european constructions of an american model: develpments of four mba programmes

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DOI: 10.1177/1350507605058143 2005 36: 471Management Learning

Carmelo Mazza, Kerstin Sahlin-Andersson and Jesper Strandgaard PedersenProgrammes

European Constructions of an American Model : Developments of Four MBA

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Carmelo Mazza,Kerstin Sahlin-Andersson andJesper Strandgaard PedersenUniversity of Roma La Sapienza, Italy and GrenobleEcole de Management, France, Uppsala University, Swedenand Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

European Constructions of anAmerican ModelDevelopments of Four MBA Programmes

Abstract In this article we study the patterns of proliferation, circulation and transforma-tion of MBA programmes in Europe. The article seeks to address two important questions:First, why is it that the label MBA has travelled from the USA to Europe?, and second, towhat extent does this label signify the proliferation of similar programmes across theAtlantic? We show that even though the label MBA has diffused around the globe, closerstudies of a selection of MBA programmes show that the way in which these localprogrammes have been formed, clearly reflects their local contexts. Hence, this study is anexample of local translations of globalized models. Moreover, the study suggests that weshould not take labels as clearly signifying local practices. Instead, while labels of variouskinds seem to travel easily and rapidly across the globe, local variations and distinctionsremain. Based on case studies of four MBA programmes in Denmark, Italy, Spain andSweden, we analyse how similarities and differences coexist among MBA programmes.While these case studies clearly show that programmesin some aspectsare becomingincreasingly similar, variations and distinctions among them remain. A few elements ofMBA programmes remain stable (the model) as other elements change as they spread.Therefore, the circulation of a vague modellike an MBA in the management educationfieldallows for both variance in the local application and stabilization of specificelements. With the proliferation of programmes, the field as a whole displays homogeniza-tion as well as heterogenization. Two homogenizing forces, and two heterogenizing forcesare identified. Key Words: homogenization; idea circulation; institutional dynamics;management education; MBA

DOI: 10.1177/1350507605058143

Management LearningCopyright 2005 Sage Publications

London, Thousand Oaks, CAand New Delhi

http://mlq.sagepub.comVol. 36(4): 471491

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The Master of Business Administration (MBA) education is a 100-year-oldAmerican management education degree. Today it is one of the most popular andwell-known graduate degrees; almost one in four Masters degrees awarded in theUSA is the MBA (Moon, 2002). Throughout the world, obtaining an MBA is seenas a main route to senior executive positions (Daniel, 1998), and most majorEuropean business schools and universities offer MBA programmes. In 2001, thenumber of MBA programmes listed in the most well-known international direc-torates was 1600 (Moon, 2002); and more than 600 were established in Europe(Merlin Falcon MBA guide, 2001). Studies of how the field of managementeducation has evolved in Europe (Hedmo, 2004; Wedlin, 2004) and worldwide(Moon, 2002) show this to be highly centred around the MBA. In fact, eventhough management education comprises a diverse and quite heterogeneous mixof educational programmes and institutions, what is common across institutionsand continents is that management education providers are expected to offerMBAs. In other words, the MBA has become a highly institutionalized form ofprofessional management education, worldwide.

Several scholars have argued that MBA developments in Europe represent a signand a means of homogenizing, or even Americanizing, European managementeducation (Alvarez, 1997; Amdam, 1996; Engwall and Gunnarsson, 1994; see foran opposite view, Watson, 1994). This argument relies on the neo-institutionalassumption that the diffusion of models adds to the institutionalization of thesemodels and to the isomorphism of organizational forms that adopt the models(DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Meyer and Scott, 1983). For example, studies showedthat over a period of time, it has become taken for granted that universities shouldimplement budgetary systems (Covaleski and Dirsmith, 1988), American municipalgovernments should have certain civil service procedures (Tolbert and Zucker,1983), and private firms should adopt certain managerial practices such as TQM(Westphal et al., 1997).

Many authors have pointed to this perspective as neglecting the variety ofparallel processes that lead towards institutionalization and homogenization as wellas the different local-based mechanisms in the diffusion of management practices(e.g. Goodstein, 1994; Oliver, 1991). Building on these arguments, other studieshave theorized that the circulation of models may also lead to variations becausemodels change as they spread (Czarniawska and Sevon, 1996; Sahlin-Anderssonand Engwall, 2002). Similarly, the circulation of MBAs seems to encompass a mixof homogenization and continuous variation. The MBA label has remainedunchanged during the processes of circulation (it is not even translated into thelocal languages but the English label is used). Despite the stability of the label, theidentity of the MBA, as Moon (2002) claims, has never been fixed but is vague,which means that one can claim that it is still under construction.

Our aim with this article is to explore and explain to what extent the circulationof MBAs throughout Europe has occurred by reproducing an unchanged label, sosignifying the homogenization of European management education, and to whatextent the MBA model changes as it is being circulated. Such an aim requiresclose-up studies of individual programmes in order to explore whether pro-grammes that started under the same label encompass similarities or variations intheir structure and content. This article is based on case studies of four European

472 Management Learning 36(4)


MBA programmes offered by the Copenhagen Business School (Copenhagen,Denmark), IESE Business School (Barcelona, Spain), the Scuola di DirezioneAziendale (SDA) dellUniversita` Luigi Bocconi (Milan, Italy), and Uppsala Uni-versity (Uppsala, Sweden). The first of these programmes was started in 1958 andthe last in 1994. Our case studies cover the time period from the start of eachprogramme until 2000. This time period parallels the period when the MBAbecame institutionalized as a management programme in Europe (Hedmo, 2004).Around the turn of the 21st century many new regulatory measures, such asaccreditation (Hedmo, 2004) and media rankings (Wedlin, 2004) had becomeimportant parts of the European field of management education and with themnew homogenizing and heterogenizing forces were evolving to such an extent thatone can speak of new homogenizing and heterogenizing tendencies in the field.Our study covers the first of the two phases mentioned above, when the MBAmodel was introduced in new settings. The article is structured in four sections.First, we present different theoretical models of how the proliferation of specificpractice may be understood as resulting from processes of diffusion, circulationand translation, and specify our views relative to these theoretical strands ofresearch. Second, we describe our methodology and present the evidence from thefour case studies. Third, we discuss the significance of differences and similaritiesfound in the case studies to see to what extent homogenization is actually a factor.Finally, we draw the conclusions and outline avenues for further research.

