Is Accreditation Good for the Strategic Decision Making of Traditional Business Schools?

Reorienting the Business School Agenda: The Case for Relevance, Rigor, and Righteousness

“…The current system of business school and MBA rankings is also seen as contributing to maintaining the status quo (Julian and Ofori-Dankwa, 2006;Pfeffer and Fong, 2004). As a result, top schools have a low incentive to change (Pfeffer and Fong, 2002) and many new innovations originate from schools in lower tiers of the rankings with less to lose, but also correspondingly lower impact (Bennis and O'Toole, 2005).…”

“…Currently, there is great uncertainty about what management students should be taught and what they should learn (Bennis and O'Toole, 2005;Blood, 2006;Burke and Sadler-Smith, 2006;Cameron, 2006;Clegg and Ross-Smith, 2003;Ferraro et al, 2005;Julian and Ofori-Dankwa, 2006;Kanter, 2005;Mintzberg, 2004;Pfeffer, 2005;Pfeffer andFong, 2002, 2004;Samuelson, 2006). These authors ask many fundamental questions about the nature of our work: Are there knowable certainties about the nature of work?…”

A Call for University-Based Business Schools to “Lower Their Walls:” Collaborating With Other Academic Departments in Pursuit of Social Value

“…However, generally, accreditation pressures represent a threat to the diversity of business schools, pushing them toward mimetic strategies and isomorphism (Wedlin, 2007), and so act as a "regime" serving to preserve and perpetuate the status quo that benefits élite business schools (Lowrie & Willmott, 2009). They drive business schools to avoid risks associated with radical innovation, such as collaboration with other academic departments (Julian & Ofori-Dankwa, 2006;Lejeune & Vas, 2014;Proitz, Stensaker, & Harvey, 2004). In particular, some argue that current AACSB standards constrain collaboration with other academic departments as they stress a need for business school autonomy (Lowrie & Willmott, 2009).…”

Shaping Performance: Do International Accreditations and Quality Management Really Help?

“…Countering the arguments of Julian and Ofori-Dankwa (2006), Romero (2008) states that AACSB accreditations encourage flexibility and creativity. Although the author admits a "lack of published, hard and systematic data" on the effects of accreditation (Romero 2008: 246), he argues that accreditations provide incentives for strategic development, which may in turn improve performance (Miller & Cardinal 1994).…”

“…Many scholars see accreditations as a restriction on academic freedom, a fruitless bureaucratic burden, and an impediment to adaptation and innovation (Harvey 2004, Julian & Ofori-Dankwa 2006, Scheele 2004. Others see accreditations in a positive way and stress their contributions to strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and reputation (Zammuto 2008, Lejeune & Vas 2009).…”