The Innovative Business School

Professor Sameh Abadir puts together a roadmap for reform to future-proof academic institutions  

Business schools are the breeding grounds for the world’s future leaders, who will be tasked with grappling several megatrends and parlaying them into economic development and shared prosperity for all. But how can academic institutions innovate to produce the type of leaders that the world needs today and for tomorrow?

The Innovative Business School provides a blueprint for educators, school administrators, accreditation agencies and students to create a new model of business education. Co-authored by Professor of Leadership and Negotiation, IMD’s Sameh Abadir, this essential tome explores the key questions facing business schools in the next decade and beyond.

These bastions of management knowledge are at the heart of leadership development in the twenty-first century. Not only do they impart knowledge, they have a tangible, practical impact on business through fostering cross-cultural collaboration, technological innovation and, ultimately, creating value for all of society.

But they are criticized for being too academic in their approach to teaching, without enough practical relevance for today’s fast-changing business environment. “They teach book smarts, but they need to put the theory into practice to remain relevant, especially in a stressed time like this pandemic,” says Abadir.

The Innovative Business School draws on his decades of experience as an educator, researcher, consultant and businessman. One of the key themes is the globalization of business in recent decades and the need for greater academic collaboration across cultures to reflect the current interconnected business landscape.

A second central subject is how business schools are leading the sustainability agenda. They are aping the business world, which has shifted to a cuddlier form of capitalism in which profit maximisation at all costs is going out of fashion. Today, business needs to generate value for all stakeholders – suppliers, customers, staff – not just shareholders.

“There are too many toxic leaders. We need the next generation to show empathy and compassion.” Prof. Sameh Abadir

A third key theme is the digital revolution and how technological disruption is creating both treats and opportunities for companies. Business schools can be on the cutting edge of this digitization process through their research, teaching and industry partnerships.

These megatrends are driving rapid change in business and society, with the Covid-19 crisis compounding the shifts. There has perhaps never been a greater need for business schools to evolve to reflect the “new normal”. And, therefore, a roadmap for this transition is vital reading for every educator.