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This paper investigates what business schools are saying in their mission statements and whether they provide a meaningful basis for strategic choice, distinction and differentiation from a positioning perspective; or whether they are the equivalent of "table stakes" in the MBA game - undifferentiated signals that connote legitimacy. Content analys...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... results from the Marascuilo (1966) comparison of multiple proportions test are shown in Table 3. The first four columns of the table gives the number of mission statements within each quartile that contain the aggregated concepts. ...Context 2
... of Table 3 shows that only two of the 132 (twenty-two times six) possible pairwise comparisons of proportion are significantly different at the 10% level of significance 6 . Given that Type II statistical error could lead to the appearance of thirteen seemingly significant differences at the 10% test level when none actually exist, the conclusion is that the relative proportions of the twentytwo aggregated concepts across the quartiles are not different. ...Context 3
... can deans, with some responsibility for the mission statement and ensuing strategy, use these findings to better craft the school's mission statement and use it as a key device for driving strategy? Probably the best place to start is by comparing the school's current mission statement against the categories identified in this research (Table 3) and match what the statement espouses against them. Equally important, the dean can identify whether there is any strong and relevant terminology in the current mission statement that does not appear in any of the categories -terminology that could be a strong differentiator and allow the school to distance itself from the pack. ...Similar publications
While studies have examined institutional tactics developed by sharing platforms to change urban regulations, there has been less attention to tactics deployed by incumbents to resist regulatory change. Drawing on the theory of institutional work, we investigate tactics that the Brussels taxi industry employed to overcome Uber's quest for legitimac...
Citations
... Without a sustainability oriented mission statement, it will be difficult for the MBA programme to be more geared to address sustainability challenges (Rubin & Dierdorff, 2009). This poses as an existential threat to the competitiveness of the programmes because of lack of clarity of purpose and learning outcomes (Bevelander et al., 2015). It was also noted that the mission statements of some MBA programmes are still centred on leadership, research and community engagement and the centrality of sustainability education is not prioritised. ...
Emerging evidence suggests that business schools in Africa are lagging behind in promoting sustainability education. Grand challenges that point to a limited focus on transformative sustainability education such as environmental pollution, conflicts, inequalities and unemployment still persist in African economies, with the profit motive remaining central to businesses’ operating philosophy. Informed by the clarion call for business schools to be key drivers of sustainability education, this study reviews the African master of business administration (MBA) curricula with the objective of assessing the status of sustainability management education. The content of the MBA curricula of 42 African business schools accredited with the Association of African Business Schools was analysed using a web-based research approach. The findings indicate that the concept of sustainability has not been sufficiently embedded into the African MBA curricula. The values and mission statements of the majority of business schools were found not to be aligned with the principles of sustainability education. It was also found that shareholder value oriented modules constitute the core curriculum of the majority of MBA programmes reviewed. An incremental elective approach was found to be the most dominant strategy used by African business schools to incorporate sustainability education in the MBA curricula. An integrative approach of embedding sustainability education focusing on re-orientation of the business schools’ values, mission, curriculum, systems, operations and governance is recommended. The increased use of experiential learning is also recommended as an effective teaching pedagogy for equipping MBA students with practical aspects of sustainability education.
... Inspiring individuals to be done is that discoveries are likely to occur with education that is relevant to their interests. (Bevelandera et al., 2015). Employees are over-managed and have little freedom, so this prevents them from being innovative. ...
The main purpose of this research is to determine the effect of human resources trainings used in enterprises on innovation. At the end of the research, the relationship between the dependent and independent variables is examined and it is aimed to form a resource regarding the effect of human resources trainings used in enterprises on innovation. There were 215 individuals determined by random sampling method among the machine mold spare parts and textile enterprises managers and employees operating in the field of Machinery and Textiles, registered in Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, participated in the study. Then, these data were subjected to frequency, independent sample T-Test, Anova, reliability analysis, average and correlation analysis in SPSS 23.0 package program. As a result of the analysis made in the research, it has been determined that the human resources training of the machine mold spare parts and textile enterprises managers and employees operating in the field of Machinery and Textiles, registered in Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has an impact on innovation. Human resources training has an impact on innovation in businesses.
