Co‐creating the Future of Accreditations in the Management Education and Research Ecosystem

Abstract In this reflective opinion piece, we critically reflect on how international business school accreditations can shape business schools' trajectories. We specifically foreground the interplay between mission‐driven initiatives and performative pressures, paying close attention to how these tensions unfold outside Anglo‐Saxon contexts. Reflecting on our experiences at a Dutch business school, we examine how power and performativity intersect with care‐oriented approaches, influencing management education. We also raise deeper questions about whether being mission‐driven is truly valued in today's polarized world or whether it is simply another box to check in the pursuit of validation. In this sense, our analysis not only interrogates how accrediting bodies have shaped the MERE “yesterday” and “today” but also offers a prospective lens on how accreditation might evolve—or ought to evolve—to better serve schools in diverse sociocultural contexts and thus shape the MERE “tomorrow.”