professional development and evaluation processes. Given their importance to continuous instructional improvement and their weight in promotion, tenure, and other evaluation processes, it is critical that business schools and higher education institutions more broadly ensure a well-designed instrument. While the literature covering course evaluation instruments is extensive, coverage of the CEI revision process is virtually nonexistent. This article seeks to fill that gap, providing a case study of a successful CEI change process at an AACSB accredited business school. We offer practical recommendations for a revision process, including a sample timeline, revised instrument, and lessons learned from experience.

Do Accounting Professor Teaching Ratings Reflect Student Learning?

This current study provides evidence relating to the question of whether accounting professor teaching ratings in undergraduate classes are related to student learning or if they are just a reflection of the degree of easiness or difficulty of the class and the professors that are being rated. The relationship between average accounting faculty ratings for eight AACSB accredited business schools from RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) and the subsequent average success rate for students from those schools who take and pass the CPA exam on their first attempt are examined. Empirical results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between students passing the CPA exam and RMP teaching ratings reflecting professor Quality and a significant negative relationship between students passing the CPA exam and RMP ratings reflecting the degree of Easiness for those classes and professors being rated. Additional empirical evidence of the complex relationships between teaching ratings and the personal characteristic of accounting professors who teach either classes for accounting majors or non- majors is also discussed.

How entrepreneurial are social entrepreneurship education providers? The role of universities’ entrepreneurial ecosystems in the provision of elective social entrepreneurship courses to business students

ABSTRACT With the growing emphasis on social entrepreneurship (SE), many universities are delivering social entrepreneurship courses (SECs) to develop students’ social awareness and aspirations, and socially entrepreneurial behaviors. This study investigates the extent to which the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE), entailing entrepreneurism at individual, university and regional levels, may impact on universities’ decisions to offer SECs to business students. Using data from 501 US-based, AACSB-accredited business schools, the finding indicates the importance of the universities’ EE and entrepreneurialism at multi-levels in their commitment to SECs.

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Making the Case for our Legitimacy: Broadening the Management Education Curriculum to Achieve Impact

“The aim (of education) must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, see in the service to the community their highest life achievement” - Albert Einstein. There has been much recent debate about the legitimacy of business schools in a world that increasingly views education as a commodity and questions the value and impact of traditional scholarly activities. In this paper, we demonstrate the need for business schools to embrace all three facets of scholarship – teaching, research and service to society – to make a compelling argument regarding our continuing legitimacy. This paper describes how an AACSB accredited business school, delivering degree programs with a partner university in the Middle East, designed its strategic management curriculum around a national political, economic, and social issue, namely the financial literacy levels of citizens. Using the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this innovative curriculum led to the design and implementation of a range of impactful educational initiatives, empowering over 200 students to improve their own lives and those around them, while also achieving learning outcomes based on a curriculum that emphasized multidisciplinary learning, industry engagement and active citizenship.

Online learning in schools of business: what influences faculty to teach online?

ABSTRACT College students today are much more diverse in their needs than in the past (e.g., they may live off campus, work full or part time, and seek ways to lessen college-related debt). Institutions of higher education are seeking ways to more effectively reach this diverse student population, often through online education. Institutions also realise that faculty are a primary contributing factor to whether or not such programs will be successful. This is because faculty selected to develop and teach online are responsible for both content and delivery; thus, they largely control the quality of the courses offered. Since business is one of the most highly sought-after areas of study online, schools of business must find ways to develop and implement online programs, while ensuring quality and meeting accreditation standards. Deans of AACSB-accredited business schools were surveyed in this study to determine their approaches related to faculty participation in online learning initiatives. Specifically, this study examines variables that are associated with faculty participation in online teaching. Through multiple regression analyses, the study examines which elements of practice are significant in this effort.

A curriculum model for cybersecurity master’s program: A survey of AACSB-accredited business schools in the United States

There is an increasing recognition of cybersecurity’s importance to organizations, and business schools are in a unique position to meet industry’s demand for cybersecurity professionals. Using MSIS 2016 and National Centers of Academic Excellence Cyber Defense Education standards, the author investigates cybersecurity master’s programs in U.S. business schools. The author surveyed 529 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited schools and identified 37 cybersecurity master’s programs; the five most frequently required courses are information technology security; network security; cybersecurity planning and management; information technology infrastructure; and policy, legal, ethics and compliance. The author also found that the master’s programs currently pivot their curriculums toward courses that are cybersecurity and technical in nature. Using survey data, the author develops a new, graduate-level cybersecurity curriculum model for business schools.