Different Perspectives on the Circulation of Models

A well-established and often pursued view rests on the assumption that modelsdiffuse more or less according to a physical model, where connections betweenactors are assumed to explain the rate and speed of circulation (e.g. Rogers,1983). This is basically an interaction modelthe more actors interact with eachother, the more they imitate each other. This model has been criticized foromitting cultural and institutional elements: models can be diffused withoutinteraction since there are culturally diffused trends that permeate settings even ifthey have not been in direct contact with each other (Meyer, 2002), and also forassuming that there is one origin from which models diffuse (Czarniawska andSevon, 1996). For example, proliferation of forms and practices can be observedalso in settings with little direct connection between actors.

Strang and Meyer (1993) suggest that connections between actors might besupplemented with an understanding of the institutional conditions for circula-tion. Circulation increases where the actors involved are perceived as similar. Suchperceptions of similarities are often the effect of categorizations following fromtheorization. Not only the actors involved, but also the circulated models are beingtheorized and thus simplified, which helps them spread among contexts. Followingthis line, studies focused on external similarities, so providing little data regardingthe content, meaning and possible transformation of models over time and space.As a result, the circulation of practices, institutionalization and homogenizationare signifying and explaining each other.

Mazza et al.: European Constructions of an American Model 473


However, models do not remain unchanged as they circulate. Organizationscopy standards and models only partially and models are transformed in variousways as they circulate (Boyer et al., 1998; Rvik, 2002; Westney, 1987). Modelsundergo translation processes as they spread, and we may find various localconstructions of diffused models (Czarniawska and Sevo`n, 1996; Sahlin-Andersson,2001; Zbaracki, 1998). So, widely diffused models may be presented under thesame label, but on a closer look may reveal that as the label has been adopted in anew area it has resulted in locally shaped practices and meanings (StrandgaardPedersen and Dobbin, 1997).

In order to show how models change as they circulate, Sahlin-Andersson (1996)describes such processes as editing processes. Not only are local variants of themodels edited as they change, but so are the origins to which the adopting actorsoften refer. This is to say, there is not necessarily one origin of such circulationprocesses, and the original model (if identifiable) may look very different from thegeneral model that is being adopted or implemented elsewhere. Stories about, oreditions of, exemplary models are constructed as these models spread (Sahlin-Andersson, 2000, 2001). This process recalls what historians have named theinvention of tradition (Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983).

Our discussion so far has pointed out that models that circulate should not betreated as ready made and stable packages. In cases where there is a specifiedmodel from the beginning, variations of such a model may emerge with theprocess of circulation as the model is translated and applied differently indifferent settings. In these cases, we would say that a precise label corresponds to aprecise model. Local translations may then make the content of the model vary.

On the other hand, many models that circulate are not that precise, and henceboth more precise models and variations may evolve during the process ofcirculation. In cases where a precise label corresponds to a vague model we arguethat local translations may both stabilize and vary the content of the model overtime. So we find it is important to distinguish between labels and models, in orderto understand the mechanisms of circulation and translation.

Since there is no evidence of a uniform and uncontroversial definition of theMBA model (Aaronson, 1992), in this article we argue that the labelMaster inBusiness Administrationcorresponds to a vague model. We suggest that thecirculation of the MBA label may be understood as a diffusion process, shaped byinstitutional conditions and active diffusers, mediators and adopters. In order tosee the effect of the local adoption of the MBA label on the actual MBA content,however, we have to study the various translations and constructions of local MBAprogrammes as well. In distinguishing between the MBA label and the MBA modelin our four case studies, we may conclude to what extent there is a precise modelor variety of contents tied to the MBA label. This will also give an understanding ofto what extent the proliferation of the MBA label is part of a homogenization ofthe content of European management education.

In the next section, we give brief accounts of the four case studies, and weanalyse in more detail how the MBA label has been adopted and tied up withvarious European constructions of the MBA. Before turning to these empiricalreports, however, we will give a brief account of the overall expansion of the MBAthroughout the world and in Europe.



The Worldwide Proliferation of MBA Programmes

American business schools offered the first MBA programmes at the beginning ofthe 20th century (see Crainer and Dearlove, 1998; Daniel, 1998). Since then MBAprogrammes have expanded dramatically, first in the USA and later throughoutthe world. In the USA, the number of MBA graduates had increased from almost18,000 in 196768 to 94,000 in 199596 (Daniel, 1998; Moon, 2002). Thisdevelopment reflects not only an increase in numbers, but also in proportions ofgraduates in all disciplines. In the last decade, the expansion has primarily takenplace outside the USA (Moon, 2002).

The first European MBA programme came about with the founding of INSEADin 1959, with the Ford Foundation playing a significant role in this process(Gemelli, 1996). Boutaiba and Strandgaard Pedersen (2003) describe the pro-liferation during the next 40 years as taking place in two waves, with a relativelyquiet intermediate period. During the 1960s a number of MBA programmes wereintroduced in Europe in what appears to be a first wave from 1959 to around 1972.Most of the MBA programmes in this period were full-time courses and modelledon specific American programmes.

