Business with Purpose and the Purpose of Business Schools: Re-Imagining Capitalism in a Post Pandemic World: A Conversation with Jay Coen Gilbert, Raymond Miles, Christian Felber, Raj Sisodia, Paul Adler, and Charles Wookey

Abstract

The emergence of innovative business models suggests that the foundational assumptions of competitive capitalism are increasingly in doubt. Business schools, however, appear to be followers rather than leaders in this historical moment of social change. While consumers and businesses are experimenting with new models of capitalism, business schools have been slow to change. What role should business schools play in this emerging new era of purpose-driven capitalism and business with purpose? We explore this question in conversation with six global experts, three in academia and three in practice, who are leading this change. The experts conclude that business must serve the needs of humanity rather than the needs of business. Business schools, therefore, need to reduce their emphasis on how to make businesses more rational and efficient and should instead focus on how businesses can help address more fundamental questions of the human condition.