Ready to ‘Escape the Economy’? Latin American MBAs’ Cognitive Disconnects Concerning Degrowth, Societal Well-Being, and Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

Based on an exploratory survey-based study among 186 MBA students from six Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, México, Peru, and Uruguay), we find evidence of both justification of the dubbed “growth ideology”, yet at the same time, signs of critique or, at best, ambivalence pertaining to the role of economic growth in enhancing societal well-being and environmental sustainability. We argue that whereas our results may provide partial support to the prescriptions of system justification theory, they also suggest that current signs of cognitive dissonance among participants may open up opportunities for cognitive change to embrace alternative economic paradigms based on restoration and redistribution. We discuss the implications of our findings for management education.

Keywords: Sustainability, Degrowth, Latin America, Management Education

JEL Classification: M14