Aligning strategy, curriculum, and research for societal impact: Designing an actionable framework for business schools globally

ABSTRACT

During the pivotal year 2020, a groundbreaking shift occurred: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) released new accreditation standards requiring business schools globally to serve as catalysts for societal good to retain their accreditation. This systemic shift has ripple effect implications for business education by mobilizing over 4 million students at 90+ top business schools in over 50 countries to become agents for positive change. However, with this monumental change, one question looms: “How”? How can business schools coordinate and focus their societal impact efforts to maximize positive societal impact across research, teaching, and service? This case study provides academic leaders in business schools a blueprint for how one AACSB-accredited business school harnessed the globally respected framework, Sustainable Development Goals, to align societal impact efforts across research, teaching, and service. The study also provides policy makers some insight into sustainable entrepreneurship education’s role in promoting positive societal impact through economic growth and social entrepreneurship.

KEYWORDS:

• Societal impact
• AACSB
• business schools
• accreditation
• sustainable entrepreneurship

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank AACSB’s 2022 ICAM attendees for their feedback regarding the Societal Impact Canvas.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.