Multi-Disciplinary Studies in Online Business Education: Observations, Future Directions, and Extensions

Main Focus Of The Chapter

In this chapter, we discuss why the relative lack of work that comprehensively examines the business school curriculum in online teaching and learning is cause for concern, and articulate the potential problems that this lack of attention may create for business schools going forward. We also examine both epistemological and practical reasons for which disciplinary differences between components of the business school curriculum matter in online and blended delivery, and why and how studies of online business education should reflect and better capture these differences. That discussion is followed by a report of the primary findings from multi-disciplinary studies in business education published to date. The chapter concludes with a discussion of potential implications for research specific to business education that could be extended to studies of online teaching and learning in other disciplines. Although this chapter explicitly examines the state of research on online teaching and learning within business schools, we hope that it also may stimulate scholars in other disciplines to consider their fields more comprehensively when designing and conducting research.