Between mission and market: Is diversity a strategic issue for French business schools?

Abstract

This article analyzes the diversity policies implemented by French business schools as part of their strategy and more specifically focuses on mid-ranking schools, which are strongly subject to challenges of competition and differentiation on their markets. We explore to what extent a diversity policy can be a solution to combine the economic and social rationales of these hybrid organizations. From an exploratory and qualitative study carried out with seven management Grandes Ecoles, we highlight how these business schools develop their diversity policies and combine multiple institutional rationales. Our results conclude on a variable adoption of diversity issues within the studied business schools and highlight that this adoption is largely dependent on the engagement of top management and governance of these issues. We show that for schools that have integrated diversity into their mission and strategy, successfully reconciling economic and social rationales involves reinforcing schools’ reputation and attractiveness, helping students to find meaning in their studies and fostering their professional integration. Two types of tension associated with combining these rationales also emerge from our investigation: tension between diversity and academic excellence on the one hand, and tension between diversity and economic profitability on the other hand.