Business Research Proposal: Navigating Disruption in Higher Education

Recommended Frameworks: PESTLE Analysis & Ansoff Matrix

• Framework Teaching:
  • PESTLE Analysis is a tool used to scan and categorize the major external forces that impact an organization. It stands for Political (e.g., visa policies, government funding), Economic (e.g., enrollment costs, recessions), Social (e.g., student mobility preferences, demographic shifts), Technological (e.g., rise of EdTech, AI in learning), Legal (e.g., accreditation rules, employment law), and Environmental factors. It helps organize the complex, interconnected disruptions you're facing into distinct, analyzable categories.
  • The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that helps an organization map its growth strategies. It uses a 2x2 grid based on whether you are offering existing vs. new products (in your case, academic programs) to existing vs. new markets (student segments or geographic regions). This creates four primary strategic paths: Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development, and Diversification.
• Applicability Explanation:
  • Using PESTLE first will allow you to systematically map the entire landscape of disruptions mentioned in your background, ensuring no critical external factor is missed. This directly addresses your need to understand the challenges.
  • Following that, the Ansoff Matrix provides a clear and proven structure for comparing the different strategic responses you uncover. For example, launching a new online degree for a current student demographic is "Product Development," while recruiting for an existing MBA program in a new country is "Market Development." This allows for a true "apples-to-apples" comparison of strategic options and directly supports your goal of developing a practical framework.

Part 1: Information Collection

A. Web Search Plan

• PESTLE Analysis Topics:
  • Political/Legal: Search for

    ("business school" OR "university") AND ("international student visa policy" OR "post-study work visa") AND ("US" OR "UK" OR "Canada" OR "Australia") 2025

    .
    • Analysis Purpose: To gather hard data on visa rule changes, which directly impacts student mobility and informs the "Political/Legal" sections of your PESTLE analysis.
  • Economic: Search for

    "economic impact of declining international student enrollment"

    ,

    "MBA tuition fee trends 2025"

    .
    • Analysis Purpose: To quantify the financial pressures on schools and the affordability challenges for students, providing key data for the "Economic" part of the PESTLE analysis.
  • Social & Technological: Search for

    "trends in online vs in-person MBA enrollment 2025"

    ,

    "gen z preferences higher education"

    ,

    "impact of AI in business school curriculum"

    .
    • Analysis Purpose: To understand the fundamental shifts in student behavior and technological capacity. This informs the "Social" and "Technological" parts of the PESTLE and helps identify which strategic responses (like hybrid programs) are gaining traction.
• Competitive Strategy Topics (for Ansoff Matrix):
  • Search for

    ("top business school" OR "INSEAD" OR "Wharton") AND ("strategic partnerships" OR "international recruitment strategy" OR "new program launch")

    .
    • Analysis Purpose: To find concrete examples of how leading schools are reacting. These actions can be mapped directly onto the Ansoff Matrix to compare different strategic directions (e.g., a new program is Product Development, a new regional focus is Market Development).

