Competing through international accreditation: cost-benefit analysis and process of AACSB for a business school in Japan
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 18 October 2022
Issue publication date: 7 November 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The current article aims to answer the following research questions: (1) What types of business schools should pursue the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)? and (2) What types of strategic leadership would be necessary for that?
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach with archival research and interviews is employed.
Findings
The findings suggest that regional, teaching-oriented business schools at the graduate level with dominance-transformative leaders should consider acquiring AACSB accreditation due to its potential benefits, the most pronounced being an increase in the number of graduate students. Other advantages include improvements in the quality of schools' strategic planning, faculty qualifications, intellectual research contributions and assurance of learning, as well as branding.
Research limitations/implications
Given its qualitative nature as a single case study with a small sample size, the findings may not be statistically generalizable. Future research could employ multiple case studies to examine several accredited schools, utilizing larger sample sizes to obtain more detailed results about the AACSB acquisition process, as well as the potential benefits and costs of AACSB.
Originality/value
Few studies have examined the processes and impacts of acquiring AACSB accreditation, or the associated barriers in the context of an individual, international accreditation-seeking business school, in particular those that are small and regional. Likewise, few studies have addressed management leadership issues in acquiring AACSB accreditation. Our research addressed these research gaps by describing the processes, impacts and issues associated with acquiring AACSB from the perspective of a regional, teaching-oriented institute. Further, the study helped identify kinds of leadership appropriate for the acquisition of AACSB.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to all of those who participated in the current research.
Citation
Ito, H. (2022), "Competing through international accreditation: cost-benefit analysis and process of AACSB for a business school in Japan", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 36 No. 7, pp. 1380-1393. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-05-2022-0189
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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