Lancaster University Management School’s Professor Katy Mason played a key role in the production of a new report examining the health of Business and Management studies, launched by the British Academy, the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences last week.

The report finds Business and Management Studies (BMS) has huge potential to drive positive long-term social change outside of academia, owing to its continuing popularity, diversity and success in addressing social and environmental issues.

Approximately one in six undergraduates and one in five postgraduates in the UK is currently enrolled in a BMS course, making it the UK’s largest academic subject. Key factors contributing to its size include its popularity amongst international students and students from minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as its success in reflecting societal trends across the curriculum.

Asian, Black, Mixed and ‘Other’ minority ethnic students represent 20.5% of all UK-domiciled students in the subject, the highest proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds in any SHAPE subject (Social sciences, Humanities and the Arts) except Law (25.7%). Deans and Programme Directors in BMS credit word of mouth and trust-building amongst communities for the positive cycle of widening participation among ethnic minorities and maintaining a healthy, thriving and growing area of study.

The Academy also finds that BMS schools and departments are increasingly emphasising the role of businesses as agents of societal change. Teaching and research on subjects such as purposeful business and environmental sustainability, and the establishment of internal taskforces on equality, diversity and inclusion are rising in importance within the discipline.

The report highlights BMS schools and departments’ “strong and symbiotic” links to other humanities and social sciences disciplines and that more could be done to celebrate the wide range of applications for its teaching and research in global policy and post-pandemic priorities. One example given was the important role played by behavioural economics and consumer psychology insights from BMS in facilitating the roll out and take up of the vaccinations developed by the pharmaceuticals sector.

The British Academy draws on data from a range of sources, including the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), as well as qualitative data from interviews with Deans and Programme Directors.

Despite the success of the subject, interviewees also noted existing, emerging and potential threats to the long-term health of the discipline, such as:

• Organisational and structural inequalities faced by academic staff, notably for female staff from Black and ‘Other’ minority ethnic backgrounds;
• The discipline’s siloed position within universities and the comparative lack of research funding (£19,111 per head, compared a mean average of £33,861 across social science subjects);
• The reliance on specific international student markets, where students might opt for local provision in future;
• International and private sector competition, particularly from high-quality, low-cost overseas providers.

As current Chair of the British Academy of Management (BAM), Professor Mason welcomes this important report which she says educates a very large - and growing - proportion of students in the UK, and contributes to the skills and knowledge required for national growth.

Professor Mason, who was also a member of the report steering group, added, “It has been a pleasure to work with the British Academy on this important report that outlines the scale and extent of Higher Education in Business and Management. Our discipline is flourishing and is a pivotal point for interdisciplinary activity. Management research has a great deal to offer our communities, both locally and nationally, and is poised to play a significant role in the UK’s recovery from the Covid pandemic.

“This report refers to BAM’s ‘Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Respect’ interim report which is available to its 2000 members in the UK and around the world. It aims to recognise current inequalities within the sector and, through identifying problems, help bring about positive, long-lasting change.”

Prof. Simon Swain FBA, Vice-President (Research and Higher Education Policy) at the British Academy, said: “Business and Management Studies is a thriving, interdisciplinary field that amalgamates subjects from Accounting and Economics to Organisational Psychology and Consumer Behaviour. The knowledge and skills taught on Business and Management courses are hugely valuable to the UK’s society and economy. 

“The discipline possesses many of the keys to the transition to climate-friendly and purposeful economies, the reform of social and economic institutions and the recovery after the pandemic. It accounts for a great deal of the UK’s world-leading, interdisciplinary research and it stands out for its versatility, covering a wide range of social, economic and environmental subjects. Business and Management Studies schools conduct life-changing research which must not be overlooked and will be hugely valuable in the aftermath of the pandemic.”