THE LEARNING SPACE

Since the business world is always changing, there is demand for timely and relevant information that drives B-schools around
the world to do research. Asian economies have seen an increase in new B-schools, and many schools report rising enrolments,
so the issue of research is vital. The need for research is also evident in situations such as the current economic crisis.

WHY B-SCHOOL RESEARCH MATTERS

• It improves the practice of management: Rigorous conceptualisation and empirical testing differentiates between what
anecdotally works for one organisation and what demonstrably works for most. The practice of management has been improved
by B-school research

• It improves the quality of education: Researchers are typically knowledgeable on current thinking/practice because this enables
them to publish and they incorporate this into their teaching. Literature suggests business researchers are often top teachers

• It is why most professors became professors: Most full-time B-school professors have PhDs. This research degree requires one
to contribute to knowledge. A PhD is not necessary to teach the basics; professors acquire PhDs because they want to combine
teaching and research

• It helps us compete: B-schools with an atmosphere of shared curiosity and discovery are better able to attract and retain faculty
and/or improve their rankings
THE EVOLVING RESEARCH PARADIGM
Ironically, just as European schools seem to be transitioning to the American model of research, American schools are re-
examining their own paradigms as a result of insider and public scrutiny. Even in America — deemed the Mecca of business
research — it was the Ford and Carnegie Foundation grants in the 1960s that catapulted research culture within B-schools.
Although B-schools have existed for more than a century, a 1959 study characterised B-schools as ‘a collection of trade schools
lacking a strong scientific foundation.’
In the next three decades, the scientific approach to business
research became the defining criteria for prestige for Bschools. By the 1990s, the pendulum had swung too far
and the quest for rigour pushed away some of
this relevance. In recent years,
the issue of rigour and
relevance has been
debated and we’ve explored ways to bring relevance back to research.
Top B-schools have tackled the challenge in different ways. At the Ivey Business School, for example, faculty members have a
top-notch teaching environment and are rewarded for providing a well-rounded learning experience for students. And although
the school has become known for its publishing record and award-winning dissertations in areas such as international business, it
did not drop its focus on the managerial base. Research continues to be driven by business problems.
THE ASIA CHALLENGE
The rapid growth of China and India has unleashed new demands for research and driven the need to legitimise the local faculty
within the globalised B-school environment. Chinese B-schools, supported by the government, are aggressively creating a
research infrastructure. However, some academics feel overt reliance on publishing in top American journals has discouraged
locally-relevant research, which in turn could potentially create a problem with relevance.
In India, B-school research faces different issues. The recent Bhargava Commission that looked at the system of Indian
Institutes of Management (IIMs) said little about transforming institutional incentives or enhancing organisational capabilities for
research. Recently, there have been efforts to network across the IIMs to create the scale and capability that can foster research.
Many of the IIMs are already engaged in case-writing, executive education and consulting work so they do not suffer the
problem of relevance. The challenge will be to bring in the rigour.
THE WAY FORWARD
The delicate task of tilting B-school systems toward research is complex. In December 2008, more than 40 deans of B-schools
from nine countries met at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad to tackle these challenges. International
partnerships between Western B-schools and schools in countries such as India are growing rapidly. Such partnerships enable
Western schools to educate their faculty about the realities of Asian business. In return, Indian faculty gain access to new
research capabilities and are able to promote their intellectual work.
Relevant research implies a close relationship between academics and business executives. Executives must also take research
seriously and provide opportunities for and access to academic research. B-schools do a poor job of educating MBAs — the
future executives — about the value of research. Most of the course materials MBAs are exposed to would not rate highly with
researchers. As a result, schools are missing a golden opportunity to create a mindset that academic research is relevant and
provides useful precepts. Engaging MBAs with high-quality research materials and exposing them to research work carried out
in schools may help create a positive attitude toward research.
Further, the case for a strong national management research network in India cannot be overstated. The recent success in the
UK with such a network is an outstanding template. The Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) resulted from discussions in
2002 that questioned the competence of British management and the relevance of management research to the questions that
executives face every day. At the time, UK management research was ill-funded and of poor quality. AIM brought together more
than 200 researchers from about 50 universities, with some funding from the government and private enterprises. Six years later,
the network has been credited with raising the calibre of research in UK B-schools and significantly impacting the practice of
business.
Such a network can be a powerful catalyst in creating a research culture within B-schools. It can bring international
partnerships to new levels and ensure the research agenda is in tune with the needs of business and creates significant and new
knowledge. This will help countries such as India and China, which can invest their human capital in search of new knowledge.
Besides, in these times, knowledge is power.
By Charles Dhanaraj (left) and Paul Beamish (right)
The writers are faculty at the Richard Ivey School of Business University of Western Ontario, Canada. Dhanaraj was also Co-Chair of the Emerging India Conference held at the Indian School of Business
(ISB) Hyderabad in 2008. Beamish is Director of Ivey’s Asian Management Institute and holds the inaugural Donald L Triggs Chair in International Business
THE MAKING OF A LEADER
BUSINESS SCHOOLS ARE CAREFULLY REVIEWING THEIR CURRICULA AND
COURSE CONTENT TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE COVERING EVERY POSSIBLE
BASE, DEVELOPING COURSES IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY,ETHICAL
THINKING AND ECOLOGICAL CONTENT WHICH DIDN’T EXIST BEFORE
By Frank Brown Dean, INSEAD
As companies expand internationally, there is a greater need for leaders who have the experience and the mindset to work in and
across different cultures. Transcultural leaders will usher their companies into new markets, drive growth and social
