MOOCs and the Online Delivery of Business Education: What's New? What's Not? What Now?

Abstract

While the past two decades have produced much promise (and accompanying research) on the use of information technology (IT) in business school courses, it is not entirely clear whether IT has truly 'transformed' management education. There are compelling arguments on both sides. On one hand, advocates for the transformative role of IT can point to several success stories. On the other hand, skeptics on the role of IT in management education can also point to support for their view.

This lack of consensus has led researchers in Academy of Management Learning and Education to call for scholars to confront the bias against online education (Redpath, 2012) and engage in serious research on online education (Arbaugh, DeArmond, & Rau, 2013). In this work, we respond to these calls for research by using Adaptive Structuration Theory to develop a conceptual model of three factors that influence the use of IT in business education. We review prior research for each factor and use the conceptual model to identify implications for the design and delivery of business education. Based on the implications, we offer recommendations and recognize challenges for business schools and faculty related to the use of IT in business education.

Keywords: Business, Education, Environment, Institution, IT, Learning, Management, MOOC, Online, Teaching, Technology, University