... Jamieson and Naidoo (2007) outline how an English elite university, as a result of its strategic evaluation of external challenges, decides to position itself by broadening the portfolio of doctoral education. Lastly, a group of empirical studies analyse strategic plans (Brandt 2002;Strike and Labbe 2016;Morphew et al. 2018), mission statements (Hartley and Morphew 2006;Bevelander et al. 2015;Leiber 2016), branding activities (Opoku et al. 2008;Furey et al. 2014;Çatı et al. 2016;Rutter et al. 2017) and institutional images (Ivy 2001) in order to investigate how universities leverage on external constraints and opportunities eventually building unique profiles. ...
This paper makes a contribution to the debate on university organisational actorhood by theorising the determinants of institutional strategic positioning. It argues that besides environmental forces and managerial rationality, the organisational dimension needs to be accounted for. Addressing the mixed empirical evidence in the relevant literature, we conceptualise the organisational dimension as a meso-level intervening variable mediating both external influences (outside-inside) and organisational action (inside-outside). We operationalise the organisational dimension along three components: organisational structure, identity and centrality, which are further elaborated in sub-components and indicators. A set of hypotheses to be tested in empirical research is provided. The paper offers new perspectives on the dynamics of change in higher education and on strategic agency of organisational actors.
... The mission statement of a business school defines its strategic thrust and the identity of its qualification matrix (Bevelander et al., 2015;Rubin and Dierdorff, 2009). In particular, the CHE (2004) directs that the mission statement of the MBA programme needs to meet specific regulated core specifications in terms of purpose, teaching pedagogy, research and governance. ...
In recent years, Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes and their curricula have been subjected to substantial scrutiny. However, the majority of studies have been confined to business schools in Western countries. By comparison, much less research is available on MBA programmes
in developing countries, particularly those in Africa. In an effort to address this gap, this article examines MBA programmes in South Africa by first situating them within the global MBA curriculum debate. It then notes the need to move away from a generalist MBA programme to a specialized
MBA in line with emerging global trends. Finally, it suggests a multidisciplinary approach to the redesign of the MBA curriculum.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of African business schools (ABSs) mission statements (MSs) based on the number and types of elements and the relevance of the elements to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). MSs are ubiquitous in higher education, but research on ABSs MSs quality and relevance to SDG is non-existent.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach with content analysis was used to systematically examine ABSs MSs retrieved from institutional websites. The MSs were analyzed based on an adopted ten-element framework of MSs for quality and relevance to sustainability.
Findings
This study revealed that only 39.4% of the MSs of the top 200 ABSs reviewed were publicly accessible via institutional websites. The examined MS shows a moderate quality (number of elements used) that varied partly by the institutional structural characteristics. On sustainability, six elements of the MS framework were found to be conceptually relevant to SDGs 4, 5, 8, 13 and 17. However, the analysis of ABSs MSs revealed a weak contribution to the SDGs.
Research limitations/implications
Data on some ABSs MSs may have been missed because they are inaccessible, and this study did not measure actual but potential contributions to SDGs via MS elements. A qualitative follow-up study with interviews is necessary to assess how institutions implement the MS elements relevant to the SDGs.
Practical implications
Guidelines for developing and enhancing MSs of African higher education institutions are prescribed to ensure quality and relevance to the current societal needs and for sustainable quality education.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the quality of the ABSs MSs and their comparability across Africa. This study is also the first to operationalize a ten-element framework of MSs and conceptualize how MS elements are linked to the SDGs.
Unlike in the US and other western countries, the higher education market in Germany has been sheltered from competition. This changed recently, when a governmental ?excellence initiative? began to allocate substantial supplementary funds dependent on higher education institutions? performance, in 2005. This study is aimed at assessing differentiation tendencies arising from the acute need to become more discernible in an increasingly competitive environment. Based on a content analysis of the full sample of German higher education institutions? mission statements, we measure the degree of horizontal differentiation among institutions, applying correspondence and cluster analysis techniques. We conclude that horizontal differentiation is not incisive to date, and identify idle potential for creating a more perceptible brand personality.