After 15 years during which new programmes were primarily started in thecountries that already had MBA education (with a few exceptions such as Finlandand Sweden), from the mid-1980s until 2000, the second wave of introductions inEurope led to an exploding number of new MBA programmes. Programmes werestarted in many countries (e.g. Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands,Norway, Switzerland and a number of central and eastern European countries), aswell as new ones in countries that already had MBA education. In this period newtypes of programmes, such as the distance learning MBA, were introduced in anumber of the educational institutions offering MBA education (Boutaiba andStrandgaard Pedersen, 2003).

On a general level, the proliferation of MBA programmes could be explained byan overall expansion in management and management education in Europe aswell as in other parts of the world. The label MBA is not protected, which meansthat in principle anyone could organize an education programme with whatevercontent and label it Master of Business Administration. So the proliferation ofMBAs has been accompanying an expansion of management education moregenerally (Amdam, 1996; Engwall and Gunnarsson, 1994). In almost all Europeancountries, educational institutions have provided more management educationprogrammes than ever in the last two decades, both inventing new programmesand shaping existing ones for management purposes (efmd, 1998).

The proliferation immediately seems to be the effect of a twofold process: thefirst is the development of Business Administration as a separate, and legitimate,academic discipline from Law and Economics (Engwall and Gunnarsson, 1994;Locke, 1989). The second is the adoption, after World War II, of managementmethods imported from the USA, slowly replacing engineering and legal knowl-edge traditionally required for business administration (Locke, 1996). The combi-nation of the two processes elicited the change in the mechanisms of selection andreproduction of the European business elites, shaping the education path of theyounger managers (Marceau, 1989; Whitley et al., 1981).



This brief account outlines why European educational institutions becameinterested in offering management programmes, but it fails to account for theroute through which MBA programmes have proliferated. What the label MBAsignals and implies may differ over time and across space. Finding out how theMBA is shaped in being circulated requires detailed studies of individual pro-grammes. In fact, the study of individual programmes may not only display localvariations, but it can also shed light on the identity building of MBAs.

The Case Studies: Methodological Issues and Content

In order to shed light on how the MBA is shaped while being circulated, we needto develop case studies on individual programmes in Europe. We identified threemain criteria to select the case studies. First, we looked for commonalities in orderto build feasible comparisons. Comparisons are possible if variance is low in termsof product definition, institutional embeddedness, degree of innovation of theprogrammes in their countries and the use of the English language. These featurescould drive towards diversified local translation of the MBA programmes that donot depend on the circulation effects we want to trace in this article. As aconsequence, the dimensions of commonalities we have focused on in the casestudies are (1) the use of the MBA label, (2) the existence of a larger educationalinstitution (university or business school) the MBA programme is connected to orpart of, (3) the role of early adopters of the MBA label in their countries, and(4) national contexts where English is not the first language.

Second, we looked for variance in terms of geographical location. Within theEuropean space, geographical location means different evolutionary paths in theeducational domain (Engwall and Zamagni, 1998). The expansion of managementeducation in Europe has followed common general traits after World War II(Locke, 1989); however, local arrangements still shape the form and content ofthe educational offer. We focused on the NorthSouth geographical distinctionwithin EU countries, and in this research we have taken out those countries that in2000 were not yet part of the EU, even though some of them had at that timealready started framing their management education offer along the lines of theEU countries.

Third, we looked for variance in terms of timing of adoption of the MBAprogrammes. In line with Tolbert and Zucker (1983), we have tried to distinguishbetween the waves of MBA program adoption in Europe. This argument will bedeveloped in the next sections. The case studies belong to different waves,although sharing the same character of early adopters in their countries.1

After defining these selection criteria, we made a brief analysis of the MBAprogrammes in Europe to find those matching the criteria. We came out with asample of programmes from which we selected four case studiesthese being theEuropean MBA programmes offered by Copenhagen Business School (Copenha-gen, Denmark), IESE Business school (Barcelona, Spain), SDA-Bocconi (Milan,Italy), and Uppsala University (Uppsala, Sweden). All programmes were amongthe first started in their countries. They were started at different times during theinstitutionalization of the MBA in Europe and they also display the different routesthrough which the MBA has been institutionalized in northern and southern



Europe. The southern European programmes were started during what we havetermed as the first wave of MBA proliferation in Europe, and the northernEuropean programmes during the second wave. While the northern Europeanprogrammes are executive MBAs, the southern European MBAs are full time. Thistoo portrays the different paths through which the MBA was institutionalized inthe two parts of Europe. Studies of the development of the European field ofmanagement show that while the introduction of executive MBAs in northernEurope was later followed by the introduction of full-time MBAs, the reverse wasthe case in southern Europe (Hedmo, 2004; Wedlin, 2004). In the final selection,we also considered our personal relations as a factor helping us gather informa-tion on the dynamics underpinning each case. For each study, we followed a three-step process of data gathering. First, we collected and analysed documentarymaterial on the MBA programmes. In this stage, we primarily focused on theprogramme presentation and content. Data were derived from homepage pre-sentations on the Internet, brochures, alumni magazines, detailed study descrip-tions, guidelines, curricula, and so on.

Second, for each case we complemented the data collected from documentarymaterial with interviews with key informants who were former and currentprogramme directors, professors in charge of coordinating teaching areas, peoplewho played a role in the process of launching the programmes, and former MBAstudents reporting their comments. In addition, as the interviews after all could beassumed to be subject both to lack of memory of the details of the processes andto post-rationalizations, for each case we collected comments from at least threekey informants mainly through informal talks. In this way, we added context-basedinformation to what was collected through institutional sources in stage one ofthe process.

