ULRICH HOMMEL - On Business Schools

On Business Schools

Article Series On Medium

Occasional Blog Article Series

You can visit my occasional article series on topics related to higher education, especially business schools, on the online publishing platform Medium. Links to new articles will also be posted on LinkedIn and other social media.

»University Restructuring: Often Toxic Medicine for Business Schools« (10 June 2025)

»The Dean: A Business School's Greatest Risk« (2 April 2025)

General Writings

The Institutional Development of Business Schools

Co-editor with A. M. Pettigrew and E. Cornuel / Oxford University Press, 2014

The book deals with one of the largest and fastest growing parts of the international higher education system. The study of business schools is an academic, economic and organizational concern and the themes in the book engage with some of the most important concerns of business schools in their environments. The book provides a review of some of the existing research themes on the study of business schools and offers a challenging research agenda on how to further develop our understanding of business schools.

»Research on Business Schools: Themes, Conjectures and Future Directions«, in: A. Pettigrew / E. Cornuel / U. Hommel (eds.), The Institutional Development of Business Schools, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 6-35 (with H. Thomas).

On Risk/Resilience Management and Restructuring of Business Schools (and Universities)

Risk management is still an orphan activity of business school management. It is often considered the parent university's responsibility, merely necessary regulatory compliance, and detached from a school's strategic decision-making. As my contributions in this area demonstrate, these are all misconceptions that can be very costly. In addition, risk management needs to be complemented with investments in organizational resilience and an antifragile posture to systematically benefit from disruptive change dynamics.

»El imperativo ejecutivo: por qué los líderes de las escuelas de negocios deben impulsar la adopción de la IA y convertirse en emprendedores institucionales«, in: Global Focus, Edición En Castellano, 2025, pp. 12-15 (with P. Fehér, K. Vandenbempt).

»Higher Education: How to (Not) Cope with a Deficit«, in: University World News, 2 July 2025 (with W. Berger).

»The Executive Imperative: Why B-School Leaders Must Drive AI Adoption and Become Institutional Entrepreneurs«, in: Global Focus, No. 3, 2025, pp. 12-15 (with P. Fehér, K. Vandenbempt).

»Business School 5.0: Boundary-Spanning, Continuously Rewired«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2023, pp. 35-40 (with M. Meyer).

»The Continuously Rewired Business School«, in: AACSB Insights, 8 June 2022 (with M. Meyer), https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/articles/2022/06/the-continuously-rewired-business-school.

»10 Principles of Effective Risk Management«, in: AACSB Insights, 07 September 2021, https://www.aacsb.edu/insights/2021/september/10-principles-of-effective-risk-management. Reprint in: MBA International Business, Nr. 78 (November 2021), pp. 4-8.

»Universities Need to Prepare Better for High Risk Crises« in: University World News, 07 March 2020, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200302103912399

»Managing Risk to HE Institutions in an Uncertain World« in: University World News, 22 February 2020, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200217101820203 (with B. Stévenin).

»Coronavirus Delivers Wake-Up Call for Risk Managers in Higher Education!« in: LinkedIn, 11 February 2020.

»Beware the Dark Side of University Restructuring«, in: University World News, 7 December 2019, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20191202142809536.

»Back to School on Risk«, in: Enterprise Risk (online version), 2017, https://enterpriseriskmag.com/back-school-risk/ (with B. Woods).

»Creating the Resilient Business School«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2017, pp. 28-31 (with B. Woods). Spanish translation published as »Creando Escuelas de Negocios Resilientes«, in: Global Focus Edición en castellano, 2018, pp. 62-65.

»The State of Risk Management in Business Schools«, in: Journal of Management Development, Vol. 35, No. 5, 2016, pp. 606-622 (with W. Li, A. Pastwa).

»Major Disruption Ahead«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2013, pp. 10-13 (with C. Lejeune).

»The Emergence of Risk-Based Regulation in Higher Education: Relevance for Entrepreneurial Risk Taking of Business Schools«, in: Journal of Management Development, Vol. 32, No. 5, 2013, pp. 537-547 (with R. King).

»EFMD Revises EQUIS Standards for Financial Performance, Financial Management and Risk Management«, 4 March 2013, http://www.efmd.org/index.php/blog/view/284-efmd-revises-equis-standards-for-financial-performance-financial-management-and-risk-management.

»Risk Management Ante Portas«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2013, pp. 60-63 (with A. Pastwa).

»Risk Management in Business Schools: 2013 Deans Survey Report«, Brussels: EFMD, 2013 (with A. Pastwa).

»Risky Business: Do You Know What Your Risk Exposures Are?«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2012, pp. 26-29 (with R. King, A. Pastwa).

