Sustainability as an Ethical Aspect of the Theory-Practice Gap in Business Schools

Guoxin Ma(Salford Business School, University of Salford, Greater Manchester, M54WT, United Kingdom)

Abstract

This paper aims to reframe sustainability as an ethical aspect of the theory-practice gap in business and management education for sustainable development, which should be viewed as an integral part of knowledge produced and disseminated in business schools. The paper adopts a narrative approach to review the relevant literature on two streams of research, namely, the theory-practice gap and sustainability in reforming business schools. The synthesis and discussion of the existing literature suggest that while sustainability is frequently viewed with an ethical sentiment, the existing research overlooks its significance in bringing together knowledge and practice in business schools. This paper highlights the potential of sustainability as a theoretical lens in bridging the theory-practice gap in business schools; proposing to rethink the conceptual space that lies in ethics for further theoretical developments. The author urges business and management scholars to engage in burgeoning debates on business school reforms relating to the theory-practice gap and sustainability with an emphasis on ethics. The author contends that the neglected theoretical linkages between the theory-practice gap and sustainability provide fruitful directions for future research. Through a moral lens, business schools can move toward responsible management education for a more sustainable future.

Keywords

Management education; Business school; Sustainability; Theory-practice gap; Moral education; Ethical aspect of knowledge; Reform

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26549/jsbe.v6i2.15891