Transforming Business Schools Through Blended Value

Business schools face increasing scrutiny for their limited societal contributions and often primarily focus on financial value creation. Despite growing interest in sustainability and ethics, transformative change in business education remains constrained by entrenched institutional logics and narrow value systems. This conceptual article develops a blended value framework that redefines the value proposition of business schools by integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions of value creation. Drawing on institutional theory, stakeholder theory, and ecological economics, the framework conceives of business schools as civic institutions embedded in multi-actor ecosystems and capable of generating non-substitutable, co-created value in four interdependent domains: teaching and learning, research and knowledge, engagement and outreach, and governance and strategy. We propose a systemic value activity model, a theory of change architecture, and domain-specific implementation pathways supported by exemplary key performance indicators. By demonstrating how blended value can be operationalized within public and publicly funded business schools, this article bridges the gap between critique and practice and offers a roadmap for sustainable institutional transformation and enhanced societal relevance.