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RESEARCH NOTE
Perceived effects of an MBA
degree on employability and
career advancement
The case of Greece
Dimitrios M. Mihail and Kristina Antigoni Elefterie
University of Macedonia, Business Administration Department,
Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract
Purpose – Given this rapid expansion in business schools and MBA graduate numbers, the purpose
of this paper is to assess whether and how graduate management education offered in Greece makes
better managers.
Design/methodology/approach – To this purpose an empirical research was conducted,
interviewing 68 MBA graduates from a Greek business school, to assess whether and to what
extent MBA training can influence managerial competencies, employability and career development.
More specifically, the paper tests the hypotheses that gaining an MBA will: provide graduates with
business-related competencies; enhance graduates’ employability; promote career advancement and
lead to increased compensation.
Findings – Analyzing graduates’ perceptions and attitudes, the findings indicate that MBA studies
have a positive effect on skills, employability and compensation and a much moderate effect on career
advancement.
Research limitations/implications – This is an exploratory study that seeks to analyze the
self-reports of a limited number of respondents. A large-scale national survey involving graduates
from numerous academic institutions across the country would result in a more comprehensive
assessment of the effectiveness of MBA studies on managers in Greece.
Practical implications – This study has shown that an accredited MBA program seems to add
value to graduates’ managerial skills and employability in an ever-changing labor market.
Originality/value – Given the dearth of empirical research on management education in Greece, this
study contributes to debates in the wider academic community discussing the impact of MBA studies
on managerial jobs.
Keywords Greece, Business studies, Master of business administration, Competences,
Career development
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Greece is an example of an advancing economy in transition. Having made remarkable
progress towards macroeconomic convergence throughout the 1990s, Greece was
allowed to join the advanced European countries in shaping the European Monetary
Union (EMU). Thus Greece sets the example for other advancing European Union
countries like Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland that are aiming at
entering the Eurozone in the near future. For Greek firms, particularly the small and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1362-0436.htm
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Received October 2005
Revised January 2006
Accepted January 2006
Career Development International
Vol. 11 No. 4, 2006
pp. 352-361
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1362-0436
DOI 10.1108/13620430610672559
medium sized ones (SMEs) that constitute the cornerstone of the country’s economy,
the formidable challenge is to cope with ever increasing competitive pressures
emanating from the EMU, and in global markets more generally.
Greek firms are characterized by a dualism: on one side there is a class of
professionally managed firms, including the subsidiaries of multinationals, and on the
other side there are numerous SMEs, mostly family-owned, that have been
traditionally managed by their founders or by small proprietors (Makridakis et al.,
1997). Competing in the integrated European market has put a lot of pressure on small
company owners to reform organizational structures, placing emphasis on standard
rules and procedures for organizing business activities. In fact, in a recent empirical
study it was reported that Greek SMEs are characterized by a tendency towards
shaping formal managerial layers staffed with professional managers. It is evident, the
study concludes, that SMEs have abandoned the paternalistic management style and
they appear to “move towards a more professional management style by enhancing the
size and quality of managerial teams with the recruitment of well-educated
professionals” (Spanos et al., 2001, p. 644).
The Greek business community’s increasing demand for managers who have
acquired excellent managerial skills has led to an explosion in a demand for graduate
courses in management. After all, the conventional wisdom is that individuals with a
master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) generally perform better in
managerial positions than those who do not hold an MBA degree (Baruch and Peiperl,
2000). Studying for an MBA appears to be a foolproof investment for a solid career in
corporate Greece, and as a result the reputation of MBA programs has soared over the
last decade. At the same time, trying to catch up with the increasing demand for
graduate management education, Greek academic institutions have been setting up
new MBA programs. While there was only one accredited MBA curriculum in the
country offered by the Athens University of Economics and Business up to the early
1990s, since then MBA programs have sprang up at an increasing rate across the
country. In the midst of these developments, fierce competition has surfaced over
market shares between public business schools – the only eligible, according to law to
offer accredited MBAs in the country – and the non-accredited private business
schools that built academic and economic affiliations with mostly British and
American universities in launching MBA programs.