»FT Soapbox: Risk Management Moves Up Priority List for Deans«, Financial Times, 26 March 2012, p. 15.

On Strategy / Competitive Positioning of Business Schools

Business Schools + Ecosystems = ?

Special Supplement of Global Focus (The EFMD Business Magazine), Vol. 15, Issue 02, 2021 (Editor & Contributor)

Business schools are on a journey towards ecosystems that starts with the unbundling of existing activities (e.g., stackable degrees), leads to a stronger reliance on networks for the sharing of value chains (e.g., the emergence of the distributed business school) and adds fluidity as well as a transitory element when moving on to ecosystems (e.g., already visible today in entrepreneurial spaces nurtured by business schools). This volume pulls together the viewpoints of eminent scholars how this development will be impacting business schools. Access the special supplement here. The pdf of the supplement is also available here.

»The Executive Imperative: Why B-School Leaders Must Drive AI Adoption and Become Institutional Entrepreneurs«, in: Global Focus, No. 2, 2025, pp. 12-15 (with P. Fehér, K. Vandenbempt).

»Advance your Internationalization Agenda with Out-of-the-Box Thinking«, in: MBA International Business, No. 84, 2024, pp. 12-14 (with J. Snow).

»The Business School's Journey from Unbundling to Networks to Ecosystems« in: Global Focus, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2021, Special Supplement, pp. 1-5.

»Business Schools + Ecosystems = ?«, Global Focus, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2021, Special Supplement, editor.

»De-Institutionalization of Management Education in the Post-Pandemic World: East-West Perspectives«, in: H. Chaturvedi, A. K. Dey (editors), The New Normal: Challenges of Managing Business, Social & Ecological Systems in the Post-COVID-19 Era, New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 2021, pp. 51-67 (with A. Chattopadhyay).

»Squeezing the Middle: The Consequences of Quality Oversight in Management Education«, in: Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2021, pp. 96-114, DOI: 10.1007/s13132-018-0559-4, Web Published 4 October 2018 (with B. Woods).

»FT Soapbox: MOOCS Herald the Disruption to Come«, Financial Times, 24 November 2013, http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/1a54bf9a-51fb-11e3-8c42-00144feabdc0.html.

»What Does the Future Hold for Academic Research?«, 4 February 2013, http://www.efmd.org/index.php/blog/view/197-what-does-the-future-hold-for-academic-research.

»Tables Are Turning: Turbulent Times Lead to Opportunities«, The Economic Times of India (Special Report: Destination MBA), October 2011, p. 18 (with E. Cornuel) (reprint in: The Times of India, 9 December 2011, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-09/news/30497778_1_business-schools-asian-approach-management-education).

»Wenn unternehmerisches Hochschulmarketing versagt: Typische Fehler, ihre Auswirkungen und Lösungsansätze«, in: Wissenschaftsmanagement – Zeitschrift für Innovation, Vol. 15, No. 3, 2010, pp. 20-24.

»Upheaval in the Global Market for Management Education and Implications for CEE Business Schools«, in: Society and Economy, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2009, pp. 235-252.

»Blurring the Edges (On the Mixing of Non-Degree and For-Degree Education in Business Schools)«, Global Focus, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2009, pp. 28-31.

»Erklärungsfaktoren für die Marktpositionierung von MBA-Programmen: Ergebnisse einer Cluster-Analyse«, in: Wissenschaftsmanagement – Zeitschrift für Innovation, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2007, pp. 28-33 (with P. Baecker, G. Grass).

»Prometheus Unbound? German Business Schools Seek Role in Market for Management Education«, Atlantic Times, January 2006, p. 14.

»Anlageobjekt Bildung«, Financial Times Deutschland, 28 November 2005, p. 30.

On Quality Management, Accreditation & Rankings

Changing Nature of Business School Accreditation

A study co-authored with K. Vandenbempt that offers provocative reflections why business school accreditation needs to change to stay relevant. Accreditation agencies delineate the “school” as the institutional object for quality assurance and assessment (either in its own right or as a quality assurance umbrella for degree and non-degree programs). We posit that the provision of management education is undergoing a process of de-institutionalization and will become predominantly ecosystem-based, modular, learner-centered and produced through “unbundled faculty systems” of different types of education professionals. As a consequence, accreditation needs to change - in terms of role, content and process.

(M. R. Fellenz, S. Hoidn, M. Brady (editors): The Future of Management Education, Abingdon: Routledge, 2022)

»Accreditations & Rankings in 2030: Reducing Biases, Errors and Workload through Automated Data Processes«, in: MBA International Business, Nr. 81, 2022, pp. 48-51 (with H. van der Heijden, W. Mijnhardt).

