MBA Graduates and the Financialization of Corporate Culture: Are Business Schools to Blame?

Walk into any top business school classroom, and you’ll find a curriculum dominated by financial theory, shareholder value maximization, and case studies focused on market performance. This finance-first approach to business education has profoundly shaped the mindset of corporate leaders and, by extension, the behavior of American companies.

Graduates of MBA programs earn on average 70% more in finance-related careers compared to their peers, a salary premium that draws the brightest minds into Wall Street and corporate finance departments. This talent concentration perpetuates a cycle where financial metrics overshadow other important business objectives such as innovation, ethics, and social responsibility.

The dominance of short-term incentives is evident in corporate decision-making, where quarterly earnings reports dictate strategy and risk-taking is often measured by immediate stock price effects. This environment discourages long-term investments and fosters behaviors like stock buybacks and dividend payouts that boost share prices but may undermine sustainable growth.

Yet, there is a growing recognition within business education that this narrow focus is insufficient for today’s complex challenges. Some schools are integrating ethics, sustainability, and systems thinking into their curricula, aiming to produce leaders who balance financial acumen with broader societal concerns.

Understanding the educational roots of financialization helps explain why it has become so entrenched in corporate culture and highlights the importance of reforming business education as part of a broader effort to restore balance in the economy.