Still the Greek case must be considered as a little piece of the whole European
picture. Such an increase in demand for management education at the graduate level
was experienced in the USA during the 1980s and in the European Union over the last
15 years (Hawksley, 1996). Of course, on the supply side, US business schools dominate
the international market with more than 600 MBA programs and 70,000 full-time
students. However, students’ enrolments in Europe have been increasing reaching
10,000 full-time and 15,000 part-time MBA students (Stern, 2002). There are more than
100 business schools in the UK, over 70 in France and 20 in Germany. In fact, if one
takes an example from Germany, they can detect a changing pattern of management
culture from one stressing the traditional specialist Diploma to one now emphasizing
the rising popularity for generalist MBA programs (Randlesome, 2000).
It is clear that today’s MBA graduates from Greek business schools enter the
country’s business community at an increasing rate. What is far less clear is whether
these newly established MBA programs have a significant impact on prospective
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managers’ set of skills needed on graduation day. Actually, there is a remarkable
dearth of information concerning the added value of Greek MBAs to managerial
performance, employability and career advancement and this empirical study tries to
provide some insights into these issues. In the subsequent part of this contribution, the
research questions are stated. The paper continues by outlining the methodology of the
empirical research, and then presents and analyzes the main findings that are based on
perceptions and self-reports of the surveyed graduates. The main conclusions are
discussed in the last part of the study.
Theoretical background and research aims
An MBA program is explicitly aimed to add value to graduate students giving them
business-related knowledge and managerial skills. Empirical studies seem to lend
support for this contention. In the USA, Boyatzis and Renio (1989) have showed that an
MBA program had a significant positive effect on graduates’ managerial competencies
in areas of information analysis, quantitative analysis, and implementation of projects.
The program, though did not appear effective in enhancing soft skills, mainly
interpersonal skills such as building relationships with peers, managing or leading
people. Kretovics (1999) measured the learning outcomes of an MBA program. He
found that the MBA studies enhanced 12 skills related to business of its graduates
compared to entering students. The program was most effective on “hard” managerial
skills such as goal setting, information gathering, quantitative analysis, theory
application, technology application but also important for building interpersonal skills
such as help skills and ability to inspire and motivate others.
Sturges et al. (2003) assessed the impact of a Canadian MBA program on graduates’
competencies based on in-depth interviews with the students. They showed that
completing the program allowed the graduates to be more effective managers, with
knowledge of and access to a range of business techniques, but also helped improve
their self-confidence, people management and team working skills. Similar results were
found by Ishida (1997) surveying the alumni of the Graduate School of Business
Administration at Keio University that has been in the vanguard of business education
in Japan.
In the UK, Baruch and Peiperl (2000) demonstrated that gaining an MBA improved
graduates’ competencies. Some of these qualities and abilities were associated with
specific “hard” skills such as research and accounting skills whereas others were
concerned with general managerial competencies such as career management,
decision-making and working in teams. Equally interesting, this comparative study
concluded that MBA studies help graduates gain an advantage over other managers
with respect to skills needed in business. In another UK study, Baruch and Leeming
(2001) provide an assessment of the impact of an MBA of a leading UK management
school on the skills and career paths of its graduates. The results of the study support
the contention that MBA studies led to increased self-confidence, managerial skills,
employability and improved several aspects of career advancement.
Increasingly, however, both business press and academicians have raised questions
about the added value of graduate business education to graduates’ managerial skills
and competencies. Recent critiques such as those of Bennis and O’Toole (2005),
Mintzberg (2004), and Pfeffer and Fong (2002) point to the gap between theory and
practice, arguing that the knowledge and skills delivered by the MBA programs relate
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poorly to practitioners’ needs. Some, such as Pfeffer and Fong (2002), suggest the gap is
due to irrelevant curriculum structure and teaching and along with Bennis and
O’Toole, who stress irrelevance of business school research, conclude that
management studies would benefit from emulating the most innovative law, medical
and other professional schools. The distorted structure of business curricula was
pinpointed previously in Porter and McKibbin’s (1988) study, according to which
analytical techniques received too much emphasis at the expense of leadership,
interpersonal and communication skills. Grey (2004) on the other hand, is attacking
traditional MBA studies by highlighting business school’s place in sustaining the
status quo and proposing an overtly politicized version of management education.
Yet there is little empirical research published to date on the relationship between
the knowledge acquired in MBA programs around the world, particularly from
non-elite schools, and managers’ competencies and career prospects. Hence, drawing
on Baruch and Peiperl (2000) and Baruch and Leeming (2001), the present study tries to
explore the extent to which graduates of accredited Greek MBA programs enhance
their business-related skills and gain career benefits in terms of management status,
promotions, pay, employability and career change. In light of this discussion, the
research questions for this study included the following:
RQ1. Would one enhance his/her managerial competencies completing an MBA
program offered by accredited Greek business schools?
