Transformation and the Emerging Business Model Shift in Business Education report, in association with Saleforce.org

When asked if they believe that Business Schools are under pressure to change their fundamental value proposition and business model, 80% of Business School leaders said ‘yes’. Just 13% said ‘no’, while the remaining 7% said they are unsure at this stage.

This is a principal finding of AMBA & BGA’s Transformation and the Emerging Business Model Shift in Business Education report, in association with Saleforce.org. The report surveyed 144 Business School decisionmakers from around the world to garner their opinions on Business School culture, strategy, and purpose.

Distilling Business School strategy to the fundamentals, respondents were asked who they believed is a Business School’s main customer. More than half (58%) believe its primary customer is students while a third (33%) think its main customer is society itself.

The survey then moved on to ascertain Business School leaders’ top two priorities for students. Just under two thirds (65%) of Business School leaders that completed the survey deem teaching and learning to be the number one priority area for students. Careers support, cited by 35%, is the second-most popular priority area.

What role should Business Schools play in society? More than half (54%) of responding Business School leaders believe it is to develop and nurture responsible managers; 17% said the role of Business Schools is to support the societies in which they’re based, 16% said it is to produce world-class leaders to innovate in terms of corporate strategy; and 13% believe it is to help solve the world’s greatest problems.

Key findings

The purpose of the Business School

58% of Business School decision-makers believe their primary customer to be students and 33% think the main customer is society itself
65% of Business School leaders said teaching and learning is their priority for students at their institution
80% believe Business Schools are under pressure to change their value proposition and business model
54% believe the role of Business Schools is to develop and nurture responsible managers

User experience of Business Schools

58% of leaders believe their Business School’s offering meets student expectations to a great extent
29% of Business School Leaders who use a learning management system (LMS) believe the user experience of their online platform should match, to a great extent, those of commercial websites, such as social media platforms or online shopping websites
24% of Business School Leaders who use an LMS think that their online platform matches the user experience of these platforms to a great extent
29% think that students expect learning management systems to meet the standards of commercial platforms to a great extent and 50% think students only somewhat expect LMS platforms to meet the standards of social media platforms or e-commerce websites

Personalisation

72% of Business School leaders believe their institution provides a personalised experience for their students. A quarter (25%) believe this is not the case, and 3% are unsure
43% of Business School leaders said that the most personalisation currently on offer to their institution’s students is in the area of teaching and learning, while 21% said, instead, that the most personalisation is in the area of careers support
88% agree that personalising the learning experience of their students is something that will grow in importance over the next five years
88% think the most important outcome of personalisation is enabling students to achieve the most from their Business School experience

Online and hybrid learning

80% of Business School leaders said their institution offers online courses and degrees, while 18% said they do not currently offer any online learning
38% strongly agree that offering online courses and degrees will be the norm in the next five years
86% of leaders’ Schools are offering a combination of in-person instruction and online instruction (some in-person and some online)

Microcredentials and professional lifelong learning

50% of Business School leaders said their School offers microcredentials
79% said their School offers microcredentials for standalone modules; 39% offer them for stackable modules which lead to a degree, and 32% offer them for attending events or webinars
25% of Business School leaders would go so far as to say microcredentials represent the future of business education, while 6% believe
microcredentials are just a passing phase
35% see microcredentials provided by companies such as LinkedIn as a threat to how Business School will operate in the next five years