Third, in order to contextualize MBA programmes further, background informa-tion was collected about the educational institutions hosting the programmes (e.g.their main strategies, participation in exchange programmes, relations with otherinstitutions and the business community) together with general information aboutother management education offered. These last pieces of data were primarilygenerated from MBA guides, Internet web pages, studies and reports on manage-ment education. All four case studies were performed during the winter of 1997and updated during 2002, considering data and features until 2000

Below we briefly describe the four cases before analysing differences andsimilarities among them.2

IESE Business School

The IESEthe business school of the University of NavarraMBA programmestarted in 1964 in Barcelona as one of the first MBA programmes in Spain andEurope. The programme was established as a result of an analysis of theeducational needs of Spanish firms undertaken by the University of Navarra withthe collaboration of Harvard Business School. Harvard Business School also tookpart in the start-up of the programme by providing advanced teaching educationto the IESE business school faculty. The IESE business school MBA is full time(21 months), addressed to people with almost three years work experience (this isa basic requirement), and since 1981 it has been taught in Spanish and English.



The international class, attended by students from more than 20 nationalities onaverage, is entirely taught in English and adopts widespread USA teachingmaterials. The main part of the Spanish faculty has received higher businesseducation in the leading USA universities, and an increasing number of foreignfaculty members have been enrolled in the last decade. The MBA is the leadingfull-time management education programme offered by the IESE business school,with a solid reputation in Spain and abroad. The tuition fee is aligned with that ofother international business schools. From the beginning, the IESE businessschool MBA has followed the Harvard MBA scheme. Most classes (around 80%)are taught through the case study teaching method. The programme emphasizesgeneral management issues and covers the functional management areas. Theeducational mark of the IESE business school consists in its particular focus ontrust, integrity and ethical concern. Since the 1980s, internationalization has beena main feature of the programmes strategy, also pursued through the appoint-ment of many foreign representatives onto the Advisory Board. The Board alsoreflects the IESE business schools links with the business community in Spain andabroad.

SDA-Bocconi (Universita` L. Bocconi-Scuola di Direzione Aziendale)

The SDA-Bocconi MBA started in 1971 in Milan. It was one of the first MBAprogrammes in Italy, where no state-recognized postgraduate programme existeduntil 1982, and Masters university titles were introduced by the Ministry ofEducation in 2001. SDA is the business education department of the UniversityLuigi Bocconithe most well-known private institution in Italy running econom-ics, business and law programmes. In 2000, SDA provided five types of post-graduate MBA programmes: MBA, Master in International Management (MIEM),part-time management programmes for executives, small and medium businessprogrammes, and part-time MBAs taught after working hours. The MBA is themost important programme involving the faculty and the administrative staff;nevertheless, many industry-based Masters programmes have been recently devel-oped to meet business community expectations. The MBA is mainly addressed topeople with work experience, although young graduates with a brilliant academicrecord are usually admitted after obtaining grants from the business community.The programme is full time (16 months) and it is taught in Italian and English(since 1990). In the last decade, materials in English have grown in relation to theincreasing internationalization of SDAs faculty and educational purpose. Althoughmost of the students are Italian, the number of non-Italian has been increasingover the last decade. The SDA-Bocconi MBA has an overall focus on generalmanagement issues, related to small and medium firms, specific industry prob-lems, and international management, with a particular emphasis on organizationalbehaviour and human resource management. The SDA-Bocconi MBA follows amixture of the USA management education scheme and the Italian tradition ofbusiness studies. The same mix is followed by the teaching methods that rangefrom case studies to academic lectures, business testimonials and an increasingnumber of opinion makers and public figures. The MBA programme includesproject work as well as field studies involving the local business community.



Uppsala University

The executive MBA programme of Uppsala dates back to 1980 when the universitystarted a new postgraduate programme in international business, mainly aimed atpeople with a basic degree in engineering who worked in Swedish companies. Atthat time the programme was mainly financed by special grants from thegovernment. After a few years, these grants were withdrawn and from 1984 aspecial fee has been paid by the participants employers to finance the pro-gramme. As the department started to charge the participants fees, they also feltthe need to translate the diploma into English, especially since the programmehad a focus on international business issues, and it was at this time that theystarted to use the label MBA (as a translation of the until then used Swedish labelpbyggnadsutbildning i internationellt foretagandesarskilt exportfrgor). Eventhough the programme was offered by a state university, MBA programmes werenot included in the state-regulated university education in Sweden, but theindividual university carried full responsibility for content, form and ways offinancing the programme. In relation to the rest of the activities at the Depart-ment of Business studies in Uppsala, the MBA could be defined as a marginal buthigh status activity. The programme in Uppsala was among the first MBAprogrammes to be started in Sweden. It is a part-time two-year programme, withclasses for approximately two full days once every third week. The group alsomakes study trips abroad. The motive for teaching methods as well as the timing ofclasses and trips is to establish the course as an arena where participants canexchange experience and network with each other. Previous work experience (aswell as a present employer who is willing to recommend the student and pay forthe programme) is a main requirement for admission. The study trip is one of theinternational elements of the programme; another is the content. The programmeconsists of four blocks: international business, organization and management ofinternational business, international marketing, and the project. The programmeis given in Swedish and all participants are Swedes, from diverse educationalbackgrounds. The programme includes a high proportion of literature andlectures in English. Starting from the late 1990s, an alumni network has beenactivated, also providing special seminars for the members.

