Overcoming boundaries between companies and business schools: The case of customized executive programs

Abstract

The literature identifies customized executive programs (CEPs) as a significant source of knowledge generation, sharing and distribution within the field of management. For these programs to be successful, overcoming boundaries between companies and business schools needs to be in place. Through the inductive multiple-case study approach, we address the question, “How do business schools and their corporate clients effectively engage in the design and delivery of CEPs?” We find that the two parties jointly use certain boundary objects and create design and delivery trading zones to achieve local coordination to bridge the instrumental, interactional, and cognitive boundaries that separate them. We contribute to the study of customized executive education by developing a grounded process model that emphasizes four factors that lead to successful collaboration, namely, brokering by program directors, boundary crossing, role switching and veiling and unveiling. We conclude by noting the theoretical and managerial implications and providing some concluding remarks.