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Is management education preparing future leaders for sustainable business? Opening minds but not hearts

Gaurav Manohar Marathe (Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, Ranchi, India)
Tanusree Dutta (Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India and Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, Ranchi, India)
Sayantan Kundu (Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, Ranchi, India)

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 11 February 2020

Issue publication date: 11 March 2020

927

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to examine whether management education can successfully cultivate the competency of empathy that is needed in future corporate leaders to promote sustainability initiatives catering to diverse stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

The research highlights the impact of management education on cognitive and affective empathy by analysing the interpersonal reflectivity scores of entering students enrolled in a two-year, full-time MBA programme and the scores of the same students at graduation.

Findings

The findings show that management education has a positive impact on cognitive empathy, while it reduces affective empathy and general empathy. Further, findings show that the management curriculum brings cognitive and affective empathy to an equilibrium level that is needed for a competitive business environment.

Research limitations/implications

The research focussed only on the change in empathy of the participants (students) during management education and not during actual corporate work.

Practical implications

The research infers that current management education creates future executives with higher cognitive empathy. It argues that they would care more about the sustainability of the business in terms of profit or access to capital rather than care and concern for all the stakeholders, society and the environment. A new paradigm in management education also needs to be focussed around inculcating how to empathise affectively.

Originality/value

The study presents an empirical analysis suggesting that management education is opening the mind but not the heart. It raises a significant concern that higher management curriculum is not developing future executives who can lead the sustainability initiatives.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This study was conducted to measure the impact of regular educational practices and curricula in the education setting. Participants in the study did not have to mention their names anywhere, and neither was any information sought by which they could be identified. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants. Participation was voluntary.

Citation

Marathe, G.M., Dutta, T. and Kundu, S. (2020), "Is management education preparing future leaders for sustainable business? Opening minds but not hearts", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 372-392. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-02-2019-0090

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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