Copenhagen Business School (CBS)

The CBS MBA programme started in 1994. It was among the first MBAprogrammes to be established in Denmark and is addressed to executives ofDanish companies as a domestic alternative to moving abroad to attend post-graduate management education. Prior to this start, attempts failed to create aScandinavian executive MBA (with INSEAD and IMD as role models) in collabora-tion with Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Being an executive MBA, itis a part-time, two year-programme and the main requirements for admission arean academic degree corresponding to at least three years of education plus aminimum of three years of relevant work experience. Approximately 50% of theteachers are faculty members from CBS, the other 50% are international facultyrecruited from abroad. Only administrative staff are dedicated full time to theprogramme. The MBA is one of several educational programmes at CBS, sharingthe schools human and financial resources. In terms of students, it is a marginal



activity of CBS, which still focuses on academic degrees (BSc, MSc, PhD), but interms of prestige, the MBA is considered a high-status activity. The MBA title is notformally recognized by the state, although CBSas a state-funded institutionhadto gain formal approval from the Ministry of Education before launching theprogramme. Although CBS receives some financial support from the state, itcharges MBA participants a tuition fee, which distinguishes it from most Danishpostgraduate programmes that are free. The CBS MBA emphasizes international-ization by providing courses on international management as well as two studytrips to non-European countries to explore globalization issues. Together withinternational management, the programme covers the traditional functional areasof management. Teaching methods range from case studies and academicmaterials to videos and testimonials. The faculty is free to adapt the workload andthe materials to the specific needs of the audience. The programme was taught inDanish until 2001 (and in English as regards the international faculty) and thematerials are in both English and Danish.

Analysing the Four Cases: Similarities and Differences amongProgrammes

In order to see how an MBA is shaped as it is being circulated, we selected a set ofrelevant elements of the four MBA programmes. The adopted criteria of relevancewere based on the elements that universities and business schools present in theirexternal communication of the MBA programmes. These elements were selectedas follows. First we identified the main source of external communication byuniversities and business schools: brochures, websites and newspaper sections onmanagement education, then we collected and analysed those referring to the fourMBA programmes. We found that the main elements presented were: admissionprocedures, student profiles, tuition fees, focus of the programme, organization ofthe programme, faculty, grading and exams, and language. In addition weconsidered aspects of internationalization, governance structures (advisory boardsand alumni) and network structures (competitors and partnerships). Finally, wechecked whether these were the main elements also in other universities andbusiness schools external communication by analysing brochures, websites andadvertisements of leading European universities and business schools offeringMBA programmes. The result was that similar elements are identifiable in themajority of MBA programme presentations, and in management education pro-grammes more generally (see also Wedlin, 2004).

Having selected the relevant elements to consider, we compared the fourprogrammes. The logic behind the comparison was aimed to address the researchquestions in this article. From this perspective similarities would have shown aconvergence towards unchanged MBA content and differences would have con-firmed that MBA programmes are shaped by the local context since localadoptions are varied.

By referring to the theoretical approaches mentioned in the introduction,similarities would support the thesis that circulation may lead towards increasinghomogeneity. If none or only a few aspects are similar it would imply that the MBA



label diffuses while the programmes that are associated with this label aretranslated and thus reconstructed to fit into the local context.

Conversely, differences would support the thesis that circulation may leadtowards increasing variance due to local translation. As such variations are theresult of local translations, they are not likely to be included in the widely heldideas of what comprises a standard European MBA. The coexistence of similaritiesand differences would lead us to argue that parallel processes of homogenizationand local variation occur as models circulate, especially, as in this case, a stablelabelMBAis associated with a vaguely defined model.

The list of elements considered in this study and the results of these analyses aresummarized in Tables 1 and 2 below.

A first element similar in all programmes is the admission procedure. Except forminor differences, the four programmes have admission procedures based oninterviews conducted by the admission staff. Three of the four programmes uselanguage tests (TOEFL and GMAT, with similar entry levels). These admissioncriteria differ considerably from those used in other programmes in the localuniversities; consequently, they seem not to be affected by the local context, atleast on the formal level.

The student profiles are also similar in the four programmes. The target audienceof MBAs is graduates (with a Bachelor degree or equivalent) plus at least threeyears work experience. Full-time MBAs may include participants with brilliantacademic scores, as executive MBAs stress work experience. Students educationalbackground tends to be as much diversified as possible; however, engineering, lawand economics are still the three most highly represented backgrounds within theMBA groups.

Tuition fees are also very close in at least three cases. The choice of charging thesame tuition fees seems to be symbolically motivated; schools deal with tuition feesas a device for signalling reputation. In addition, given the difference in theorganization of the programmes and the number of participants, tuition feesappear to be unconnected with real costs and instead aligned to some form ofexternal standard, common to all the well-known European MBA programmes.

Similarities also appear in the focus of the four programmes. All the MBAcourses cover the functional areas of management and give a broad view of whatgeneral management is. International management and human resource manage-ment are also emphasized in three of the four cases. This means that there is acertain degree of alignment also in the management education that the fourinstitutions offer through the MBA.

We found an emphasis on the relations to the business community in all fourprogrammes. They all have advisory boards on which multinational corporationsand local business communities are represented, and they have more or less activealumni societies. In all four cases, alumni networks are vehicles of diffusion andpromotion of the programme offered. By having more or less formal contacts andagreements with other schools (mainly USA business schools), the programmesseek to establish themselves as parts of an international network.

