From ‘Ecoles Supérieures de Commerce’ to ‘Management Schools’: transformations and continuity in French business schools

Abstract

Part of the national system of grandes écoles, French Business schools have known radical changes since the 1980s, notably in size, and have become more attractive to students both at a national and an international level. As a consequence, the French elitist system has been questioned by the competition of foreign –especially Anglo‐Saxon — models. An organisational/institutional analysis of these transformations is presented here. Considering that French business schools have been progressively building an organisational field since the end of the 19th century, we will analyse how this field has seen a process of de‐structuration and re‐structuration since the late 1980s. The article first introduces some specificities of the French higher education system. The historical construction of the national business schools field is then presented, before analysing the increasing competition between schools and its effects over the last decades.

Proudly Elitist and Undemocratic? The distributed maintenance of contested practices

“…This situation could undermine the sustainability of French schools” ( Le Point , 1997). To make matters worse, the rise of national and international rankings “gave a certain materiality to the competition between French business schools, ‘freezing’ them into a single, well-defined hierarchy” (Blanchard, 2009, p. 595).…”

International Accreditations as Drivers of Business School Quality Improvement

“…Some schools are also making accreditation their strategic goal rather than using this to achieve broader institutional objectives. Finally, schools are tending to follow similar strategic development agendas thus confirming the trend towards isomorphism in the French business school field (Blanchard, 2009). …”

Pardon my French: On superfluous journal rankings, incentives, and impacts on industrial-organizational psychology publication practices in French business schools

“…As Anseel et al (2014) emphasized, there has been a growing competition among European business schools during the past decade that has influenced I-O psychology research. To attract international students, competition among French business schools (FBSs) has also proliferated (Blanchard, 2009;Kaplan, 2014;Thietart, 2009) and now mirrors the American business school landscape. However, France significantly differs from most other countries.…”

“…Not only is France home to the world's first business school; it has also historically treated business education as a vocation rather than an academic discipline (Kaplan, 2014). In addition, the Grandes Écoles system presents a unique and exceptional example that influences how schools are administered, students are admitted, schools are funded, and relations between these schools and the corporate world are maintained (Blanchard, 2009;Lichy & Pon, 2015). What distinguishes FBSs from others is that most are independent institutions, unconnected to a university system.…”

“…What distinguishes FBSs from others is that most are independent institutions, unconnected to a university system. Either they are associated with the local Chambers of Commerce or they act as private establishments with unique academic freedom and administrative autonomy (Blanchard, 2009;Kumar & Usunier, 2001;Lichy & Pon, 2015;Thietart, 2009). In response to a highly competitive environment, accreditations in business school education play a critical role in adopting a global perspective and signaling quality and reputation (Thomas et al, 2014).…”