A MULTIPLE-CONSTITUENCY, STATUS-BASED APPROACH TO INTERORGANIZATIONALMOBILITY OF FACULTY AND INPUT-OUTPUT COMPETITION AMONG TOP BUSINESS SCHOOLS

A study of inputs (students and new faculty) and outputs (MBA and Ph.D . graduates) of 20 business schools found that status perceived by cer tain stakeholder groups (constituencies) affects the mobility of indiv iduals between schools and limits the competition among schools for st udent inputs and for output placement. The study examined schools that differed in status perceived by three constituencies: the national bu siness community, the academic community, and MBA students. The result s indicate that, depending on their status in the opinion of different constituencies, the schools engaged in different degrees of student i nput creaming, scrambling for inputs, input targeting, input avoidance , and output streaming (all terms developed as part of the model propo sed herein). The results suggest that in Ph.D. markets, status hierarc hies tend to make groups of schools a closed system, leading to homoso cial reproduction of senior faculties and social isolation and immobil ity for certain Ph.D. graduates. Barriers appear to be created between the subsystems of schools. One major theoretical implication of the s tudy findings is that status hierarchies define patterns of social eco logy of business schools and limit competition for resources. One prac tical implication of the study findings is that schools are at a disad vantage in competing for student inputs and placing MBA and Ph.D. grad uates if they lack status in the national business community. High sta tus in the opinion of students and academics is not associated with al l of the advantages afforded by status in the national business commun ity. Hence, teaching and research strategies designed to achieve statu s among students or academics alone may not be as successful as those that have relevance to the broader ''real world.''