Using cooperative learning teams to improve exam scores in the introduction to operations management class

The introduction to operations management course is a historically difficult course for students. The novelty of the topics, quantitative rigor and difficult concepts makes this course challenging for students. To combat this problem, we implemented a unique cooperative learning program over two different semesters at an AACSB accredited business school. Although the cooperative learning program was voluntary, 41% of the students participated in the program. Exam scores were measured for students who participated in weekly learning groups versus those students who did not participate. The findings show that students who participated in the weekly cooperative learning groups scored significantly better than non-attended students on all three exam across two semesters. The positive outcomes are numerous including higher pass rates for the course, students learning to work in groups and fewer students visiting office hours during the semester.

Innovation, engagement, and impact measures: Two exploratory studies on the processes and outcomes development

ABSTRACTThe authors examine the development and implementation of measures for the 2013 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) thematic dimensions of innovation, engagement, and impact (IEI) at two AACSB-accredited business schools. Agreement exists among faculty in Study 1 that IEI should be viewed as interrelated and overlapping concentric circles rather than separate dimensions. Study 2 findings suggest the importance of dialogue with faculty during the implementation process to further clarify the conceptual IEI boundaries. Overall, the authors' findings can assist schools in ensuring that the development and implementation of IEI themes in their institutions are consistent with the AACSB standards.

Matching supply with demand in supply chain management education

Purpose The field of supply chain management (SCM) evolves dramatically due to factors of globalization, innovation, sustainability, and technology. These changes raise challenges not only to higher education institutions, but also to students, employing organizations, and third parties like SCM-related professional bodies. To understand the challenge, the purpose of this paper is to examine the gap between demand and supply of SCM-related knowledge areas, answer-related design questions, and make recommendations to close the gaps. Design/methodology/approach To compare the demand and supply of SCM-related knowledge areas, demand data is collected from a professional career website and supply data is gathered from operations management (OM) and SCM course syllabi from AACSB-accredited business schools in the USA. Cluster analysis identifies how supply and demand are matched on the data collected. Findings First, gaps exist between SCM talent requirements from industry and the knowledge/skill training by US business schools. This paper identifies matching, under-supplying, and over-supplying knowledge areas. Under-supply in emerging areas such as SCM information technology and certain logistics management topics are found. Some traditional OM topics are over-supplied due to out-of-date industry applications and should be revised to reflect the field’s transition from an OM to SCM view. Last, this paper makes recommendations to different stakeholders in this matching supply with demand process. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it provides an up-to-date understanding on demand and supply of SCM talent in USA. Second, it provides insights and recommendations not only to educators on curriculum design, but also to potential candidates interested in SCM careers, to companies’ job recruiters, and to professional organizations (such as APICS and Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals) to reduce the gaps between demand and supply.

Faculty narcissism and student outcomes in business higher education: A student-faculty fit analysis

We examined the relationship between personality congruence on faculty and student narcissism with student perceptions of professor status, the perceived difficulty of the class, and student performance in the classroom. Data were collected from business students and faculty at an AACSB-accredited business school at a comprehensive state university. Results indicated that narcissism congruence was significantly related to a student's final grade in the class such that less congruence was associated with lower course grades and that this negative association was partially mediated by perceived professor status and perceived class difficulty. Particularly concerning was the finding that more narcissistic faculty were associated with detrimental outcomes for less narcissistic students. Considering the well-documented and profoundly negative implications of narcissism for workplace environments, this finding suggests a need for future research on the impact of narcissistic faculty on business students and on successful intervention strategies.

Analysis of Hardware Used in Aacsb-Accredited Business School Accounting Programs

Analysis of Hardware Used in Aacsb-Accredited Business School Accounting Programs

Exploring Business Student Perception of Information and Technology

The purpose of this research is to explore information and technology perception of business major freshman and sophomore undergraduate students at an AACSB accredited business school. AACSB accredited academic programs emphasize the importance of information and technology skills by setting learning goals and offering courses to achieve these learning goals. While learning goals are known and already set, initial information and technology skills, knowledge and perception of students are not well known. Growing up with technology and instant communication, new generations may be developing a different understanding of information and technology issues than the previous generations. Understanding freshman and sophomore student perception of information and technology as a starting point is essential for an effective course and curriculum design to meet the learning goals of accredited business schools.A qualitative approach was adopted in this study to capture and discover the meaning of information and technology for students. 53 students were asked to express their taught about nineteen statements on information, technology, and global forces. The data was collected through a questionnaire. Students commented on statements by answering three generic questions to discuss individual and organizational impacts of these statements, and personal solutions for these trends. A total of 2,337 comments were analyzed to understand student perception of information and technology.

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