Searching for excellence in business education

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to contradict past and present perceptions of excellence in business education, and to present excellence as a primary element for future business education in an era of new challenges for global management.Design/methodology/approachThe approach, by which this paper is structured, is theoretical and has been based on literature regarding excellence in business education and philosophical works.FindingsThe findings of the paper support the view that current business education results in a partial conception or misconception of management with immediate consequences in managerial decision making and business activity. Business education should be seen as an odyssey towards personal (balanced spiritual and technocratic) advancement that can pave the way for noble management behaviour.Practical implicationsThe paper brings out an alternative perspective on business education by considering economics and management as part of a unified context. The attainment of excellence in business activity signifies necessary changes in the foundations of business education, so that future managers have a wider and diversified knowledge repository that will allow them to act in a harmonious way.Originality/valueThe paper offers an alternative way of viewing excellence in business education combining knowledge on management and philosophy which perhaps needs to be taken into consideration by business schools worldwide in order to build a mentality of excellence in business behaviour.