The cult of the MBA: Implications for European post-experience public management education

Richard Common, Irina Gheorghe-Common, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Teaching Public Administration

Published online on January 28, 2026

Abstract

Teaching Public Administration, Volume 44, Issue 2, Page 113-128, June 2026.
The existence of MBA cultures is well established; with such cultures often being posited as a career enhancing feature of such programmes. However, does the MBA’s sister qualification for the public sector, the MPA, hold the same cachet, or should it? ...