Skip to main content
Log in

Do Business Schools Influence Students’ Awareness of Social Issues? Evidence from Two of Chile’s Leading MBA Programs

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study explores the role that business schools have in developing favorable attitudes toward business involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Two cohorts of incoming students from two internationally accredited MBA programs in Chile and two cohorts of graduating students from the same institutions were compared in terms of their attitudes toward the role of business in alleviating social ills and the role they assigned to business schools in preparing managers to effectively address social issues. The attitudes expressed by graduates of the two programs changed after program completion. Faculty attitudes toward business involvement in CSR may play a role in the observed differences between the graduates of both institutions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, W., Bacdayan, P., Kowalski, K., & Roy, M. (2005). Examining the impact of ethics training on business student values. Education and Training, 47(3), 170–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alsop, R. (2006). Business ethics education in business school: A commentary. Journal of Management Education, 10(1), 11–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • America Economía. (2013). Ranking América Latina. Retrieved October 3, 2013, from http://rankings.americaeconomia.com/2012/ranking-mba/ranking-america-latina.php.

  • Angelidis, J., & Ibrahim, N. (2004). An exploratory study of the impact of degree of religiousness upon an individual’s corporate social responsibility orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 51(2), 119–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aspen Institute. (2011). Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2011–2012: Top 100 MBA programs. Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/reports/BGP%202011-2012%20Global%20Report-small.pdf.

  • Association of MBAs and Durheim University. (2009). The Post Downturn MBA: An agenda for change. Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://www.mbaworld.com/MBAWorld/jsp/images/accreditation/pdf/Post_Downturn_MBA.pdf.

  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, AACSB. (2004). Ethics education in business schools. Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/researchreports/archives/ethics-education.pdf.

  • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, AACSB. (2005). Eligibility procedures and accreditation standards for business accreditation. Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/AACSB-STANDARDS-2010.pdf.

  • Beckman, T., Colwell, A., & Cunningham, P. (2009). The emergence of corporate social responsibility in Chile: The importance of authenticity and social networks. Journal of Business Ethics, 86(Suppl), 191–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blasco, M. (2012). Aligning the hidden curriculum of management education with PRME: An inquiry based framework. Journal of Management Education, 36(3), 364–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centro de Estudios Públicos, CIEPLAN, Libertad y Desarrollo, PNUD y ProyectAmérica. (2008). Estudio Nacional sobre Partidos Políticos y Sistema Electoral. Santiago de Chile. Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://www.cepchile.cl/1_4105/doc/estudio_nacional_sobre_partidos_politicos_y_sistema_electoral.html#.UrCfzCe7-PU.

  • Christensen, J., Peirce, E., Hartman, L., Hoffman, W., & Carrier, J. (2007). Ethics, CSR and sustainability in the Financial Times top 50 global business schools: Baseline data and future directions. Journal of Business Ethics, 73, 347–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the social sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Das Gupta, A. (2008). Corporate citizenship: Perspectives in the new century. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeRue, S., Sitkin, S., & Podolny, J. (2011). From the guest editors: Teaching leadership—Issues and insights. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 10(3), 369–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doh, J. & Tashman, P. (2014). Half a world away: The integration and assimilation of corporate social responsibility. Sustainability and sustainable development in business school curricula. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. doi:10.1002/csr.1315.

  • EFMD. (2014). Equis standards and criteria. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from https://www.efmd.org/images/stories/efmd/EQUIS/2014/EQUIS_Standards_and_Criteria.pdf.

  • Goshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(1), 75–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haski-Leventhal, D. (2013). MBA students around the world and their attitudes towards responsible management. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://www.google.cl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unprme.org%2Fresource-docs%2FMGSMPRMEMBAStudentStudy2013.pdf&ei=EBedUtiaA9DlkAfbvIHoDg&usg=AFQjCNE_PQozF-Smw2lfzIfWchDqwRbSoQ&bvm=bv.57155469,d.eW0.

  • Hosmer, L. (1999). Somebody out here doesn’t like us: A study of the position and respect of business ethics at schools of business administration. Journal of Business Ethics, 22(2), 91–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hühn, M. (2013). You reap what you sow: How MBA programs undermine ethics. Journal of Business Ethics (published on-line 7 May 2013). doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1733-z.

