Perceptions of reputation drivers: evidence from Australian non-accredited business schools

ABSTRACT

Business education continues to be very popular among students across the globe, however, business schools have been criticised for not preparing ‘work-ready’ graduates. This paper investigates how business schools enhance organisational reputation, and in particular, how relatively younger and non-accredited business schools compete with longstanding business schools and those with established reputations. In so doing, the paper investigates the reputation drivers that are perceived to give business schools a competitive advantage. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics, experts and students. The results of this paper indicate that engagement with industry and the community is considered the key to achieving quality business programmes and to producing quality business graduates. In addition, we found that the two emerging themes of work placement (WP) and transnational education (TNE) programmes also contributed to quality business programmes but not without some risks.

KEYWORDS:

• Accreditation
• rankings
• business schools
• work placement
• transnational education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Department of Education, Skills and Employment – Higher Education Statistics Data Cube (uCube).

2 This business school was not accredited at the time of data collection but was seeking accreditation.