A Red Queen approach to the fading margins of business education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a “change” stance towards the current situation of business education. Drawing on a theoretically embedded model, the authors hold a critical stance towards understandings of stability in the business education industry. In this respect, a model of change drivers is proposed for the industry and the authors elaborate on how business schools enact responses to comply with change pressures. Compliance with those pressures enables business schools to gain legitimacy from stakeholders and enhance their survival prospects. Design/methodology/approach – The authors’ theoretically‐informed analysis draws on a combination of literature review and personal observations of business schools’ behavioural patterns. Findings – The authors submit that the business school industry experiences four main sources of change: multi‐polar competition, new organizational species, content and mode of education and institutionalization. These sources of change impact on the fading margins of business schools. Drawing on the insights of the evolutionary model, the authors suggest that business schools engage in a process of continuous change and adaptation to these sources of pressure. In this manner, they conform to the adaptation model featured by the Red Queen metaphor; business schools must keep running and moving in order to stay in the same place. Practical implications – The paper proposes a roadmap of main change drivers, which business schools may take into consideration to provide a systematic response to environmental changes. Originality/value – In contrast to authoritative statements and elaborations on the situation of the business education industry, the paper provides a theoretically informed, systematic model of change.