RQ2. Would one improve his/her employability and job content completing an
MBA program offered by accredited Greek business schools?
RQ3. Would one promote his/her career advancement, including better
compensation completing an MBA program offered by accredited Greek
business schools?
Method
The surveyed MBA program
To examine the above mentioned three research questions a survey was designed
based on the perceptions and attitudes of graduates of a full-time MBA program
offered by the University of Macedonia, located in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. This
program started in 1994 and it is the second oldest in the country, after that offered by
Athens University of Economics and Business. These two MBA programs, combined
with that offered by the University of Piraeus, are the most widely known MBA
programs in the country that are accredited by the Greek Ministry of Education. It
must be noted that over the last decade, the MBA program offered by the University of
Macedonia was the only accredited one available in the entire region of northern
Greece, covering actually one-third of the Greek population. This MBA program
consists of two parts: a core, offering basic knowledge of management, technical skills
and quantitative methods that covers the first two semesters; and a second part,
consisting of four areas of concentration: finance, marketing, human resource
management and generic MBA, that covers the third semester and a Master’s thesis.
Subjects
The subjects of the survey were alumni of the MBA program, offered by the University
of Macedonia, who graduated from 1996 to 2002. The names, phone numbers, and
Perceived effects
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355
e-mail addresses were drawn from a list provided by the MBA’s Records Office. The
sample consisted of all graduates who attended the MBA program from its beginning
(1994) up to those who were enrolled in 2000 and graduated in 2002. Hence, the last
graduates have at least three years of working experience after graduation to assess
the MBA’s impact on skills, employability and career advancement. Over the last three
years, in many cases phone numbers and e-mails have changed so we were able to
establish contact with only 94 graduates from a population of 230 individuals. Hence, a
total of 94 questionnaires were e-mailed. A second mailing was sent two weeks later to
all non-respondents. A total of 68 questionnaires were returned for a total response rate
of 72 percent. This sample might appear small at first glance. Nevertheless, it must be
stressed that it includes about 30 percent of all graduates of the surveyed MBA
program from its beginning to 2002. The sample included 44 men and 24 women. More
than 70 percent of the respondents were between 26 and 34 years old.
Research tool
The use of a questionnaire as a research tool in the behavioral sciences, including
business and public administration disciplines, is widely acknowledged. This survey
that was based on a structured questionnaire, reports on former graduates’
self-perceptions on main aspects of the MBA studies – working life nexus. In the
first part of the questionnaire through completion-type questions, graduates provided
information of demographic characteristics. In the second part, through a Likert-type
of scale (1: not at all to 5: completely), respondents were asked to evaluate their MBA’s
contribution to improving a list of managerial skills (Baruch and Leeming, 2001), in
enhancing their employability and improving career prospects including
compensation. Thus respondents’ self-reporting allowed us to analyze graduates’
attitudes and perceptions and examine closely the three research questions on added
value of an accredited MBA program.
Findings
Assessing the impact on competencies
So what makes for an effective MBA program in terms of skill enhancement? In
response to this question our participants were presented with a list of business-related
skills. Then they were asked to assess the need for those skills in their present job, and
the extent to which the MBA program had enhanced their competence in these skills.
However, we avoided asking graduates to evaluate their own competence in
business-related skills, considering such a question highly subjective, involving
serious personal bias. All responses were on a scale of 1-5 and Table I shows the mean
of the graduates’ evaluations.
The perceived skills needed in managerial careers are demonstrated by the data in
the second column. Correspondingly, in the third column the impact of the MBA on
these skills is shown. The graduates’ responses indicate that there is not a considerable
gap between the evaluation of skills needed in their present job and the evaluation of
the contribution attributed to the specific MBA program. Instead, both the perceived
need for the listed skills and the impact of MBA studies on managerial competencies
are relatively high, with values ranging in most cases between three and four, well
above the middle point three of the Likert scale.
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Table I presents the needed skills in descending order. Time management, stress
management, interpersonal skills, self-confidence and written presentations are the five
top-rated categories of skills perceived as vital in a manager’s working environment.
