Identifying blind spots, dominant logics and critical issues for the future of management education

Hamel observed that in any field where its members are trained the same way, over time there tends to be homogenisation in thinking and the adoption of a dominant logic (Bisoux 2008). In management education, this certainly does seem to hold true, as evident in aspects such as the lack of significant differentiation in business school curricula and in business school models. We contend that because of this, several important areas have become potential “blind spots” in the sense that they do not receive sufficient attention or are simply the subject of rhetoric rather than proactive action. We identified these areas as (1) the impact of technology, (2) the paradigm trap in curricula, (3) the treatment of ethics, CSR, and sustainability in curricula, and (4) the need for business school model innovation. We interviewed an expert panel comprising leaders in management education, querying them for their views on these areas. What we found corroborated our initial contention that while these areas are acknowledged as having potentially important implications or needing change, they are at the same time not dealt with proactively or in any depth. We discuss the main themes that emerged from their responses in each of these areas.