Mercury meets Minerva

Business schools constitute large and important elements of the modern academic system throughout the world. The experiences in Sweden show that this position has not been reached without resistance. The development of the discipline there has occurred particularly during the last three decades as a result of governmental support to business education. Before that, several efforts to prevent the introduction of business administration in the traditional universities could be observed. Early in the present century there were barriers to entry from established departments in the universities, which, however, were overcome by supporters of business education through the creation of private business schools in Stockholm and Gothenburg. These two institutions eventually opposed new proposals to introduce business administration at the universities. They abandoned their resistance, however, as government support was necessary for their own survival. The pattern from Sweden seems to have counterparts in several other countries.