UK Business Schools: HistoricalContexts and Future ScenariosSummary Report from an EBK/AIMManagement Research Forum

Business schools, both in the UK and internationally, face serious challenges as to their future role and legitimacy.Questions have been raised about the value of the MBA degree, and its role as a preparation for management. Thegrowth of business schools as sites for knowledge production has also been challenged. While their research outputhas increased enormously, they have found it difficult to shrug off charges that management research lacks relevanceand fails to impact on practice. These challenges to the business school as an institution have also emerged in acontext of growing uncertainty about their economic viability. A period of unparalleled expansion in student numbersencouraged many universities to see their business schools as ‘cash cows’. Greater uncertainty about demand mayencourage a re-thinking of the role of business schools within the University.The foundations for this report were laid on 13th December 2005, at a Management Research Forum hosted jointlyby the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Evolution of Business Knowledge (EBK) Programme and theAdvanced Institute of Management Research (AIM). During the Forum a series of insightful presentations were madeby members of research teams associated with the EBK Programme.[...