The rapid rise of corporate universities, online degree programs, and the explosive growth in executive education all serve as signals to universities that the concept of a learning organization continues to gain momentum in the business community. This paper has the objective of describing a new model for academic/industry partnerships that utilizes traditional professional aspects of higher education (research, teaching, and consulting) to assist individual businesses in their quest to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
The paper first describes the model, discusses implications for business and the academy and then describes its application in an organization.
The educonsulting (EC) model gives businesses a method linking their investment in education programs to their business strategy, in turn providing a potentially greater return on the investment in human capital development. In addition, the model provides a school of business with a systemic means of professionally developing its faculty and improving its stakeholder relationships.
The EC model described in this paper provides a blueprint for innovative colleges of business and their business partners to link individual development and organizational development to achieve their respective strategic goals.
