In recent times, the fastest growing part of the higher education system has been business schools. With an established set of university based business schools in the USA since the early part of the 20th century, the growth since then has come in Europe between the 1960's and the 1990's, and in Australasia and Asia over the past 20 years. This has meant that, for example, in the UK by 2010 management and business studies staff made up 7% of the UK higher education sector and taught 14% of the students. In that same year, 1 in 8 undergraduates, 1 in 5 postgraduates and 1 in 4 international students were studying management business studies in UK business schools.

This growth has inevitably attracted the interest of those applauding and sceptical of these developments, and more scholarly literature on business schools has also developed. The purpose of this book is to assess the character and quality of selected research themes on the study of business schools and to articulate a forward looking research agenda on the study of business schools as institutions. The book provides novel empirical findings on the change and development of business schools, the causes and consequences of the ranking, and branding wars around business schools in particular and higher education systems more generally. The book also offers a stimulating critique of some of the intellectual, professional and economic challenges facing business schools in the contemporary world. The book's authors are internationally renowned scholars from the fields of organisation theory, strategic management, management development, and higher education management and policy.