Business School and the Noble Purpose of the Market
Correcting the Systemic Failures of Shareholder Capitalism
Andrew J. Hoffman
May 2025
392 Pages
Hardcover ISBN: 9781503642461
Today's business schools were designed for a world that no longer exists. Capitalism raised the standard of living for billions of people over the past 150 years, but is now facing systemic challenges, which it is both causing and unable to address: most notably, climate change and inequality. And yet, business schools continue to teach ideas that are making these problems worse: elevating the primacy of shareholder profits above the interests of employees, the environment, and society; viewing government as an intrusion on the free market rather than an arbiter of its proper functioning; and promoting unlimited economic growth despite the devastating environmental and social consequences. Business schools cannot simply drop an elective into their curriculum to address these challenges. We must rethink their foundations.
Business School and the Noble Purpose of the Market explains how b-school students, faculty, and administrators can think differently about reforming capitalism and restoring its noble purpose for the 21st century. Eminent scholar Andrew J. Hoffman describes the intellectual foundations young business leaders need now to deal with the challenges that society faces.
Many students are seeking this kind of education and are frustrated that they are not getting it. This book will help them fill in gaps in their education, equipping them with the models and mindset to rethink shareholder capitalism and serve society's needs. Business faculty and administrators will find a template for amending their curriculum and pedagogy, and a program for institutional change in the areas of rewards, training, engagement, and selection—to bring a new spirit and sensibility to the business school.
"Hoffman's book should be read by every dean, every chair, and every professor of every business school. We should be discussing, debating, and coming to grips with what it means and what we should do."
—Peter Tufano, Former Dean of the Saïd Business School, Oxford University; Professor, Harvard Business School
"This book outlines what I wish my MBA curriculum had taught me and what I had to learn on my own - how to get an MBA education while keeping your morality and optimism intact. Its impact can't be understated - it is a life preserver to save business schools from themselves, so that they can continue to attract the best and brightest business leaders."
—Anya Shapiro, MBA 2022; Lead Business Designer, IDEO
"An urgent call for students and educators to rethink business education and lead the necessary re-foundation of business around purpose, people and planet. This book is an encouragement, a provocation, and an inspiration."
—Hubert Joly, Former CEO of Best Buy; Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School; Author of The Heart of Business
"As a former business school dean who fought tirelessly to reform business education, I loved this book. It is beautifully written and provides great insights into why the current teaching model for business education is broken, and what to do about it."
—Ann Harrison, Former Dean of the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
"An important addition from a leading academic on the debate over how to overhaul management education."
—Andrew Jack, Global Education Editor, Financial Times
"Offers profound and transformational ways for business schools to catch up to 21st century corporate realities. This is the intellectual foundation for the next generation of business leaders. Society needs it, industry is ready for it, and students are demanding it.
—Paul Polman, Former CEO of Unilever; Co-Author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
"Professor Hoffman is bringing one of capitalism's core tenets, creative destruction, to business schools. He is offering a curriculum that the next generation of students need and demand."
—Caroline Chisholm, MBA 2023; Senior Consultant, EY-Parthenon
"How do we transform a market system that is responsible for the climate crisis and social injustice? Andrew Hoffman's recommendations for business education are both radical and pragmatic. While warning about the inefficiency of small peripheral changes, he does not advocate for a tabula rasa. Instead, acknowledging the versatility of capitalism, he advocates for a move beyond shareholder capitalism and urges business schools to place nature and social justice at the heart of their curriculum. His book is a tremendous source of inspiration for any academic and business leader, teacher, or student passionate about transforming business schools and driving meaningful change in the business world."
—Laurent Muzellec, Dean of the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin
"Rigorous, accessible, and full of good ideas. With clear moral urgency, Hoffman outlines how unfettered capitalism is risking the future of life on this planet, notably through environmental collapse and political unrest borne of gross economic disparities. This book shows why business schools have failed to address these facts, and how we can fix that. I'd recommend this to any business student or business leader. A new capitalism, outlined here, might reacquaint managers with the social purpose of our work. It might also give us a future."
—John Benjamin, MBA 2018; Startup Operator and Business Writer for Time, The New Republic, and Barron's
"Makes a compelling case for rethinking the core principles taught in business schools to address the pressing challenges of our planet. A call to action for educators, policymakers, and business leaders, this book is a blueprint for creating a more equitable and resilient future."
—André Hoffmann, Vice-Chair of Roche; Co-Author of The New Nature of Business: The Path to Prosperity and Sustainability
"As an MBA student coming from a military and nonprofit background, I feared I might have to compromise my values to succeed in business. However, Professor Andrew Hoffman's work is a beacon of hope in what sometimes seems like a bleak tomorrow."
—Akbar Arsiwala, MBA 2024; Navy Veteran; Senior Marketing Associate, Nike
"Andy Hoffman is one of the world's most thoughtful and impactful critics of higher education in business and management. There is as much in this work with which I disagree –sometimes strongly – as there is with which I agree. I predict it will move your priors, as it did mine. This conversation must be had and now."