»Beyond the "School" as the Object of Assessment: Sector Disruption and the Changing Nature of Business School Accreditation«, in: M. R. Fellenz, S. Hoidn, M. Brady (editors): The Future of Management Education, Abingdon: Routledge, 2022, pp. 207-224, DOI: 10.4324/9781003095903-16 (with K. Vandenbempt).

»The Value-Added of International Accreditation: The Students' Perspective«, in: MBA International Business, Nr. 77, September, 2021, pp. 32-34 (with J. Perrin-Halot). Reprint in: Triple Crown Business School.

»Managing Quality in Education Ecosystems: The Emerging Challenges« in: EFMD Global Focus, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2021, Special Supplement, pp. 51-55 (with S. Vaughan).

»Ambidexterity Strengthens Quality Management during COVID-19« in: Global Focus, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2021, pp. 54-57 (with B. Kjellander, C. Thouary).

»More than just Compliance: EFMD Launches the Quality Assurance Academy« in: Global Focus, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2019, pp. 4-7 (with I. Marinkovich, B. Stévenin).

»Maintaining the Gold Standard: Building on 20 Years of EQUIS Success« in: Global Focus, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2017, pp. 6-13 (with M. Osbaldeston). Get the article: Online, ITunes, Google Play. Spanish translation published as »Mantener el Patrón Oro: 20 Años de Exito del EQUIS«, in: Global Focus Edición en castellano, 2018, pp. 42-49.

»Diversity is Dead! Long Live Diversity!«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2015, pp. 26-30.

»The Disciplined Business School? Toward a Theory of the Effects of Rankings and Accreditation«, in: E. Cornuel / U. Hommel / A. Pettigrew (eds.), The Institutional Development of Business Schools, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 196-218 (with E. Cornuel, A. Rasche).

»Intended Learning Outcomes – Friend or Foe?«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2014, pp. 20-25 (with C. Greensted).

»EFMD Introduces Broader Coverage of Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability to EQUIS«, 27 February 2013, http://www.efmd.org/index.php/blog/view/278-efmd-introduces-broader-coverage-of-ethics-responsibility-and-sustainability-to-equis.

»Extended Coverage: Accrediting the Education of Business Scholars«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2011, pp. 24-27.

»The Role of International Accreditation for Market Positioning«, in: Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK): “10 Jahre Herbsttagung zur Qualität in den Hochschulen: Rückschau und neue Entwicklungen”, Beiträge zur Hochschulpolitik, No. 7, 2010, pp. 131-135.

»Ohne Alternative – Über den Nutzen der Programmakkreditierung«, in: Forschung & Lehre, Vol. 16, No. 7, 2009, pp. 498-499.

»EPAS after Scale-Up«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Supplement), 2009, pp. 3-4.

»EFMD Programme Accreditation - Impact and Development of EPAS«, Supplement Issue of Global Focus, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2009 (Editor).

»No Quality without Rigour«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2008, pp. 40-42.

»Reaching Out Globally – How One Association Reaped the Benefits of a Multi-Faceted Accreditation Programme«, in: ESAE Headquarters Magazine, November, 2008, pp. 24-25.

»Reaching Out Globally«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2007, pp. 28-31.

»Meilenstein für die Forschungskultur: Das Forschungs-Controlling an der European Business School«, in: Wissenschaftsmanagement – Zeitschrift für Innovation, Vol. 11, No. 5 (Sept./Oct.), 2005, pp. 34-38 (with U. Schäffer).

»Transparent und möglichst einfach: Forschungscontrolling an der European Business School«, in: Forschung & Lehre, Vol. 12, No. 11, 2005, p. 602 (with U. Schäffer).

On the Practice of Leading, Managing and Transforming Business Schools

Shared Learning in Higher Education: Toward a Digitally-Induced Model

Creating value for the learner (analogous to customer value in the non-academic sphere) has become a cornerstone of institutional change inviting the disaggregation of the design and delivery of tertiary education, strengthening the involvement of outside specialists and therefore, in effect, moving away from the full-service ‘business model’.

Together with my co-author Kai Peters, I am exploring how shared learning will contribute to the de-institutionalization of higher education and the way degree qualifications will be administered and delivered in the future. We see four forces at play: Micro-credentialing, stackability, cross-institutional shared learning models and recognition of prior learning.

The study has been published in Andreas Kaplan, editor (2022): Digital Transformation and Disruption in Higher Education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

»Why the Demise of Critical Thinking Is Not Inevitable« in: Poets & Quants, 5 August 2025 (with P. Fehér).

