Abstract

"Harvard-on-Thames? Rethinking the impact of materiality on the exportation of American models of higher education"

Matthew Hollow, University of York (matthew.hollow@york.ac.uk)

In recent years, much has been written about the so-called ‘Americanization’ of management education in Europe in the post-1945 era and the impact that American ideas, norms, and practices have had on the development of management education systems around the world (David & Schaufelbuehl, 2015; Hommel & Thomas, 2014; McLaren et al., 2021). Thanks to this burgeoning body of research, we now have a much clearer understanding of the mechanisms and channels through which American ideas about management education were promoted around the world (Amdam, 2007; Üsdiken, 2004), as well as a much stronger sense of how specific cultural differences and local variations have influenced the way that these American-inspired norms were interpreted and applied in different areas of the world (Djelic & Amdam, 2007; Kipping et al., 2004).
One area that has relatively little attention in this literature, however, is the impact that material and spatial factors had on efforts to import US models of management education overseas. This study begins to redress this issue by focussing in-depth on the challenges involved in the design, planning, and construction of the physical spaces of the London Business School — one of the most prominent advocates of the US model of management education in this period (Wilson, 1992). In the process, it not only contributes to the historical literature on the Americanization of management education by illustrating how the historical trajectories of such institutions can be influenced and shaped by material constraints, it also highlights the methodological possibilities afforded by engaging with typically overlooked archival sources such as architectural plans, design documents, and planning correspondence.