Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2007
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Learning & Education

Relevance and Rigor: Executive Education as a Lever in Shaping Practice and Research

By: Michael L. Tushman, Amy Fenollosa, Dan McGrath, Charles A. O'Reilly and Adam Michael Kleinbaum
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:21
ShareBar

Abstract

As professional schools, business schools aspire to couple research rigor with managerial relevance. There has been, however, a concern that business schools are increasingly uncoupled from practice and that business school research lacks real world relevance. This relevance-rigor gap affects the quality of our teaching as well as the institutional legitimacy of our business schools. We argue that executive education is an underutilized context that can enhance the quality of faculty research as well as our impact on managerial practice. Using evaluation data from variations of a single executive education program, we find that action-learning programs significantly enhance both individual and organizational outcomes compared to traditional executive education formats. Action-learning programs also enhance our teaching and research efforts. Building on these results and experiences, we suggest that executive education in general, and action-learning in particular, are fertile contexts where business schools can bridge the relevance-rigor gap.

Keywords

Business Education; Executive Education; Learning; Teaching; Management; Practice; Research

Citation

Tushman, Michael L., Amy Fenollosa, Dan McGrath, Charles A. O'Reilly, and Adam Michael Kleinbaum. "Relevance and Rigor: Executive Education as a Lever in Shaping Practice and Research." Academy of Management Learning & Education 6, no. 3 (September 2007): 345–365.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Michael L. Tushman

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • October 2022 (Revised December 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress

    By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game

    By: Andrew Binns, Charles A. O'Reilly III and Michael Tushman
    • Winter 2022
    • MIT Sloan Management Review

    Leading Disruption in a Legacy Business: A Compelling Growth Ambition Is a Critical Enabler for New Ventures

    By: Andy Binns, Michael Tushman and Charles O'Reilly
More from the Authors
  • Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman
  • Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game By: Andrew Binns, Charles A. O'Reilly III and Michael Tushman
  • Leading Disruption in a Legacy Business: A Compelling Growth Ambition Is a Critical Enabler for New Ventures By: Andy Binns, Michael Tushman and Charles O'Reilly
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College