The four programmes exhibit clear similarities but also differencesfirst of allin the organization of the programme. The four schools follow notably differentcriteria in terms of dimensions of their faculties, dedicated staff and relations withthe institutions they are in. In the Scandinavian cases, the programmes are small in



Table 1 Similarities among programmes

Issue CBS IESE SDA-Bocconi Uppsala

Admission procedure Academic degree min.3 years undergraduatestudies

Academic degree min.4 years undergraduatestudies



Work experience 13 years Work experience 3 years Work experience 3 years Work experience 13 yearsRecommendations fromemployer

Letters ofrecommendation

Letters ofrecommendation

Recommendations fromemployer

Tests: EPT, GMAT Tests: TOEFL, GMAT Tests: TOEFL, GMATInterviews Interviews Interviews Interviews

Student profile 3035 years old, 2832 years old, 2530 years old, 3035 years old,3 years of workexperiencepreferably ina managerial position

3 years of workexperiencepreferably ina managerial position



Tuition fee 25,500 euros 45,000 euros 23,200 euros 23,600 eurosPaid by the employer Limited number of grants Limited number of grants Paid by the employer

Focus of theprogramme

General managementInternational business

General managementManagement ethics

General managementHuman resources

General managementInternational business

Advisory board With representatives fromDanish industry, alumniand CBS

With top academics andCEOs of MNCs

With leading Italianbusiness managers andleading academics

Previously with seniormanagers, later with seniorresearchers

Alumni network Not yet so active Very active and involved inadmission procedures

Very active Starting to be active

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Table 2 Differences among programmes

Issue CBS IESE SDA-Bocconi Uppsala

Organization of theprogramme

Facilities rented from CBS,organized directly underthe president of CBS

Special department withinthe university

Integrated in BocconiUniversity, but a brandname of its own

Integrated in dept ofbusiness studies under aspecial label for financialreasons

Faculty 50% national and 50%international faculty

112 professors (78 fulltime/34 part time), 11nationalities

111/16 national/international faculty +guest lecturers

Core of researchers asteachers + guest lecturers

Grading and exams 13-scale grading system,written exams/projects

ABC-grading system,written exams/projects

Final written exams aftereach course

Pass with distinction, pass/fail after each course,written exams

Main language Danish (English since2001)

English/Spanish Italian/English Swedish

Competitors Other Danish programmes Well known Europeanprogrammes

Other Italian programmes,and the most well knownEuropean programmes

Other programmes in theStockholm/Uppsala region

Partnerships Personal network, scholarsfrom American andEuropean schools

Relation with Harvard andinstitutional agreementamong a group of(mainly) American schools

Institutional agreementamong a group of(mainly) American schools

Personal network, scholarsfrom American andEuropean schools

What is meant byinternationalization

Content (knowledgeabout businessinternationalization) +study trip, internationalfaculty

Language, internationalfaculty, Harvard cases

Language, content(general management)

Content (knowledgeabout businessinternationalization) +study trips

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terms of participants and require few dedicated people. As the MBA programmesat the IESE business school and SDA-Bocconi appear to be very visible andimportant parts of their institutions strategies for reputation, they dedicate alarger structure and staff to them.

Grading systems and exams also differ in the four cases, consistent with localpractices and institutionalized rules. Except for the IESE business school, whichapplies the Harvard system, the programmes have adopted the grading methodscommonly used in the national educational contexts. The language is English intwo cases, and the CBS MBA has been taught in English as well since 2001. Theuse of English is emphasized by the IESE business school and SDA-Bocconi as atangible sign of internationalization, while CBS and Uppsala University do notconsider this as a significant issue.

The programmes differ in how they define their markets and the programmeswith which they compete. While the two Scandinavian programmes define otherprogrammes in their regions as competitors, the other two are competing in amore international market, primarily with other well-known European pro-grammes.

Similarities indicate that these are aspects considered by universities andbusiness schools as widespread elements to conform with, and differences areaspects that are seen as open to local adaptation. We define similar aspects aselements within the MBA model and different aspects as elements outside the MBAmodel, respectively, but the conceptual separation between aspects within andoutside the MBA model has no self-evident boundaries. As a matter of fact certainelements reported in the four cases may appear at the same time as parts of theMBA model and as outside the model.

From our theoretical framework, we conclude that neither similarities nordifferences follow automatically as an idea or a programme is formed. So the MBAmodel remains vague, even if it is widely circulating. We may describe this in termsof a split institutionalization: while the MBA label has definitely become aninstitutionalized part of European management education, the content and shapeof MBA programmes are not institutionalized but remain open to transformationand local variations. In addition, we argue that similarities and differencesrespectively reflect the effect of homogenizing and heterogenizing forces.

We distinguish between two homogenizing forces, one that decreases with theproliferation, and another that increases with the proliferation. The first homogen-izing force is related to which models are available and attractive for others toimitate. We suggest that, in relation to later starters, earlier starters had fewermodels to imitate when starting their MBA programme and modelling it on thosealready in operation. When there is only one or a few models available forimitation we can expect programmes to become more similar over time. As thenumber and variations of programmes increase, those starting programmes haveseveral options to use as models and hence programmes tend to be less similar.

The second homogenizing force is with regard to the diffusion of rankings andaccreditation procedures. Many initiatives have been taken to formulate standardsand criteria for what a good European MBA programme is. These initiatives haveled towards the development of rankings and quality standards for such pro-grammes (Hedmo, 2004; Wedlin, 2004). It is striking how similar standards emergein the rankings and accreditations (Hedmo et al., 2006). A few programmes



appear at the top of most of those lists, so even though the number of rankers islarge, and they are not interrelated in any formal way, they tend to follow similarlines (Wedlin, 2004). These assessments point out just a few programmes as beingthe best; they are also seen as prototypes for institutions that start new pro-grammes.