—Andrew Karolyi, Dean and Professor, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University; Board Chair, Responsible Research in Business & Management
"A piercing wake-up call for business education to cultivate a new type of leader; one who creates both prosperity and purpose, serving shareholders and society alike. To read it as a business student is to discover a renewed vision of capitalism as a powerful force for good."
—Eli Forrester, MBA 2024; Co-Founder and COO, Volta
"I would highly recommend this book to all academic leaders wanting to understand the disconnect between the curricula of leading business schools and the major societal and environmental challenges the world and businesses face. Hoffman argues that most business schools have merely dropped an elective or two as a saddlebag onto the problematic traditional curriculum. As a business school Dean for the past over 18 years, I can confidently state that the barriers as stated in the book can be overcome by courage and leadership."
—Sanjay Sharma, Dean of the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont
"If you're enrolled in business school, or already have an MBA, you should read this book. It questions the role that business schools play in training and influencing future generations of leaders. Will we idly stand by and hope that today's business school programs, curriculums and cultures will equip students to wrangle complex problems around climate change and capitalism's 'externalities?' Or can we harness and redirect the ambition of business school education? Hoffman's book gives us this vision."
—Amelia Brinkerhoff, MBA 2022; Senior Associate, Sustainability & Climate Transformation Consulting, PwC
"While my business school education helped prepare me for the market that we've known for decades, I found it difficult to challenge the status quo with any sort of critical questions. This is the book we all need to have the larger discussion of our economic systems, the way business and society interacts, and how to create a sustainable world for future generations."
—Colton Babladelis, MBA 2022; Project Manager, Positive Scenarios Consulting
"Business has the potential to be one of our most powerful levers for change, but it requires a transformative shift, addressing the urgent systemic challenges of climate change and income inequality. This book prepares students to make a positive impact."
—Lexx Mills, MBA 2022; Co-Founder and CEO, Revvl
"Hoffman offers a refreshing vision for business programs that imbue students with a sense of moral duty and a concern for societal good. As someone who came to business school to learn how the private sector could better address climate change, Hoffman's reimagined vision of the MBA is one that I wish I had access to. This book is an antidote to cynicism and an indispensable resource for educators, students, and business leaders committed to meaningful change."
-Katherine Cunningham, MBA 2021; Senior Associate, Climate Tech Policy and Sales Consulting, The Ad Hoc Group
"If the recommended actions Professor Hoffman outlines to correct the failures of shareholder capitalism and update business education are implemented, every industry and every person will be changed for the better. Only since graduating from business school have I come to understand the consequences of misaligned incentives on our healthcare and food systems specifically, and this devil's bargain is why Americans are getting sicker, fatter, and more infertile every year. This is the book I wish I had read before getting my MBA and should be required reading for any leader."
—Sonja Manning, MBA 2021; Health & Wellness Entrepreneur, Sonja Manning LLC
"Business School and the Noble Purpose of the Market argues that to turn the market to a force for good, we need business leaders who push beyond "making the business case" and bravely ask the harder questions that can move us beyond shareholder capitalism. Drawing on years of experience teaching in leading business schools, Professor Hoffman lays out a call to action for students, professors, and administrators to demand and drive this much-needed reformation."
—Ian Makowske, MBA 2016; Finance, Rivian
—Peter Tufano, Former Dean of the Saïd Business School, Oxford University; Professor, Harvard Business School
"This book outlines what I wish my MBA curriculum had taught me and what I had to learn on my own - how to get an MBA education while keeping your morality and optimism intact. Its impact can't be understated - it is a life preserver to save business schools from themselves, so that they can continue to attract the best and brightest business leaders."
—Anya Shapiro, MBA 2022; Lead Business Designer, IDEO
"An urgent call for students and educators to rethink business education and lead the necessary re-foundation of business around purpose, people and planet. This book is an encouragement, a provocation, and an inspiration."
—Hubert Joly, Former CEO of Best Buy; Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School; Author of The Heart of Business
"As a former business school dean who fought tirelessly to reform business education, I loved this book. It is beautifully written and provides great insights into why the current teaching model for business education is broken, and what to do about it."
—Ann Harrison, Former Dean of the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
"An important addition from a leading academic on the debate over how to overhaul management education."
—Andrew Jack, Global Education Editor, Financial Times
"Offers profound and transformational ways for business schools to catch up to 21st century corporate realities. This is the intellectual foundation for the next generation of business leaders. Society needs it, industry is ready for it, and students are demanding it.
—Paul Polman, Former CEO of Unilever; Co-Author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
"Professor Hoffman is bringing one of capitalism's core tenets, creative destruction, to business schools. He is offering a curriculum that the next generation of students need and demand."
—Caroline Chisholm, MBA 2023; Senior Consultant, EY-Parthenon
"How do we transform a market system that is responsible for the climate crisis and social injustice? Andrew Hoffman's recommendations for business education are both radical and pragmatic. While warning about the inefficiency of small peripheral changes, he does not advocate for a tabula rasa. Instead, acknowledging the versatility of capitalism, he advocates for a move beyond shareholder capitalism and urges business schools to place nature and social justice at the heart of their curriculum. His book is a tremendous source of inspiration for any academic and business leader, teacher, or student passionate about transforming business schools and driving meaningful change in the business world."