responsibility, and set the stage for future success.
Today, both industry and business
schools have been impacted by the economic crisis and we are all trying to adapt to these unusually testing times, as well as
find new tools to help us acclimatise. It’s a time when everyone in society must be held responsible and we should avoid trying
to single out someone to blame. It’s too easy and naïve to say that it’s the fault of business schools. Business schools aim to
produce leaders who are holistic, credible and who genuinely want to contribute to a better society and to develop sustainable
businesses. Many MBA leaders in all different sectors are using their knowledge and skills to be a part of the solution in response
to the crisis.
INSEAD, in particular, offers an extremely diverse programme and we do not turn out a ‘one size fits all’ standard leader.
Business schools do not send graduates out into the world with a business school’s set of ideas or philosophy. We teach them to
have the freedom to express their thoughts and draw their own conclusions, and I hope this will continue long into the future.
TESTING TIMES
Leaders, today, must take responsibility for what has happened and do everything in their power to make sure it does not happen
again. We are all taking some steps in this regard; drilling ethical dilemmas, challenges and conflicts into our students even more
than we did before. We encourage open discussions even more and challenge our students to be sceptical and dispute
conventional thinking.
Business schools are carefully reviewing their curricula and course content to make sure they are covering every possible base,
developing courses in social responsibility, ethical thinking and ecological content which didn’t exist before. INSEAD also gives
MBAs today the opportunity to get practical field experience, sending them to Africa, for example, to enhance their business
understanding and develop their leadership skills in different environments.
Over the last decades we have prepared our graduates better for the world they will lead tomorrow. We have taught them that
they must learn from past experiences and focus on the future. A lot of what we teach is good business, but this doesn’t mean we
can negate the need for change and improvement because we must respond to the unanticipated changes we may face every day.
The focus for business schools today must be on preparing future leaders to reinvent and innovate, never being satisfied with
the answers until they have all the facts. They must not lose perspective because they are too entrenched in their everyday tasks,
and they must concentrate on social cohesion, putting stronger emphasis on the framework of organisations — their teams.
Business schools must stimulate their student’s appetite for challenge and reinforce the fact that they must reject the herd
mentality.
Tomorrow’s leaders must learn from this difficult period and understand that employees, customers, shareholders and their
company should always come before personal gain if they want to succeed. It’s up to future leaders to enforce a business culture
that better serves the community and society as a whole. Leading a company today is all about co-operation.
CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY
The Chinese word for crisis has two characters which mean crisis and opportunity. This is an important fact for leaders to keep
on the top of their mind. In times of crisis, a leader’s actions (or lack thereof) can cause things to deteriorate further or can make
a bad situation a whole lot better. Crisis leadership is all about planning and reaction and leaders play a vital role in crisis
prevention. As a leader, you personify the organisation that you work for and crisis management is the test of a true leader.
During times like these, leaders must consider not just the present but also the future. It is a time to listen and ‘rally the
troops,’ giving hope to colleagues and remaining positive, but realistic. Listening is the most important trait of leaders but they
must also be open and able to communicate extensively, inspiring trust and making sure that everyone understands both the
objectives of their individual role and the organisation.
TRANSCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
It is always harder for a transcultural leader who must be sensitive to national and cultural differences, always aware that the rest
of the organisation may not share their views. Leaders who possess the knowledge and sensitivity to operate anywhere in the
world at anytime have open minds, accept new cultures, embrace ideas and appreciate new trends rapidly. This means that
leaders, today, need to be willing to explore and travel. They need to be curious about other people, cultures and customs. This
awareness and motivation to engage and be intellectually curious about what’s going on in the rest of the world is an absolutely
critical component to being effective in a transcultural environment and effectiveness gives you the opportunity to potentially
lead.
Diverse and cross-functional teams are key to success for leaders today. In the global marketplace, diversity is an absolute
necessity for a team, and when I say diversity, I mean it in every sense of the word: gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual
orientation, culture, personality type and area of expertise. A diverse team means increased creativity, imagination and
performance and this means great achievement.
Anybody who aspires to be a leader in this generation, or in the generations to come, must focus beyond their own backyard.
Anyone whose aspirations are purely local is setting him or herself up to fail. If tomorrow’s leaders think beyond traditional
borders and invest time in listening and learning from friends and colleagues, they will have a higher probability of having their
ideas accepted and this will lead to success for not only them and their teams, but also their organisations.
HALLMARKS OF LEADERSHIP
• The leader must be open. Only through openness can he or she learn enough to make informed decisions and adopt innovative
ideas
• A leader must embody integrity and inspire trust. If you want to motivate people to follow you and get the job done, you’ll do
best if they trust and respect you
• A leader must understand his or her own and his or her organisation’s objectives. Only with clear knowledge of these objectives
can he or she set goals for the team that are high but achievable
• A leader must have an optimistic, can-do outlook. Nothing is worse for motivating the troops than a leader with a bad attitude

• A leader must know how to use and not abuse authority. He or she must respect others in the organisation whatever their rank
• A leader must cultivate humility. He or she must recognise that work gets done by teams, so credit must be shared. A leader
should be able to recognise his or her team publicly and often
• The leader must consider not just the present but also the future. He or she must, therefore, focus on careers of others in the
organisation and must actively foster their development
(Source: The Global Business Leader by J Frank Brown)