Transition to a hybrid teaching model as a step forward toward responsible management education?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how the COVID-19 health crisis could help business schools move towards more responsible management education (RME). Business schools have been extensively blamed in previous crises for not educating their students in a responsible way. The COVID-19 pandemic could be the pivotal opportunity for business schools to regain legitimacy and a wake-up call to accelerate their journey towards RME. The authors aim to outline an illustration of the transition to a hybrid teaching model and how such educational reconfiguration might lead to more sustainable and RME, also beyond COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is proposed to analyse and decrypt the challenges and opportunities of a hybrid approach, its implications for the transformation of business schools and RME. This study also includes a state-of-the-art literature review, a specific investigation of the case of ESCP, the European cross-border multi-campus business school, and in-depth interviews with stakeholders impacted by the crisis. Findings The health crisis demonstrated the unprecedented capability of higher education to embrace rapid and profound change. Furthermore, the pandemic served as a wake-up call in that it may even have caused the progress of business schools, previously somewhat reluctant, towards more socially responsible and sustainable thinking. Thus, the schools have used the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to regain legitimacy and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Practical implications The paper pulls together a multitude of suggestions for higher education in general and business schools in particular. Originality/value Combining two of higher education’s main challenges, namely, digitalisation and sustainability and applying the principles for responsible management education framework to map and analyse the pandemic’s implications, this paper provides a new, compelling and inspiring resource for business schools on their path to a more responsible management approach and education.