Interestingly enough, it is found that these crucial categories of skills for managerial
careers are enhanced considerably by MBA studies, with pertinent evaluations ranging
from 3.4 to 3.8. As might be expected, the perceived impact of MBA studies is more
important in enhancing research skills (3.52), oral (3.72) and written presentation skills
(3.51), the ability to work in teams (3.77), along with boosting self-confidence (3.79)
(Sturges et al., 2003). On the other hand, the educational program apparently lags behind
and has a moderate impact on negotiating skills (2.83) and competency to manage other
people (2.87). Therefore, when it comes to comparing the perception of the added value of
an MBA, and the needed skills, there is not a perfect match. Still, what truly matters is a
whole array of skills necessary in managerial jobs, which have been found upgraded by
MBA studies offered in the country (Ishida, 1997; Kretovics, 1999).
Improving employability and job content
Our analysis of the impact of MBA studies on manager’s employability draws on
Kanter’s view of employability as an employee’s “increased value of internal and
external labor markets” (Kanter, 1989, p. 92). In modern dynamic corporate
environments, post-corporate career paths (Peiperl and Baruch, 1997) are conditioned
by a new more entrepreneurial employment relationship, which assumes that
managers are responsible for their own career and for increasing skills highly
transferable between companies or industries (O’Reilly and Chatman, 1994). On the
other hand, employing companies that replace gradually employment security with
employability need to match individual’s knowledge and competencies with job
opportunities that encompass rewarding and stimulating working conditions in order
to retain their best people (Ghoshal et al., 2001). Hence, in this part of the survey, we
attempt to gauge the main dimensions of employability and job content, including,
among other things, whether or not the MBA degree contributed to finding
employment with better working conditions, freedom of taking initiatives and
Skills
Perceived need for skills
in business
Perceived contribution
of MBA studies
Time management 4.23 3.41
Stress management 4.23 3.48
Interpersonal skills 4.11 3.44
Self-confidence 4.1 3.79
Written presentations 4.06 3.51
Decision making 3.84 3.47
Working in teams 3.83 3.77
Oral presentations 3.7 3.72
Negotiating skills 3.66 2.83
Financial skills 3.47 3.4
Research skills 3.39 3.52
Managing others 3.35 2.87
Career management 3.34 3.1
Average and standard deviation 3.78 (1.1) 3.4 (0.98)
Table I.
Enhancing competencies
in managerial skills
Perceived effects
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responsibilities, and job assignments with high recognition within the company.
Table II summarizes the findings with respect to the impact of the MBA program on
graduates’ employability and job content.
According to the participants in this study, an overwhelming 74 percent believe that
the MBA degree has contributed decisively to finding a new job with better
employment conditions after graduation. Improved employability is also discerned by
the relatively high evaluation (3.82) of the contribution of MBA studies on graduates’
ability to find a job after graduation (Cheng, 2000). Taking into account that most of
the respondents graduated a few years ago, the responses that indicate that one out of
three graduates have already found at least two new jobs point to enhanced
employability. In addition, only a negligible portion of participants (2.9 percent) who
tried to find a new employing firm after graduation have failed to do so.
A review of the data presented in the third column of Table II makes it evident that
graduates are able not only to find a new job but to successfully negotiate with new
employers more promising jobs. Indeed, young managers perceive that holding an
MBA was a relatively important factor in engaging in new work environments with
more responsibilities (3.79), more initiatives (3.44) and challenging project assignments
(3.85). These perceptions were expected though. Reasonably employing firms are
willing to trust and “empower” MBA graduates with a great deal of freedom and
responsibilities in order to keep individual managers aligned with the company’s quest
for quality and competitiveness.
Contributing to rewarding careers
Pay and promotion are widely accepted as being among the most important
mechanisms for motivating managerial employees. Data presented in Table III sheds
Number of different employers after graduation Percent
Perceived contribution of
MBA (means of scale 15)
0 2.9
1 47.1
2 32.9
3 12.9
4þ4.2
Finding jobs after graduation 3.82 (1.07)
Jobs requiring more responsibilities 3.79 (1.09)
Jobs allowing more initiatives 3.44 (1.19)
Job assignments with higher recognition 3.85 (0.82)
Table II.
Improving employability
and job content
Contribution to promotion pace Percent Contribution to pay raise Percent
None 20.5 Slight 16.3
Slow 10.3 Moderate 32.6
Moderate 28.2 Important 32.6
Fast 38.5 Very important 18.6
Very fast 2.6
Contribution on a scale 1-5 2.92 (1.2) Contribution on a scale 1-5 3.53 (0.98)
Table III.
