On the centrality of social norms in determining MBA program success

Maintaining student satisfaction and through it retaining students and having them recommend the program to others, is central to the success of any MBA program. This is especially important in distance learning programs because of their high dropout rates. The study shows the centrality of social norms outside the realm of the MBA program in determining three aspects of such satisfaction, namely satisfaction with knowledge gained in the program, MBA personnel, and quality of the MBA program elearning services. Data collected from students who participated in a blended distance learning MBA program show the importance of social norms over and above the communicational and technical characteristics of the e-learning services. Social norms also contributed to student self-reported ability to cope with the learning load which significantly influenced both elements of retention: willingness to recommend the program and reduced inclination to withdraw. The importance of social norm management is discussed.