Project in progress - Grantees selected - More information to be posted on this page when available.

The Business Schools Association of Canada (BSAC) invites proposals for research, which examine the future of business education leadership and inform leaders responsible for the strategic direction of business schools in Canada. The research must be conducted within the context of a changing business and educational landscape, which includes new expectations from varying stakeholders in relation to diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and social impact.

This call for research aims to provide insights for business schools as they navigate the post‐pandemic society and economy and to seek to establish leadership in a critical agenda for Canada. The objective is to investigate leadership of business schools, the career advancement of deans, associate deans, department chairs, - etc. -, and how to effectively engage in succession planning to build a robust pool of business dean candidates across Canada. More research is needed to understand this unique context.

This study is supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.

The prevalence of workplace incivility in academic settings is on the rise. Understanding how university leaders navigate the accompanying subtle but damaging behaviours is critically important because perpetrators in this context are often ‘smart bullies’ who understand violence and harassment policy and can evade reprimand. This study explores workplace incivility experienced by business school leaders as victims and managers of these behaviours, based on three primary research questions:

1. What acts of incivility are academic leaders experiencing?
2. What impact does incivility have on the leaders who receive it?
3. What strategies do academic leaders employ to manage incivility in their schools?

The study, conducted in the winter of 2023, utilized a qualitative research approach that integrated constructivist philosophy with inductive research methods. The study participants included deans, associate deans, and department chairs from selected Canadian institutions. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the semi-structured interviews.

The results showed that incivility is ubiquitous, largely unaddressed, and significantly impacts leaders, faculty members, and their schools. The report presents two recommendations highlighting the critical need to support academic leadership development and civility education and awareness.

This study prepared by Leda Stawnychko (Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University), was supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.

Within the context of the TRC’s call to actions and the recognition of the engagement gap that was outlined in the BSAC call for proposals, this research sought to co-create a comprehensive framework that business schools can use to enhance allyship and meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples.

The premise of this research is that for business schools to effectively collaborate with Indigenous partners and communities, they must first cultivate a strong ethos of Indigenous engagement and allyship on the inside, within their own institutions. This in turn is built on the assumption that an organization’s internal culture is imperative to its success in developing partnerships and stakeholder relationships.

This report outlines the multiple stages of the research project focused on allyship with Indigenous Peoples. It begins with a synthesis of the current literature on the topic followed by a summary of the methodology, specifically the implementation of sharing circles. The report then presents findings with insights from sharing circles with students, and faculty and staff, along with a co-created framework that highlights the convergence of thoughts between these sharing circle groups. Finally, key takeaways and recommended next steps for business schools are discussed, emphasizing the importance of true allyship to building effective relationships with Indigenous organizations and communities, with the goal of forming meaningfully engaged and mutually beneficial partnerships.

This study prepared by Maureen Bourassa, Dana Carriere, Marjorie Delbaere and Joelana Leader (Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan) with the collaboration of Lauren Aussant, Kayla Benoit, Dante Carter and Brooke Listwin (University of Saskatchewan), was supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.

The research study focus is to fill a void by reclaiming Okâwîmâwaskiy (Cree word for Mother Earth), its objective is to provide a space for Iskwewak (Cree word for women) to share their creation âcimowin (Cree word for story) and gifts while connecting back to culture and community.

The study focuses on capturing an Indigenous research methodology and worldview by using a narrative approach. The primary deliverables are to identify and recognize the social value of Indigenous entrepreneurship and the importance of passing this knowledge onto the next inter-generational Iskwewak (Cree word for Women) leaders.

This study prepared by Delilah Mah under the supervision of Melissa Dobson (Cape Breton University), was supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.

The Business Schools Association of Canada (BSAC) is delighted to present Leading the Way in the COVID-19 Recovery - Results from the 2021 Canadian Business School Survey.

This important piece of research - a collaboration between BSAC and QS Quacquarelli Symonds - serves a vital reflection on the turbulent 18 months we have experienced as a business school community, and what the future might hold as we look towards the future beyond the current pandemic.

Canada’s business schools have clearly shown a great deal of resilience to continue teaching without interruption throughout the academic year, while in many cases managing to maintain or even improve student satisfaction and achievement levels. This performance is a credit to the administrators, academics, teachers and students who persevered throughout the darkest days of the pandemic.

Encompassing the collective wisdom of 15 deans who volunteered to take part in an interview, as well as the results of an online survey to which all BSAC member schools were invited to participate, the report paints a picture of initial struggles in the early stages of the pandemic, which were met with resilience, ingenuity and entrepreneurship by teaching staff, administrators, and students alike.

