The Good Business School

The Political Imperative of Management in the 21st Century

Carl Rhodes author Alison Pullen author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bristol University Press

Publishing:12th Nov '26

£19.99

This title is due to be published on 12th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

This paperback is available in another edition too:

The Good Business School cover

What makes a ‘good’ business school amid culture wars, inequality, and rising right-wing populism? This book argues that business schools cannot hide behind technocratic or scholarly neutrality. As social impact and stakeholder capitalism moved from boardrooms into lecture theatres, they became lightning rods in political battles over expertise, identity, and power.

From politicising ‘wokeness’ to state intrusion into academic freedom, the struggle is no longer rigour versus relevance but what kind of institution business schools choose to be. This book calls for a democratically engaged business school grounded in public value, committed to intellectual pluralism, and oriented toward shared prosperity.

“This book shows how and why we should care about building a good business school: not for the use of the current oppressive management systems, but for the sake of a future where public value is cherished, prosperity is shared, and where management is a civic practice”, Monika Kostera, University of Warsaw and author of The University of Hope


Rhodes and Pullen cut through the rhetoric and the fantasy to the realities of today's troubled university sector. This clearly written, well-informed and intelligent book shows why older visions for business schools no longer work - but a democratic future is possible.

Raewyn Connell, Professor Emerita of Education at the University of Sydney, author of The Good University


This book shows how and why we should care about building a good business school: not for the use of the current oppressive management systems, but for the sake of a future where public value is cherished, prosperity is shared, and where management is a civic practice.

Monika Kostera, Professor Ordinaria of Economics and the Humanities, University of Warsaw, author of The University of Hope

ISBN: 9781529250916

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

176 pages