CSR and legitimacy in higher education accreditation programs, an isomorphic approach of Lebanese business schools

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/QAE-04-2018-0053
Pages70-81
Published date04 February 2019
Date04 February 2019
AuthorCharbel Chedrawi,Pierrette Howayeck,Abbas Tarhini
Subject MatterEducation
CSR and legitimacy in higher
education accreditation programs,
an isomorphic approach of
Lebanese business schools
Charbel Chedrawi
Department of Business and Management,Universite Saint-Joseph,Beirut, Lebanon
Pierrette Howayeck
Universite Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Lebanon, and
Abbas Tarhini
Lebanese American University School of Arts and Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inuence of the accreditation path toward
legitimacyin business schools from an isomorphic anda social responsibility perspective.
Design/methodology/approach A qualitative method is used to analyzethe Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)accreditation process in three Lebanese business schools aiming at
revealinga new role of corporate social responsibility(CSR) in this process.
Findings Accreditationin business schools is a temporary isomorphic legitimacytoolenhanced by CSR
in a continuum thatmay lead to sustainlegitimacy in higher education once accreditation is attained.
Research limitations/implications This research has its limitations aroundthe external validity of
the qualitative methods. In fact, the authorsresults depend on the context of the three studied business
schools, and the generalizationof the results was never the authorsprimary objective. Further researchmust
be done to build and elaborate on the authorsndings, either within the authorssample or within other
businessschools in Lebanon.
Practical implications Corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) can play a major role in guaranteeingand
sustaining legitimacyin the phase after accreditation. May be this was the philosophy behind the proposition
of the AACSB of the new standard regarding CSR in 2013 highlightingthe importance of ethics, CSR, and
sustainabilityeducation in business schools.
Originality/value Accreditation in business schools is a temporary isomorphic legitimacy toolenhanced
by CSR in a continuum that may lead to sustainlegitimacy in higher education once accreditation is attained.
Keywords CSR, Legitimacy, Quality Assurance, Higher education, Accreditation, Isomorphism
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In recent years, major changes had encountered the higher education sector (Zhao and
Ferran, 2016), from globalization and the ascent of Information and Communication
Technologies to the changes in the marketization of higher education (Natale and Doran,
2012); business schools cannot be immune to these changes and have to adapt to the new
external environment(Zhao and Ferran, 2016).
For Schomaker (2105), the mostimportant pillar in quality assurance in higher education
is the accreditation of education institutions through specialized accreditation agencies.
QAE
27,1
70
Received30 April 2018
Revised20 September 2018
Accepted21 December 2018
QualityAssurance in Education
Vol.27 No. 1, 2019
pp. 70-81
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/QAE-04-2018-0053
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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