»Managing Your MBA Offerings as a Portfolio« in: MBA International Business, No. 82, November, 2022, pp. 14-16 (with S. Hardcastle, J. Powell).

»Shared Learning in Higher Education: Toward a Digitally-Induced Model«, in: A. Kaplan (editor): Digital Transformation and Disruption in Higher Education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022, pp. 239-254 (with K. Peters).

»Faculty as a Strategic Resource: What Business Schools Can Learn from Team Sports«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2021, 110-115 (with A. Abdel-Meguid, B. Stévenin).

»Future-Proofing the Business School«, in: AACSB Insights, 26 January 2021 (with M. Boehm, B. Stévenin). Reprint in MBA International Business, Nr. 74, March, 2021, pp. 22-26.

»Casualisation in HE is Good for Business: Get Over It«, University World News, 12 December 2020, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201211110620766 (with M. J. Hommel).

»The Overlooked Power of Faculty Information Systems«, in: MBA International Business, August, 2020, No. 73, pp. 24-27 (with M. Boehm, W. Mijnhardt, B. Stévenin).

»Smart Data Analytics: A Competitive Advantage«, in: BizEd Magazine, July/August 2020 (with I. Fagnot, B. Stévenin).

»How to Address the Needs of Digital Learners?«, in: University World News, 22 June 2019, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190620061741777 (with S. Zuchowicz).

»International Learning 4.0«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2018, pp. 6-9 (with A. Blombäck, Y. Carlisle, A. Gaudes) - Google play: http://bit.ly/1b07M08; Apple iTunes: http://bit.ly/1f5IWhL. Spanish translation published as »Educación Empresarial: Aprendizaje Internacional ‘4.0’«, in: Global Focus Edición en castellano, 2018, pp. 2-5. Access the Mandarin version here.

On the Societal Role of Business Schools

»The Unfulfilled Promise of Responsible Management Education«

Special Issue of the Journal of Management Development

Vol. 34, No. 1, 2015 (Joint Editor with E. Cornuel)

Business schools appear to be slow adopters of responsible management education (RME), though the rhetoric of RME is visible throughout the sector. The Special Issue addresses this apparent gap between substance and image by analysing the barriers to RME adoption and potential ways of overcoming them. The contributions offer insights from a range of different perspectives that will help encourage an informed debate on how to make RME more of a reality in management education.

»Leveraging Legal Form for the Greater Good«, in: AACSB Insights, 31 October 2023 (with J. Perrin-Halot).

»COVID-19: Accelerator or Demolisher of the RME Agenda?«, in: Journal of Global Responsibility, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2021, pp. 87-100, https://doi.org/10.1108/JGR-12-2020-0109 (with M. Falkenstein, A. Snelson-Powell)

»Lessons of COVID-19 for Business Schools«, in: University World News, 11 July 2020, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200707114212929 (with P. Riemer-Hommel).

»Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of Responsible Management Education«, in: Journal of Management Development, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2015, pp. 2-15 (with E. Cornuel).

»Business Schools as a Positive Force for Fostering Societal Change: Meeting the Challenges of the Post-Crisis World«, in: Business and Professional Ethics Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2012, pp. 289-312 (with E. Cornuel).

»Gradualism Prevails & Perception Outbids Substance«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2012, pp. 30-33 (with M. Painter-Morland, J. Wang).

On Professional Development in Business Schools

»Educating Ourselves: On the Role of Professional Development in Business Schools«

Special Supplement, Global Focus: The EFMD Business Magazine

Vol. 13, No. 1, 2019 (Editor, Contributor)

This issue deals with how we should prepare future business school leaders (in the broadest sense) for their professional roles. Currently, “learning on the job” still dominates. This state of affairs is however far from ideal - managerial inefficiencies should be avoided as much as possible, not tacitly built into the leadership design as an improvement opportunity. Professional development is an activity of strategic importance for business schools and should therefore be a core component of any institutional quality improvement agenda.

»EFMD GN Launches the Career Professionals Development Institute«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2019, pp. 76-79 (with A. Wigmore Alvarez).

»Open Positions: Leaders for Unsettled Times«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2019, Special Supplement, pp. 7-12.

»Editorial: Education Ourselves - On the Role of Professional Development in Business Schools«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2019, Special Supplement, pp. 1-2.

»Developing a Growth Mindset«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2018, pp. 24-27 (with J. Diaz). Spanish translation published as »Cuando Pensar es Crecer«, in: Global Focus Edición en castellano, 2018, pp. 18-21.

»Empowering Programme Directors«, in: Global Focus, Vol. 11, No. 1, 2017, pp. 4-6 (with J. Diaz).

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