Alternatives for business school governance: charting untapped research territory

Purpose - With today’s business faculty being tasked with making meaningful contributions to their community, corporate stakeholders, as well as in research and student learning, this makes faculty engagement and performance outputs key to metrics of college success. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand how faculty engage in shared governance at the college level is important to ensure success of the college. Design/methodology/approach - The authors searched for research that examined governance structures in colleges of business and found this has received scant attention. After reviewing the research examining university governance, the authors evaluate how faculty engage in shared governance at the college level. Findings - The authors identify four categories of decision-making that often involve shared governance and outline different shared governance options for colleges of business, along with their pros and cons. The authors posit that the most appropriate governance approach for a college of business depends upon the college’s external environment, culture and other contextual dimensions. Finally, guidance for future research and practice, including considerations for changing governance, is provided. Originality/value - How colleges of business operationalize their governance structures has received scant attention in the management literature.