This study evaluates the degree to which Canadian business schools have advanced the implementation of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in comparison to global leaders (PRME Champions). Reis and Neto’s (2020) analytical framework was used to evaluate 41 Sharing Information Process (SIP) reports, published by 26 PRME Champions and 16 Canadian PRME signatories.

The results show that wide gaps exists between the practices of PRME Champions and those of Canadian business schools. Out of the 6 PRME principles, the ‘VALUES’ principle presents the largest gap (44%), followed by the ‘RESEARCH’ principle and the ‘PURPOSE’ principle.

To close the identified gaps, this report presents a set of best practices from PRME Champions that Canadian business schools can implement in a phased approach. In addition, overall recommendations for Business Schools Association of Canada (BSAC) and its members are presented to further advance Canadian business schools' ability to embed sustainability. These recommendations include, (1) providing resources to its members to embed sustainability throughout their programs based on best practices, (2) creating a national student/faculty PRME consulting committee to review BSAC members’ PRME reports before they are published, and (3) developing performance management tools that collect and amalgamate the performance data across the PRME principles for all BSAC members.

This study prepared by Houston Peschl (Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary) with the collaboration of Ilyup Sug, Emma Ripka and Sara Canizales (University of Calgary), was supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.

The Business Schools Association of Canada (BSAC) is proud to present its new associated online platform: Study Business in Canada.

Canada has an attractive offer to international students. While the number is growing, there is the potential for this to accelerate. At a time when competition is growing internationally for students, it is important for a country to have a distinctive offer.

The overall objective of this initiative is to promote Canada and Canadian business schools as an excellent location for business education, both for International and Canadian students. The purpose is also to raise Canada’s profile as a country with an outstanding and comparatively affordable education system that has great business schools, a high quality of life, a diverse population and excellent economic opportunities.

BSAC member schools benefit from a ‘brand Canada’ approach, including a content-led initiative that highlights the advantages of study in Canada.

Visit the website Study Business in Canada.

L'Association des écoles de gestion du Canada (AEGC) est fière de présenter une nouvelle plateforme en ligne : Étudier la gestion au Canada.

Le Canada propose déjà une offre attrayante pour les étudiants internationaux et nous constatons qu’ils sont de plus en plus nombreux à nous choisir. Il est toutefois important dans le contexte très compétitif dans lequel nous oeuvrons de continuer à nous distinguer pour profiter entièrement du potentiel de recrutement des bassins internationaux.

L’objectif général de cette initiative est de promouvoir le Canada et les écoles de gestion canadiennes commun une destination de choix tant pour les étudiants internationaux que canadiens. L'objectif est également de rehausser le profil du Canada en tant que pays doté d'un système d'éducation exceptionnel et relativement abordable, doté d'excellentes écoles de gestion, d'une qualité de vie élevée, d'une population diversifiée et d'excellentes opportunités économiques. Appuyés par du contenu qui mettra en valeur les avantages d’étudier la gestion au Canada, nous comptons positionner le Canada comme un pays doté d’un excellent système d’éducation relativement abordable où les écoles gestion offrent des programmes de qualité internationale dans un milieu de vie sécuritaire, multiculturel et à fort potentiel économique.

Les écoles membres de l'AEGC bénéficieront ainsi d’une approche qui s’articule autour de la « marque Canada », et axée sur le contenu qui met en évidence les avantages d'étudier au Canada.

Rendez-vous sur le site Étudier la gestion au Canada.

This research initiative is focused on an empirical study with respect to the Concordia University’s summer institute, “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)”. This study’s objective is to contribute to expanding our understanding of EDI at the intersection of STEM/Business Management in higher education.

This report presents a background to this summer institute, a literature review and the methodology. It also presents empirical findings and analysis of a survey administered to participants in the summer institute, and the results of two semi-structured interviews.

The eight recommendations are built on the literature review, and on these empirical findings and results. They also reflect the limitations of the study which is the small sample size. The top three recommendations include building intentionality with respect to EDI, lobbying and seeking funding to build such a framework of EDI in higher education institutions, and inviting industry representatives and persons in power to speak to EDI concerns at this intersection. Future work in this particular area is also considered, such as a follow on study with a larger sample size, and closes this report.

This study prepared by Stefanie Ruel (John Moslon School of Business, Concordia University) and Tanja Tajmel (Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University), was supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.