A statement from the British Academy of Management regarding the value of preserving pluralism within our discipline

The global COVID-19 pandemic has plunged many HEIs into difficult financial situations. Some are having to make tough decisions about their size, shape and specialisations as they move forward. The British Academy of Management is concerned that this should not adversely affect the varied and vibrant nature of our multidisciplinary and methodologically pluralistic field. From critical management to economic modelling, marketing and consumption to strategic management, our community offers value to our society, to business, policy and third sector organisations because of its pluralistic, interdisciplinary nature. Conventional approaches to the grand challenges faced by our political economy, such as the Climate Emergency, have frequently not worked. We can only move forward with such challenges by bringing together these different forms of expertise and knowledge.

The British Academy of Management represents the full field of management studies. We advocate and champion the continuing inclusion of all disciplinary approaches and believe any action to stifle diversity will reduce and inevitably impoverish scholarly dialogue and will diminish the potential force for good in our socio-economic lives. We wish to encourage all institutions that engage in scholarship in the field of business and management to support a holistic approach to this work.