The Certainty of Navigating the Uncertain: Resource Allocation Decisions of Business School Deans at Public and Private Research Universities

Abstract

Business school deans at public and private research universities today face particular fiscal challenges due to declining MBA enrollment, shifting student enrollment choices and changing international student enrollment trends. Social and political forces such as the COVID-19 pandemic and recent social justice movements also impacted college campuses as a whole. As a result, business school deans are pivotal decision makers who must make difficult choices, such as initiating layoff or eliminating programs. Given this milieu of factors, understanding how business school deans make resource allocation decisions provides value to understanding college-level leadership. This study examined how organizational factors impact business school deans’ resource allocation decisions. Decisions are also impacted by personal perspectives, which were explored in this study. Framed by Hackman’s Theory of Resource Allocation (1984) and Bolman and Deal’s (2017) Four Frames of Leadership, the findings from written artifacts and oral interviews with 13 business school deans indicated that business deans’ resource allocation decisions were motivated by a desire to increase revenue and generating prestige for their college. Resource allocation choices were also focused on mitigating conflict, managing their personal and college’s relationship with central university leadership, and adjusting their college’s structure to efficiently meet the college’s goals. As such, business school deans most often relied on Hackman’s (1985) environmental power and Bolman and Deal’s (2017) political and structural frames. Implications for preparation and professional development of business school deans emerged, as well as propositions for future research regarding college-level resource allocation decisions.