B. User Interview Plan

• Interview Group 1: Prospective and Current Students
  • Subjects: A diverse mix of students, including those from countries with new visa restrictions, domestic students, and those enrolled in both online and in-person programs.
  • Interview Purpose: To understand how decision-making has changed. What factors are now most important in their choice of school and program? This is critical for validating which strategies will resonate with the "market."
  • Core Interview Questions:
    1. "Walk me through your process for shortlisting business schools. What were the top 3-5 factors you used to make your decision?"
    2. "How did considerations like visa policies, the availability of online/hybrid formats, or post-graduation work opportunities influence your final choice?"
    3. "Describe your ideal business school experience in today's environment. What role does the physical campus play versus online flexibility?"
    • Analysis Purpose: The answers will allow you to build a new, updated "Student Persona" and journey map, revealing the pain points and priorities that a successful strategy must address.
• Interview Group 2: Business School Administrators (Admissions/Strategy)
  • Subjects: Directors of Admissions or Strategy from a range of schools (e.g., top-tier, regional, and those with a high dependency on international students).
  • Interview Purpose: To gather firsthand accounts of the strategies being deployed and their perceived effectiveness. This provides qualitative depth to the web search findings.
  • Core Interview Questions:
    1. "Which of the major disruptions—student mobility, partnerships, talent, or regulations—is having the most significant impact on your institution right now?"
    2. "Could you describe one or two new strategic initiatives you've implemented in the last 18 months to address these disruptions?"
    3. "How are you measuring the success of these new initiatives, and what have been the early results or learnings?"
    • Analysis Purpose: These conversations will yield specific, real-world examples of strategic responses that can be categorized within the Ansoff Matrix, helping you compare different approaches.
• Interview Group 3: Corporate Partners and Recruiters
  • Subjects: Talent acquisition leaders from companies that typically hire MBA graduates.
  • Interview Purpose: To understand how the demand side is changing. What skills are most valuable now, and how do they view different school models (e.g., online vs. in-person)?
  • Core Interview Questions:
    1. "When you recruit from business schools today, have your criteria for a 'top candidate' changed in the last few years? If so, how?"
    2. "How does your organization value graduates from online/hybrid MBA programs compared to traditional on-campus programs?"
    3. "What role do strategic partnerships with business schools play in your talent strategy, and what makes a partnership effective from your perspective?"
    • Analysis Purpose: These insights are crucial for evaluating the "Talent Acquisition" disruption and ensuring the strategic framework aligns with employer demands, which ultimately drives student interest.

Part 2: Information Analysis

1. Develop the PESTLE Disruption Map:
   • How-to: Create a PESTLE chart. For each of the six categories, summarize the key findings from your web search and interviews. Use bullet points and include specific data (e.g., "Political: U.S. new international student enrollment declined 17% in Fall 2025 due to visa policy changes."). This creates a comprehensive, evidence-based snapshot of the entire external environment.
2. Map and Compare Strategies with the Ansoff Matrix:
   • How-to: Draw the 2x2 Ansoff Matrix. Take the strategic initiatives you uncovered from interviewing administrators and searching competitor websites. Plot each distinct action into one of the four quadrants. For instance:
     • Market Penetration: A school increasing marketing spend in its existing core countries.
     • Market Development: A school building recruitment channels in emerging markets in Asia to compensate for declines elsewhere.
     • Product Development: A school launching a new AI for Business concentration for its MBA program.
     • Diversification: A school creating a fully online, lower-cost MBA for a new global audience of working professionals.
   • This visualization directly achieves your goal of comparing strategic responses in a structured manner.
3. Construct the Student Decision-Making Model:
   • How-to: Synthesize the student interview data. Create a "before" and "after" table.
     • "Before" Column: List the traditional decision factors (e.g., school ranking, campus life, alumni network).
     • "After" Column: List the new/reprioritized factors (e.g., visa certainty, flexible program delivery, cost, clear ROI on tuition). This model makes the changes in student priorities explicit.
4. Build the Strategic Navigation Framework:
   • How-to: This is your ultimate goal. Create a decision matrix that other schools can use.
     • Rows (External Factors): Define 2-3 key disruption scenarios based on your PESTLE analysis (e.g., "High Visa/Political Uncertainty," "Intense Competition from Online Providers").
     • Columns (Internal Capabilities): Define 2-3 key institutional profiles (e.g., "Strong Global Brand, Low Online Capability," "Regional Brand, High Online Capability").
     • Fill the Matrix: In each cell of the matrix, recommend a primary strategic path from the Ansoff Matrix. For example, for a school with a Strong Global Brand facing High Visa Uncertainty, the recommended strategy might be Product Development (e.g., "Leverage brand to launch high-quality hybrid/online programs accessible to restricted students"). For a Regional Brand facing the same issue, the recommendation might be Market Penetration ("Focus on hyper-local corporate partnerships and domestic students").