ABSTRACT
This chapter stacks three different lenses on top of each other to futurize on the nature of international accreditation of business schools. First, it takes a closer look at the definition of the “school” in international accreditation to better understand where institutional boundaries are required and where organizational fuzziness is accepted or even encouraged. Second, the chapter makes reference to organizational theory by grounding the analysis in the “Theory of Fields” by Fligstein & McAdam (2012). It helps to appreciate and understand the accreditors’ role as governance units in defining institutional advantage and resource access. Third, the investigation examines how forces of fragmentation and unbundling in the different domains of business school operations are facilitating the de-institutionalization of management education (i.e., the educational value chain co-owned by a multitude of actors), thereby challenging the role of the “school” as an object of accreditation and potentially disrupting the conventional role of accreditation agencies in the field of management education. By subsequently linking all three perspectives, this study charts possible futures for accreditation. From the perspective of accreditors, upholding the status quo is conjectured to be the least preferred option. This path of least resistance can emerge sub-intentionally and will invite coarser enforcement of accreditation standards. The alternative pathway of accreditation framework renewal will require greater heterogeneity within pools of accredited institutions, more effective feedback loops and adaption mechanisms, and better embeddedness in the broad set of stakeholders of management education.
