The study looked at MBA graduates from the so‑called M7 super‑elite US schools who were employed in S&P 500 companies.

It showed that graduates of elite MBA programmes where more likely to be top management team members or CEOs than those with non-elite MBAs or no MBA at all.

However, the study also showed that the benefits of holding an elite MBA were not evenly spread between men, women and minorities, and altered according to the prevailing economic winds.

It showed American men consistently gained the most from investing in an elite MBA. It also confirmed that companies turned to women with elite MBAs in more turbulent times, such as in the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. However, this diversifying effect appeared to be temporary to a degree.

Professor Charles Harvey is Professor of Business History and Management at Newcastle University Business School. He said: “Despite long‑standing critiques of MBA education, elite programmes remain central to how corporate leadership is constructed. Yet our findings show that symbolic legitimacy is uneven and can shift dramatically in crisis periods.”

Professor Mairi Maclean from the University of Bath is co-author of the study. She said: “The value of education continues to be questioned. We wanted to determine whether it is actually worth pursuing an elite MBA, some of which can cost $200,000. The short answer is yes, the benefits are beyond argument in terms of who reaches the most senior posts in the corporate world. But who benefits, and how, is less clear-cut.

“Women with elite MBAs experienced greater career acceleration after that crisis, partly reflecting firms’ increased willingness to appoint female leaders during turbulent periods.

“The same held true for minorities where, possibly, companies were looking for an alternative, more diverse approach to find a way through crisis. However, the picture for minorities is more nuanced. Once that turbulence settled, there was retrenchment - they reverted to their traditional pattern and American men again benefited most from having an elite MBA”.

The study identified four distinct patterns of corporate behaviour towards elite MBAs.

1. Consolidated reproduction. In stable periods, elite MBAs reliably convert into senior appointments, mainly for those who already fit dominant leadership norms.
2. Crisis‑legitimated inclusion. During shocks, such as the Global Financial Crisis, organisations extend accelerated opportunities to some under‑represented groups, especially elite‑educated women.
3. Symbolic accommodation. Partial, instrumental inclusion of outsiders into senior roles, without endorsing them fully for the top.
4. Defensive retrenchment. Post‑crisis contraction where firms reassert traditional boundaries, which disproportionately harms non‑US nationals.

“Our research does not stretch to the present day but it would not be surprising to find, given the political culture and economic environment in the United States right now, that companies are currently leaning more to defensive retrenchment,” Professor Maclean added.

Published in Academy of Management Learning & Education, the study was led by Professor Maclean in collaboration with Newcastle University and researchers at the Universities of Aberdeen and Alberta.

Reference: “Elite MBAs in the Making of Top Business Careers”. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 2026. DOI: doi.org/10.5465/amle.2024.0437

Press release adapted with thanks to the University of Bath