A review of responsible management education: practices, outcomes and challenges

Abstract

PurposeResearch on management education (ME) over the past 2 decades signals a growing level of concern in response to increasing societal demands for ethical, responsible and sustainable considerations in management decisions in light of the current economic situation. The purpose of this paper is to review extant literature on responsible management education (RME) over the past decade.Design/methodology/approachThe author carried out a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed publications, which were mapped and analysed according to the following six categories: (1) types of papers, (2) geographical context, (3) RME purpose, (4) strategies, (5) intended outcomes and (6) challenges. The analysis resulted in a descriptive overview of article content and synthesis of review data categorised by topical focus.FindingsAnalysis of the review sample reveals how scholarly interest in RME has accelerated over the last decade. This is accompanied by a growing institutionalisation and development of RME. The descriptive analysis indicates that the vast majority of publications focus on RME implementation strategies, mostly focussing on on-campus – curricular, pedagogical and operational – changes and the unique experiences of particular schools. Recent publications reveal interest in how RME can respond to triple bottom line (TBL) concerns that benefit the wider society and to sustainable development (SD) goals that target the local and global community. A budding interest is revealed in examining the perceptions of diverse stakeholder groups of sustainability requirements in RME curricula to create relevant and practical content.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the adoption and/or development of RME.

Developing responsible management in the Middle East and North Africa region: reviewing PRME progress

“…Developing resources that are nuanced to responsible management challenges of the region require dedicated research. While research related to facets of responsible management has significantly grown over the past decade globally, research in MENA is notably scarce (Abdelgaffar, 2021). Laasch (2021), for example, was only able to identify one case study of responsible management practice in the region.…”

Narrating future(s) with others: teaching strategic sustainability management in a relational key

“…On the other hand, next to making ethics the centre of education (Abdelgaffar, 2021), an important part of rethinking management education for sustainable futures is rebalancing its onto-epistemological underpinnings (Lange, 2018). To tackle the challenges of the Anthropocene, it needs "transformational change at the systemic level that [among others] re-considers how humans relate to the natural world" (Ergene et al 2021(Ergene et al , p. 1321.…”

Responsible management education: mapping the trends, influential sources and research themes

“…Over the years academic literature provides many insights (qualitative and quantitative) were made; new models and frameworks were developed focusing teaching, learning and practice in RME. Review papers by Avelar et al (2019) on advancing education towards SDGs, Figueir o and Raufflet (2015) on sustainability in management education, Cullen (2020) review on responsible management learning and education (RMLE) and Abdelgaffar (2021) all reinforcing PRME and SDGs to demonstrate the advance of sustainability in managerial education. RME has arisen in response to a growing interest in ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in management education especially consolidated with SDGs goals.…”