Leadership, Work and Organisation Research Seminar
Leadership, Work and Organisation Research Seminar
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to this very special “double bill” set of two presentations and discussions on the role of business school executive education and the business elites.
Both talks are based on papers forthcoming in the journal Academy of Management Learning & Education. Links to the full papers will be shared as soon as they are available online.
Date: Wednesday 3 June 2026
Time: 10:00 to 12:00
Venue: Online
The first talk is based on historical research into executive education in Finland and will be delivered by Dr Virpi Sorsa from the University of Eastern Finland. The second talk is based on longitudinal data on career trajectories of executives and will be delivered by Professor Charles Harvey from NUBS. Abstracts are provided below.
There will be plenty of time for discussion and Q&A after each presentation and also a short break in-between the two talks. The talks are being scheduled for the same day to enable discussion of any contrasts and connections between the two studies.
This event is online only (Teams). Please feel free to forward this invitation to others with an interest in the topic, including colleagues outside of our University (there are no limits on participant numbers due to holding this online).
PART 1 (10:00-11:00)
Executive Education Tradition: Mechanisms of Business Elite Formation
Forthcoming in Academy of Management Learning & Education
Corresponding author:
Virpi Sorsa
University of Eastern Finland
Business School
Co-authors:
Pasi Nevalainen
University of Jyväskylä
School of Business and Economics
Aleksi Korhonen
Aalto University
School of Business
Juha Kansikas
University of Jyväskylä
School of Business and Economics
Abstract:
Executive education affects business leaders, corporate practices, and, by extension, broader society. Yet research on the executive education programs—and particularly the traditions embedded within them—remains limited. To examine how educational tradition can function as a gateway to the business elite, we conducted a historical case study of the Finnish Institute of Management (LIFIM) and its executive education program from the 1950s to the early 2000s. During this period, LIFIM emerged as a pioneer of executive education in Finland and became the country’s dominant provider. Our study contributes to research on executive education and business elites by identifying four interdependent mechanisms—honoring, educating, networking, and socializing— through which executive education traditions operate as gateways into the business elite. Furthermore, our historical approach extends existing research by revealing how educational traditions are dynamically developed, stabilized, and may eventually erode over time.
PART 2 (11:00-12:00)
ELITE MBAS IN THE MAKING OF TOP BUSINESS CAREERS
Forthcoming in Academy of Management Learning & Education
MAIRI MACLEAN
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
email: kmm57@bath.ac.uk
GERHARD KLING
University of Aberdeen
Edward Wright Building
Aberdeen, AB24 3QY, UK
email: gerhard.kling@abdn.ac.uk
CHARLES HARVEY
Newcastle University
The Frederick Douglass Centre
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 5TG, UK
email: charles.harvey@ncl.ac.uk
WILLIAM M. FOSTER
University of Alberta
Augustana Campus T6G 2R6, Canada
email: wfoster@ualberta.ca
Abstract
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) remains contested, and its long-term association with executive attainment underexplored. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theorization of capital, field, and symbolic power, we analyse the career trajectories of 106,874 S&P 500 executives from 2000 to 2018 using longitudinal BoardEx data. Empirically, we identify consistent patterns in the timing and likelihood of executive advancement associated with elite MBA credentials, even after accounting for demographic and career-related factors. Theoretically, we extend Bourdieu’s framework by proposing a recognition-based typology of elite reproduction under uncertainty, distinguishing consolidated reproduction, crisis-legitimated inclusion, symbolic accommodation, and defensive retrenchment. This typology specifies how the symbolic value of elite credentials is granted, constrained, or withdrawn under varying macro-institutional conditions. Practically, we show that elite MBA programs continue to shape the composition of corporate leadership, albeit unevenly. While American men benefit most consistently, women and non-US nationals experience conditional and shifting recognition, particularly following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). These findings suggest that elite MBAs function not only as educational signals but as socially contingent markers of legitimacy. Overall, our study advances research on management education, inequality, and executive careers by highlighting both temporary inclusion during crises and the reassertion of symbolic boundaries thereafter.