Accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) and its impact on Canadian university business schools (UBSs) is a question that has been studied empirically in only a limited manner in recent years. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential consequences as perceived by administrators and faculty members. Does accreditation constrain organizational actions, or conversely, does it facilitate organizational learning? What are the contextual factors which influence these potential consequences?
A qualitative, multiple case study approach was employed to study these questions. A sample of four business schools was selected; and data were collected from multiple sources. In Phase I, data was analyzed using NVivo7 and individual case profiles were prepared. These were validated and provided input into Phase II in which a multiple case analysis was performed. Emergent themes were identified and informed by three main bodies of knowledge: accreditation, institutional theory, and evaluation for organizational learning.
The study concluded that the primary drivers for seeking accreditation by Canadian UBSs were marketing-related - accreditation was seen as a powerful marketing tool which could be used in a highly uncertain and competitive market to enhance reputation and gain competitive advantage. Primarily motivated by the Dean/Director, accreditation was seen as a lever for change, both within the school and with central administration. Perceived impacts were related to these drivers - enhanced reputation, leverage for change, management efficiencies, an increased focus on research and quality, and program changes. Five contextual factors were found to be potent in influencing the drivers, impacts and consequences of accreditation, with leadership being the most pervasive.
In terms of the enabling or constraining consequences, AACSB accreditation was perceived to be slightly enabling or neutral in its effect. While accreditation did promote some elements of organizational learning in three of the four schools, (continuous improvement), the learning effects were limited in scope, duration, and magnitude. There was insufficient evidence to suggest that double loop learning had occurred. Although accreditation was viewed to be constraining in several ways, overall it was not perceived to be overly restrictive.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/29994 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Elliott, Catherine J |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 272 p. |
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