outreach

“You can’t stop technological change, but you can shape it.” That is the key message of Power and Progress according to its authors, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson. After researching 1,000 years of technological change, the authors conclude that, contrary to widespread “techno-optimism,” advances in technology do not automatically translate into broad-based prosperity. If we want technology to benefit all of us rather than just some of us, we can and must take charge of our future.

This week, Acemoglu and Johnson, both MIT scholars, and University of Chicago political scientist James Robinson, were awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Their body of research shows that the prosperity of nations is not primarily driven by geography or culture, but by the quality of its institutions, which are essentially the political and economic rules created and enforced by the state and its people. Their work shows that institutions encouraging participation, innovation, and equal opportunity are more conducive to long-term growth and societal benefit. On the other hand, institutions that concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few ultimately hinder growth and development.

The point of this short blog, however, is not to share their extensive body of work. Instead, my objective is to share what I think it tells us about the role of business schools in society—that we can and should take a more active role in shaping economic and political institutions.

It is natural for business school leaders to focus on reacting to changes in the business environment. After all, any single business school is just a tiny part of a large global industry, and there is so much pressure to perform from a wide range of stakeholders, each with different expectations and narrow range of metrics. It’s difficult enough to produce employable graduates and insights that fit the needs of businesses striving to succeed in the current system. All of this is getting harder in an increasingly dynamic world.

But I believe business schools also have a responsibility to help change the system. Instead of reacting to changes in the environment, we need business schools to recognize and leverage their power to influence it, especially at the local level. By adopting a more proactive approach, I believe business schools can make a meaningful contribution in shaping the development of new institutional frameworks that are more inclusive, sustainable, and ultimately beneficial for society. While this might seem like a big undertaking, I think it is easy to get started. Let’s consider opportunities in three areas of business school activities: curriculum, research, and outreach.

First, in addition to current efforts to rethink what we teach, I encourage schools to spend more time considering how it is taught. Content is essential and needs to be informed by a more responsible view of business in society. It should also do more to integrate economics, politics, science, and law. Finally, it must also prize ethics, transparency, and respect for human rights.

But pedagogy can be just as important, especially if impact is an objective. Take experiential education, for example. It is not only about applying concepts and making connections but also about contributing to organizations and society. I have been thrilled to see more schools go beyond narrowly defined private sector problems in sourcing internships and projects. I also see more efforts to build international diversity and multiple perspectives into teams to stimulate innovation. Experiential learning and international and interdisciplinary approaches are big parts of GBSN’s vision. We offer students opportunities to do work that matters for international development.

Second, despite some progress, business schools are still limiting themselves when it comes to research. Peer-reviewed journals play a vital role in academia as a mechanism to support quality and credibility. But by focusing our policies on increasing the number of publications, schools are missing opportunities to foster meaningful change in society. To me, the best way to increase impact is by strengthening faculty engagement, not only with private sector business but also with government and civil society. Then, this connective tissue enables research to be put into action. After all, impact is less about who and how many people read what is published than how it leads to meaningful, beneficial change for society.

Third, it is helpful to emphasize the outreach activities of business schools. These include efforts to engage in local organizations and communities. Many business schools are involved with efforts to develop economically distressed areas in their home cities, for example. But outreach also includes the international relationships business schools build with other schools, as well as organizations in other sectors. The mix of community engagement and international relationships gets at the heart of GBSN. We believe schools can make a bigger difference in local development with help from an international network. We share, learn, and innovate—we do things together that we can’t do alone. For example, GBSN has developed a portfolio of international challenges and experiences for students, which would have been impossible for a single school to build.

These initial thoughts are just the beginning. As Acemoglu and Johnson explain, they wrote Power and Progress “to show that progress is never automatic.” Ultimately, I believe business schools have the power to forge a new and better world in which business thrives in a way that benefits the broader population, not just a small part of it. But this won’t happen unless we are proactive in developing and asserting our capacity—individually and collectively—to shape the future of significant economic and political institutions.