This research examines career paths and decision-making processes of Canadian business school Deans and Associate Deans. The goal was to get a picture of who becomes a business school Dean and why, and to learn more about the experience of transitioning into this role.

The study adopted a transition lens because becoming a dean is not a punctuated or discrete event, but rather a process that unfolds over time. Transitions to new roles typically involve a preparation stage, an encounter stage, and an adjustment stage, before individuals reach a stable level of role occupancy/performance (stabilization stage). Before preparation, however, individuals may find themselves not ever having considered becoming a dean. Further, some people will consider a role, such as Dean, or even occupy it briefly, only to find later that it is not a suitable role for them. Thus, some individuals exit transition processes before they reach the stabilization stage.

Researchers spoke to Deans about these stages of their transition process and examined what it was like for them to become Deans, from their perspectives and based on their lived experiences. The study focused first on examining archival data on the population of formally appointed Canadian business school Deans from 2013 to 2024. The second step was focused on primary data gathered through interviews with 8 Deans and 6 Associate Deans. The results offer insights about the development of leadership pipelines in Canadian business schools and a series of seven recommendations grouped in three categories for how to enhance them.

Documents:

• Final Report: An Examination of Canadian Business School Deans’ Decisions to Transition in and out of Deanship [PDF, English]

• Call for Research Proposals [PDF, English]

This study prepared by Tracy Hecht and Kathleen Boies (John Molson School of Business, Concordia University) was supported by the Business Schools Association of Canada and funded through its research grant competition program.