  • Kim, Y., & Kim, S. (2010). The influence of cultural values and perceptions of corporate social responsibility: Application of Hofstede’s dimensions to Korean public relations practitioners. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(4), 485–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinrichert, D., Tosti-Kharas, J., Albert, M., & Eng, J. (2013). The effect of a business and society course on business student attitudes toward corporate social responsibility. Journal of Education for Business, 88, 230–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolodinsky, R., Madden, T., Zisk, D., & Henkel, E. (2010). Attitudes about corporate social responsibility: Business student predictors. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(2), 167–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lämsä, A., Vehkaperä, M., Puttonen, T., & Pesonen, H. (2008). Effect of business education on women and men students’ attitudes on corporate responsibility in society. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(1), 45–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2004). Corporate social responsibility education in Europe. Journal of Business Ethics, 54(4), 323–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mudrack, P. (2007). Individual personality factors that affect normative beliefs about the rightness of corporate social responsibility. Business and Society, 46(1), 33–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muff, K., Dyllick, T., Drewell, M., North, J., Shrivastava, P., & Haertle, J. (2013). Management education for the world. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, M., & Ciprés, M. (2011). Actitudes de los estudiantes de administración de empresas hacia la responsabilidad social corporativa y la ética empresarial. Revista Complutense de Educación, 22(2), 235–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, N., Basuray, M., Smith, W., Kopka, D., & McCulloh, D. (2008). Ethics perception: Does teaching make a difference? Journal of Education for Business, 84(2), 66–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, J., Hair Jr, J., Ragland, C. B., & Schimmel, K. (2013). Ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability education in AACSB undergraduate and graduate marketing curricula: A benchmark study. Journal of Marketing Education, 35(2), 129–140.

  • O’Boyle, E. J. (2011). Anderson and Escher’s The MBA Oath: Review essay. Journal of Business Ethics, 101, 285–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlitzky, M., & Moon, J. (2011). Assessing corporate social responsibility education in Europe: Trends and comparisons. In D. L. Swanson & D. G. Fisher (Eds.), Toward assessing business ethics education (pp. 143–175). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Podolny, J. M. (2009). The buck stops (and starts) at Business School. Harvard Business Review, 87(6), 62–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • SEKN (The Social Enterprise Knowledge Network). (2006). Effective management of social enterprises: Lessons from businesses and civil society organizations in Iberoamerica. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University and Inter-American Development Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sleeper, B., Schneider, K., Weber, P., & Weber, J. (2006). Scale and study of student attitudes toward business education’s role in addressing social issues. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(4), 381–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solimano, A. (2009). Three decades of neoliberal economics in Chile. Research paper number 2009/37. United Nations University: World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU_WIDER). Retrieved September 10, 2012, from http://www.wider.unu.edu/stc/repec/pdfs/rp2009/RP2009-37.pdf.

  • Swanson, D., & Frederick, W. (2003). Are business schools silent partners in corporate crime? Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 9(Spring), 24–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waples, E., Antes, A., Murphy, S., Connelly, S., & Mumford, M. (2009). A meta-analytic investigation of business ethics instruction. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 133–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J. (2013). Advances in Graduate Marketing Curriculum: Paying attention to ethical social and sustainability issues. Journal of Marketing Education, 35(2), 85–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J., Greene, S., & Gladstone, J. (2013). Responding to the call: Changes in graduate management curriculum’s attention to social and environmental issues. Teaching Ethics, 13(2), 137–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wieland, J., & Fitzgibbons, D. (2013). Integrating corporate sustainability and organizational strategy within the undergraduate business curriculum. Organization Management Journal, 10(4), 255–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, N., & Bennett, H. (2011). Business ethics, CSR, sustainability and the MBA. Journal of Management and Organization, 17(5), 641–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mladen Koljatic.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Scale items of corporate social responsibility-perception scale (CSR-PS)
Table 7 Scale items Business education’s role in social issues (BERSI) scale

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Koljatic, M., Silva, M. Do Business Schools Influence Students’ Awareness of Social Issues? Evidence from Two of Chile’s Leading MBA Programs. J Bus Ethics 131, 595–604 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2295-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2295-4

Keywords

Navigation