Decorative Integration or Relevant Learning? A Literature Review of Studio Arts-Based Management Education With Recommendations for Teaching and Research

Abstract

This review presents a synthesis of the state of arts-based management education scholarship, with teaching and research recommendations. To begin, the lack of creativity and empathy development in management students is presented. Next, literature-based descriptions of arts-based management exercises focus on how to use improvisational theatre, visual arts (film, collage, drawing, sculpture, and photo-captioning), poetry, narrative writing and storytelling, and music in the management classroom. Then, each art form is analyzed in terms of its capacity to develop creativity (the ability to produce new, useful, and high-quality ideas and products) and empathy (the ability to understand another person’s feelings and want justice for him or her), as conceptualized in recent psychological research. Based on these descriptions and analysis, three arts-based teaching challenges are proposed for advancing practice in this area: confronting the shifting role of instructor and learner; forging collaborations with professional artists, art faculty, and students; and promoting active arts-participation in students. Finally, research recommendations are offered for extending the field with a table of eight design elements.