Many attempts have been made to establish standards for the European MBAs(Hedmo, 2004). The European Quality Link (EQUAL) organization, hosted andlaunched by the efmd, published a set of guidelines toward the end of the 1990s(efmd, 1998) for accreditation of European MBAs. These guidelines and standardsare even published on the Internet. The guidelines are not based on a singleexisting programme, but are the result of negotiations among those providingMBA programmes and those assessing them (Hedmo, 2004). In this way, templatesaimed at homogenizing at least certain aspects of a diffused model are formed as amix of experiences of programmes, categorizations and norms for what goodmanagement education is (Wedlin, 2004).

These two homogenizing forces follow very different paths over time. While thefirst force could be expected to wither with time, the second one builds up as MBAprogrammes proliferate and become increasingly institutionalized.

Along with homogenizing forces, we distinguish three heterogenizing forces:national drivers, mode of adoption, and timing. Several of the differences weidentified in the four case studies, for instance regarding grades and exams, andorganization of the programme, seem to follow from differences in nationalcontext. When the MBA was introduced in Europe, established systems of highereducation in management already existed, so, at least initially, the newprogrammesadded on the top or to the margin of the old systemhad to beadapted to the established systems. In this sense, an interesting argument mightlink national differences to the globalization trend. As the MBA is presented as aglobal label (it is also widespread in emerging economies such as Eastern Europe,Latin America and, increasingly, Asia), it is accepted in the national context.However, the national context provides the framework for its local construction.This oscillation between global trends and local framework characterizes most ofthe debate about homogeneity or heterogeneity as the outcome of globalization(Borja and Castells, 1997) and has also led to the new words glocalization (forthe history and application of this word, see also Czarniawska et al., 2001).

Variations may also follow from the ways in which programmes have beenstartedthe process of adopting the MBA label. The Uppsala MBA programmewas started when public funding was made available, by a group of localresearchers who saw the possibilities of spreading their research findings to thebusiness community, and also to establish better contacts with the businesscommunity. The IESE business school programme was started as part of acollaboration between Harvard Business School and the University of Navarra. TheCBS programme was started in an effort to create a high-status education inDenmark as an alternative for Danish executives who would otherwise have goneabroad to obtain an MBA, and to generate additional resources. While thesouthern European programmes were started directly as MBAs, the northernEuropean programmes emerged in a more incremental manner, with fragments ofearlier programmes being blended with new elements as they came to be labelledand formed as MBAs. Where the launch of MBA programmes followed a more



incremental process, it is likely that the formal aspects of the programme, such asthe admission procedure, grading and teaching methods, would have not been asclearly established from the start by imitating existing practices. So these formalaspects would probably have remained open to construction in line with localtraditions and contingencies.

A third heterogenizing force can be found in the timing of adopting the labelMBA. Changes in the market for MBA degrees, technological changes, changes inthe business structure of various countries, and so on, are of course importantexplanations that are related to the timing of adoption of the MBA label and thestarting time of the programme. Looking back over the diffusion and developmentof MBA programmes during the 20th century we did not find a single originalprogramme on which others have been modelled. When the first MBA programmewas started in Europe in the 1950s it was half a century after the first MBA degreeswere awarded in the USA, and the American programmes and conceptions of anMBA had not remained unchanged over this period of time (Daniel, 1998). So,even if we assume that each institution that started a new MBA programme directlyimitated an existing model, we would expect these programmes to differ, not onlybecause they translated and adapted the models differently, but also because theyhad imitated different models.

Looking at the patterns of circulation and proliferation of MBA programmes,the early adopters started their programmes as a result of direct personal orinstitutional contacts with American schools, and with an explicit imitation ofspecific schools. A few of the early programmes, like that of the IESE businessschool, were even started by American schools as part of postwar US programmesto restore European societies and economies. Therefore during this phase theMBA was clearly exported from the USA to Europe and the American schools aswell as American funding bodies took an active part in this process (see Engwalland Zamagni, 1998 and Gemelli, 1996 for more details on the role of US fundingbodies and governmental agencies in promoting management education inpostwar Europe). We could thus label the first wave the American wave.

In the second wave it does not seem as clear that programmes started as copiesof American programmes. Instead, at this time quite a few leading Europeanprogrammes served as prototypes for new European programmes. The organizersof the Uppsala and the Copenhagen programmes referred to several Americanand European programmes as their sources of inspiration. What is more, duringthis period a number of more active initiatives were taken by European organiza-tions such as the EU and the efmd to support new programmes throughoutEurope. Hence, those interested in starting a new MBA programme could look notonly to other programmes for inspiration, but also to the guidelines, rankings andstandards published in the USA as well as in Europe. Even though many newprogrammes are still looking to the USA for their role models and are still seekingto imitate those programmes, the second wave is much clearly driven as aEuropean process. Hence, we could label this second wave the European wave.

Whether homogenizing or heterogenizing forces prevail with regard to MBAprogrammes remains an open empirical question. Proposed standards are openand changing, with the expressed aim of allowing some variation. We know fromstudies in other areas that we can expect quite a lot of decoupling in organiza-



tions, meaning that even though they adapt their talk and their presentations tothe established standards, they may not follow these standards in practice(Brunsson, 1989; Meyer and Rowan, 1977). However, studies also show that suchloose couplings tend to be less stable over time, possibly leading to a quest forreforming practice (Brunsson and Olsen, 1993; Brunsson and Sahlin-Andersson,2000). Again, in the diffusion of MBA programmes, local adaptation and homo-geneity appear to coexist.

Conclusions and Further Research

This article was based on an initial study of the expansion and development ofMBA programmes throughout Europe. The aim of the study was twofold: First weaddressed two research questions: a) the extent to which the circulation of MBAprogrammes throughout Europe occurred by reproducing an unchanged labelimported from the USA; and b) how MBAs change as they are being circulated.Second, we question the widespread assumption that circulation of ideas andpractices leads towards homogeneity.

