By Dominique Turpin

The education industry has undergone more change in the past 10 years than in the past 100, with technology trends from digital learning to ChatGPT, fast-evolving geopolitical realities, and major global shocks all prompting a period of intense change for both the business world and the academia that supports it.

But, in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, too many business schools remain remarkably slow to embrace new pedagogical methods and edu-tech possibilities. A routine criticism of business academics by business executives is that the process of publicising new insights is far too slow; after all the data collection, analysis, debate, and publishing is done, the business world has already moved on.

With the ‘need for speed’ in mind, how can business schools rethink their broader role, adapt to the realities of today’s VUCA business environment, and produce a greater impact on the business world? The following are five suggestions drawn from conversations with business leaders, faculty deans, academics, consultants, alumni and potential students, each with their own invaluable experiences and perspectives.

Rethink research more broadly

If you look at so many of major business gurus – be it Peter Drucker, Michael Porter, Gary Hamel, Paul Krugman, Tom Peters, Bill George, or Ram Charan – you’ll notice a striking similarity between them: they have penned only a limited number of academic papers. This shouldn’t prompt business schools to assume an anti-research stance, far from it. Instead, they should be more openminded and flexible in their wider philosophy regarding academic research.

If the goal is to get business knowledge out into the real world in a timely fashion, where it can remain relevant for longer and achieve greater impact, then business schools need to define research broadly and encourage their faculty to publish in whatever format, and whatever publication, suits them best. A collaborative approach where all faculty members are supported and empowered to research and create papers in their preferred style can only be helpful in harnessing the diverse talents of the faculty as a whole. This should lead to better results – more meaningful research, faster delivery and greater satisfaction for the authors and audience.

Create areas of expertise

Breaking up academic departments or silos can feel like mission impossible, especially in schools with a weighty history and ingrained culture. It’s a crucial consideration, however, as too many MBA candidates and executives find the current departmental system confusing when trying to find professors who are top experts in a given field.

An alternative approach is the creation of “fields of expertise” that cuts across traditional disciplines and brings together people from different eco-systems. Recruiting professional editors or journalists to help faculty members make their academic output more accessible and understandable to non-academics can also be useful when guiding students towards the right programmes and specific course content.

Update the curriculum

An increasingly VUCA business world carries with it a faster influx of new trends, new technologies and new demands from business school participants. Cramming so much new knowledge into their programmes – while still covering the quintessential ‘basics’ – has forced many business schools into some difficult trade-offs. Making room for ‘new topics’ such as AI, digital transformation, ESG, and cybersecurity may mean cutting students’ sessions in basic marketing or basic finances, for example. Some schools are cutting certain areas all together in their quest to remain relevant.

Today, business schools need to be brutally decisive in discovering what is most useful to their participants and what has proved most useful to their alumni post-graduation. However painful, the curriculum must be intelligently updated to represent the realities of the business world today and tomorrow, as well as the real needs of those navigating it.

Involve stakeholders and take action

The more complex challenges of today’s business environment call for more collaborative solutions. All too often, business schools remain deaf to the suggestions of their various stakeholders or, worse, unwilling to commit to timely actions based on said advice.

Students, alumni, faculty, business leaders, other university departments – all stakeholders must be actively involved in the conversation on how best to direct the future development of the business school. Beyond mere box-ticking, soliciting and then acting on advice from a wide range of sources will engender greater trust and responsiveness, and may help the school compete more effectively in the international arena. Collaboration between faculties (business school, technology, humanities, medicine, biotech, arts etc.) need to replicate what is happening in industry with almost every company embracing the opportunities of eco-systems.

Empower ‘change champions’ to speed up action

Securing alignment and agreement among faculty members isn’t always easy, but deploying one or several individuals with the proper support and energy to quickly enact changes can prove far more effective than relying on larger teams with broad, ill-defined commitments. At the end of the day, great execution can save an average strategy but poor execution - people! - will for sure kill even the best strategy!

Change is inevitable inside and outside of business academia

In the VUCA world context, business schools today have no choice but to get actively involved in rethinking their business model and even their very purpose. If crafting new business models is a challenge, executing them is even more demanding since execution is all about people. Change in a business school doesn't come from a great slogan or a prettily worded speech; it happens when you put the right people in place and create the right conditions for them to see it through.

The tenure system, the strong independence of faculty, the interdependence within a larger university system – these factors make implementing major change very challenging. However, when the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside the organization, the end is in sight.

Dominique Turpin is the President (European) and a Professor of Marketing at CEIBS. For more on his teaching and research interests, please visit his faculty profile here.