—Laurent Muzellec, Dean of the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin
"Rigorous, accessible, and full of good ideas. With clear moral urgency, Hoffman outlines how unfettered capitalism is risking the future of life on this planet, notably through environmental collapse and political unrest borne of gross economic disparities. This book shows why business schools have failed to address these facts, and how we can fix that. I'd recommend this to any business student or business leader. A new capitalism, outlined here, might reacquaint managers with the social purpose of our work. It might also give us a future."
—John Benjamin, MBA 2018; Startup Operator and Business Writer for Time, The New Republic, and Barron's
"Makes a compelling case for rethinking the core principles taught in business schools to address the pressing challenges of our planet. A call to action for educators, policymakers, and business leaders, this book is a blueprint for creating a more equitable and resilient future."
—André Hoffmann, Vice-Chair of Roche; Co-Author of The New Nature of Business: The Path to Prosperity and Sustainability
"As an MBA student coming from a military and nonprofit background, I feared I might have to compromise my values to succeed in business. However, Professor Andrew Hoffman's work is a beacon of hope in what sometimes seems like a bleak tomorrow."
—Akbar Arsiwala, MBA 2024; Navy Veteran; Senior Marketing Associate, Nike
"Andy Hoffman is one of the world's most thoughtful and impactful critics of higher education in business and management. There is as much in this work with which I disagree –sometimes strongly – as there is with which I agree. I predict it will move your priors, as it did mine. This conversation must be had and now."
—Andrew Karolyi, Dean and Professor, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University; Board Chair, Responsible Research in Business & Management
"A piercing wake-up call for business education to cultivate a new type of leader; one who creates both prosperity and purpose, serving shareholders and society alike. To read it as a business student is to discover a renewed vision of capitalism as a powerful force for good."
—Eli Forrester, MBA 2024; Co-Founder and COO, Volta
"I would highly recommend this book to all academic leaders wanting to understand the disconnect between the curricula of leading business schools and the major societal and environmental challenges the world and businesses face. Hoffman argues that most business schools have merely dropped an elective or two as a saddlebag onto the problematic traditional curriculum. As a business school Dean for the past over 18 years, I can confidently state that the barriers as stated in the book can be overcome by courage and leadership."
—Sanjay Sharma, Dean of the Grossman School of Business, University of Vermont
"If you're enrolled in business school, or already have an MBA, you should read this book. It questions the role that business schools play in training and influencing future generations of leaders. Will we idly stand by and hope that today's business school programs, curriculums and cultures will equip students to wrangle complex problems around climate change and capitalism's 'externalities?' Or can we harness and redirect the ambition of business school education? Hoffman's book gives us this vision."
—Amelia Brinkerhoff, MBA 2022; Senior Associate, Sustainability & Climate Transformation Consulting, PwC
"While my business school education helped prepare me for the market that we've known for decades, I found it difficult to challenge the status quo with any sort of critical questions. This is the book we all need to have the larger discussion of our economic systems, the way business and society interacts, and how to create a sustainable world for future generations."
—Colton Babladelis, MBA 2022; Project Manager, Positive Scenarios Consulting
"Business has the potential to be one of our most powerful levers for change, but it requires a transformative shift, addressing the urgent systemic challenges of climate change and income inequality. This book prepares students to make a positive impact."
—Lexx Mills, MBA 2022; Co-Founder and CEO, Revvl
"Hoffman offers a refreshing vision for business programs that imbue students with a sense of moral duty and a concern for societal good. As someone who came to business school to learn how the private sector could better address climate change, Hoffman's reimagined vision of the MBA is one that I wish I had access to. This book is an antidote to cynicism and an indispensable resource for educators, students, and business leaders committed to meaningful change."
-Katherine Cunningham, MBA 2021; Senior Associate, Climate Tech Policy and Sales Consulting, The Ad Hoc Group
"If the recommended actions Professor Hoffman outlines to correct the failures of shareholder capitalism and update business education are implemented, every industry and every person will be changed for the better. Only since graduating from business school have I come to understand the consequences of misaligned incentives on our healthcare and food systems specifically, and this devil's bargain is why Americans are getting sicker, fatter, and more infertile every year. This is the book I wish I had read before getting my MBA and should be required reading for any leader."
—Sonja Manning, MBA 2021; Health & Wellness Entrepreneur, Sonja Manning LLC
"Business School and the Noble Purpose of the Market argues that to turn the market to a force for good, we need business leaders who push beyond "making the business case" and bravely ask the harder questions that can move us beyond shareholder capitalism. Drawing on years of experience teaching in leading business schools, Professor Hoffman lays out a call to action for students, professors, and administrators to demand and drive this much-needed reformation."
—Ian Makowske, MBA 2016; Finance, Rivian
Andrew J. Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. He has published 18 books and over 100 articles /book chapters. His work has been covered in the New York Times, Scientific American, Time, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, and National Public Radio.
