Online education and organisational space in business schools during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: The article studies how the shutdown of campuses and subsequent change to online course delivery during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have changed the experience of organisational space in management education.

Design/methodology/approach: The study utilises a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis with questionnaires. For a better understanding of spatial experience, a deeper hermeneutic analysis of course design and delivery is undertaken as well.

Findings/results: Without the possibility to rely on physical presence, a sense of togetherness in management education is established in different ways, using digital technology to improve time management, get better visual impressions, relate teaching more closely to application environments, etc.

Practical implications: The loss of territorial spatial structure on campus can be partially compensated by a different spatial structure resulting from technically mediated experiences of relatedness and proximity in online course delivery by management educators.

Originality/value: The article sheds light on the different possibilities to establish educational spaces at business schools, expanding the ongoing discourse on organisational space to the domain of teaching and learning in the digital age.