The MBA contribution to
promotions and pay
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light on the issue of the MBA studies’ contribution to tangible career rewards, such as
promotions and pay raises after graduation.
All the data presented in the first two columns of Table III point to a moderate
impact of MBA studies on promotion after graduation. About 20 percent of the
graduates have experienced a stagnant situation concerning promotion, while about 40
percent of them perceive slow or moderate chances of being promoted. The same
picture emerges when respondents evaluate the impact of their MBA studies on
promotions with a value that does not exceed the middle value of three on a scale 1-5.
Turning to pay raises, the relevant findings shown in Table III are slightly more
encouraging for young managers compared to promotion pace. Just over 50 percent of
the graduates believe that completing an MBA programme contributed significantly
(32.6 percent) or quite significantly (18.6) to pay raises after graduation. A similar
picture is depicted when graduates are asked to evaluate on a scale 1-5 the MBA
contribution to the pay raises that they received after graduation. The value 3.53 might
be above the middle value but it is not indicative – by any means – of a robust effect.
Conclusions
The main aim of this paper was to investigate graduates’ perceptions of relatively
newly established accredited MBA programs in Greece. Given the dearth of empirical
research on the impact of a Greek MBA on graduate careers, the aim of this paper was
to contribute to debates in the wider academic community on the issue of the added
value of MBA studies to young managers. It reports on an empirical study that
provides an assessment of the contribution of an accredited Greek MBA program to the
skills, employability and career development of its graduates.
The first research issue of this study was to test if the accredited MBA program of
the University of Macedonia provides graduates with stronger managerial skills.
Contrasting needed skills in managerial job positions with skills that have been
enhanced through the specific MBA programme, the conclusion that can be drawn is
that graduates reaped benefits from their studies.
The second research issue of this paper was to offer insights as to the bargaining
power of students after graduation in the labor market. Based both on the number of
different employers after graduation and on the respondents’ self-report on the MBA
contribution to find a new job, the findings suggest added value for MBA studies in
terms of graduates’ employability. Further, our results are indicative of enhanced
bargaining power in terms of job content, given that MBA studies allowed graduates to
negotiate successfully for more challenging jobs after their graduation.
The final research issue of this study was to test if challenging assignments and
augmented job responsibilities are balanced with increasing job rewards, in terms of
promotions and pay for our sample of MBA graduates. From our empirical account of
this matter, it seems evident that there is some match between higher job
responsibilities and pay raises. Still, the pace of promotions and graduates’ perceptions
on this job dimension indicates a moderate rather than robust career progress.
While the overall conclusion is that an accredited MBA program in Greece seems to
help graduates in pursuing their managerial careers, care should be taken when
extrapolating the results to the whole country. It is important for future research to
incorporate a wider range of graduates and academic institutions to enable
generalizations to be made for the impact of MBA programs throughout Greece.
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Any further conclusions drawn from this research must be considered tentative as it
was based on a relatively small sample of respondents taken solely from a business
degree program. The subjects in this study were strictly graduates and the survey’s
findings were based on their perceptions on added value of an accredited MBA
program. To remedy this weakness further research should include more information
on the other side of the employment relationship, namely employing companies.
Furthermore, another limitation of the present study was that it did not survey a
“control” sample of individuals who did not complete an MBA program. Examining
attitudes of such a comparison group would definitely enhance the validity of this
exploratory study. These additional insights seem crucial if academic institutions and
government are to adjust the current accredited MBA programs to better meet the
business community’s increasing needs for talented, well-trained young managers.
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About the authors
Dimitrios M. Mihail is an Associate Professor at the University of Macedonia, Greece. He holds a
PhD in Economics. Department of Economics, The Graduate Faculty, New School University,
New York, USA. PhD dissertation: “Power, profits and industrial capital accumulation in
postwar Greece”. He teaches European industrial relations, and Greek industrial relations both in
the undergraduate and post-graduate programs of the Business Administration Department. His
research fields are industrial relations, labour economics, and European economic institutions.
His current research focuses on labour market flexibility, student employment and career
development issues. Dimitrios M. Mihail is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
mihail@uom.gr
Kristina Elefterie holds an MBA. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Macedonia. Her
dissertation focuses on modeling the impact of management education, prior work experience
and social networking on managerial career. She is working under the supervision of Dr D. Mihail.
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