ABSTRACT
The recurrent criticism that business schools are subjected to with regard to their legitimacy, particularly since the 2008 crisis. Giving prominence to their impact is one way of responding to this criticism. The corresponds to a paradigm change for business schools. For two long decades they had thrown themselves into a frantic race for international accreditation, which was the means for them to respond to the globalisation of the higher-education market and, of course, to improve the quality of their operations. The preoccupation with impact leads them to shift from a self-centred internal paradigm to a paradigm centred on business schools’ externalities. The challenge lies in the balance between the academic and the managerial impact of research. Asking questions about impact is, of course, a good way to communicate with stakeholders, but it is also a way to create an impact culture among all staff whether they be In an administrative or a teaching and research function.