The first aim was intended to further our understanding of how managementeducation in Europe has developed and to learn more about how MBA modelsand labels change over time and across space. The second aim was intended todevelop the New Institutional arguments on social pressures towards homogeneityand heterogeneity.

From our case studies, we argue that similarities and differences in the MBAprogrammes reveal the coexistence of forces driving towards homogeneity andheterogeneity of European management education. We found support for theassumption that the local context shapes the form and content of the MBA model.So, in spite of the stability of the MBA label, no stable MBA model has beenimported into Europe from the USA. The MBA circulation stabilizes someelements of the programmes, leaving others open for local adaptation.

No evidence can therefore be drawn in support of the prevalence of homogen-ization over heterogenization in the management education field. Instead, circula-tion of a vague model seems to allow for both variance in the local application andstabilization of certain elements. In this last section we speculate further on a fewissues that this study has pointed out as crucial in this context and indicate howthese issues can be studied further.

By extending the study to involve programmes that started much later and afterinitiatives taken by the EU and other international organizations, we could learnmore about the various phases in the spreading of the model, and more abouthow the two homogenizing forces addressed above co-develop. One might, forexample, expect that as the MBA model becomes more well known and diffusedthe more homogeneous expectations of what an MBA is will evolve and, thus,more model elements may be attached to the label with less space for localtranslation. The late adopters may be expected to be similar, not because theycopy the same original model, but because similarities have been constructed asthe model has spread.



Some of the later programmes started as a result of financing offered by the EUand others, and many of the later adopters have had access to several presenta-tions, comparisons and evaluations of existing programmes. As we have men-tioned, many of these comparisons and evaluations are made by independentorganizations (accreditation organizations) and mass media (rankings). It is notuncommon to find descriptions and ratings of MBA programmes in journals,newspapers and special reports, at a national as well as European level. Throughsuch comparisons and evaluations a standardized model of (a European) MBAhas evolved (see Hedmo, 2004; Wedlin, 2004). There are also a number ofnetworks as well as standardizing bodies in America and in Europe. Someprogrammes have been accredited in the last couple of years by AACSB andAMBA, which means these programmes have been required to meet certainprescribed criteria. Thus there are a number of regulators and potential regulatorsin the field. In order to understand the expansion and development of MBAprogrammes as well as the development of management education in Europe ingeneral, it seems of crucial importance to learn more about these potentialregulators and how they may edit the circulated models.

One might also speculate whether the early adopters have changed theirprogrammes in view of later adopted programmes, either through learning fromthem or through reacting against them. As the label has become so widespread itseems as though the early adopters have sought ways to maintain a unique positionand distinguish themselves from the many late adopters.

Another question related to this issue concerns the relationship between theAmerican and the European programmes. We have speculated about the fact thatlate adopters may affect early European adopters. As the label diffuses and manynew programmes start, the old and more established programmes seek ways todistinguish themselves from the rest. One way is through accreditation andstandardization. Another way is to organize exchange programmes and the likebetween certain schools, at the same time excluding others (see Brunsson andJacobsson, 2000 for similar arguments and examples). Studies of the collaborationbetween the American and the European accrediting organizations imply thatAmerican programme organizers do not only seek to influence their followers inEurope, but also search for experiences and insights and try to learn from theseEuropean followers (Hedmo, 2004). A comparison between European and Amer-ican programmes could show in more detail what impact such collaborations haveon the programmes and whether such reciprocal learning efforts are true forAmerican programmes in relation to programmes in the rest of the world as well.Have American MBA programmes changed as a result of the circulation of themodel around the world or have they more or less remained the same?

In this article we have focused on the proliferation of MBA programmesthroughout Europe. The several MBA programmes, and the whole field oforganizations surrounding them, also form channels through which managementideas are circulated. In the wider picture the proliferation of MBA programmes ispart of, and can be seen as, a driving force towards wider spreading ofmanagement ideas (Sahlin-Andersson and Engwall, 2002). Studies could indicatewhether the MBA programmes form such channels through which managementideas spread. Do these programmes have an impact on other educationalprogrammes? And how do they affect the participants and management in those



companies where these participants work? We have shown that on the one hand itseems that the adoption of MBA labels does not mean that identical models arebeing adopted everywhere, but there is room for translation and local adaptation.When adopting this label, however, it might be the case that universities as well asparticipating companies and students take part in establishing channels throughwhich further homogenization may evolve. One may in this context ask how andwhere variation can be created.

Notes

1. We would like to thank Tina Hedmo for suggesting the distinction between the twowaves in terms of American and European waves.

2. The following section is a summary of four case studies. The Italian and Spanish casestudies were done by Carmelo Mazza; the Danish case study was done jointly byChristian Honore and Jesper Strandgaard Pedersen; and the Swedish case study wasdone by Tina Hedmo and Susanne berg. Anders Ivarsson took part in the initial phaseof the Swedish study.

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Contact Addresses

Carmelo Mazza is a Professor at the University of Roma La Sapienza, Italy and GrenobleEcole de Management, France.[email: [email protected]]Kerstin Sahlin-Andersson is a Professor in the Uppsala University Department of BusinessStudies, Box 513, SE 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden.[email: [email protected]]Jesper Strandgaard Pedersen is a Professor at Copenhagen Business School, Departmentfor Organization and Industrial Sociology, Solbjerg Plads 3, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Den-mark.[email: [email protected]]



european constructions of an american model: develpments of four mba programmes

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label mba

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mba programmesabstract

proliferation of programmes

management learningcopyright

local variations

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