Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-1999
Abstract
The executive education industry seems headed towards increased collaboration. This research explores ways university-based business schools and corporations interpret the rapidly changing environment in which they operate. Using population ecology as a theoretical framework\, it seeks to understand the decision factors and processes used by providers and purchasers to develop new species of programs. It also explores reasons for the death or modification of existing programs species. The units of analysis are organizations (business schools and corporations)and the focus is on executive education programs\, mainly non-degree\, but also credit and degree programs. The sources of information are primarly those people who make decisions about the status of programs for their companies or business schools. Research in the literature on organizational/population ecology as well as on current trends in executive education supplements the analysis. Through a series of more than twenty five interviews with corporate and academic management educators\, an attempt is made to understand and describe the mental models of institutional leaders. The focus is on reasons for their decisions to start and end programs either unilaterally or jointly. Major themes derived from the research include the evolutionary path species of executive education programs have taken\, vulnerabilities faced by types of executive education programs (and the corresponding coping strategies schools and companies employ)\, trends in collaboration\, and the connection between outcomes assessment and the intensity of provider/producer relationships. The greatest growth opportunities appear to lie in closed (restricted) enrollment programs\, both customized (i.e.\, designed to facilitate culture change) and organizational problem solving (designed to produce real-time while engaged in action learning.) For most institutions\, a balance between open and closed programs is a viable strategy. The report deals with characteristics that appear to favor the creation and survival of program species such as: reliability\, accountability\, reproduceability\, incorporation of change at the sub-unit level\, niche marketing\, and the different boundary spanning practices of academic organizations (which favor buffering) versus corporations (which favor bridging.) Where trust has been established\, the development of new program species may take place simulaneously with both parties contributing to and deriving value from the effort\, a process termed "coevolution." Action recommendations for both business schools and corporations are provided.,Doctorate of Management Programs
Keywords
Management -- Study and teaching (Higher)
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Laidlaw, William K. Jr., "Collaboration and Competition in Management Education and Development: Threat or Opportunity?" (1999). Student Scholarship. 627.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/627