The Future of the Planet in the Hands of MBAs: An Examination of CEO MBA Education and Corporate Environmental Performance.

Abstract

Several critics contend that MBA education is irrelevant to practicing managers (e.g., Mintzberg, 2004), while others suggest it creates a pro fits- first mentality without regard for moral considerations (e.g., Ghoshal, 2005). Based on these criticisms, we explore the implications for CEOs with an M BA degree-specifically, if and how their M BA ed ucation might influence their firms' corporate environmental performance (CEPJ. Extant literature provides conflicting arguments; therefore, we empirically tested the relationship using a sample of 416 S&P 500 CEOs and found a significant positive association between CEOs with M BAs and CEP, even alter accounting for several firm- and individual-level characteristics. In addition, post-hoc analysis revealed that the MBA program ranking had no effect on CEP.