City Research Online

Abstract

Theories taught in business schools are performative in the sense that they shape future practitioners’ identities and practices, often leading them to prioritize self‐interests and profit maximization to the detriment of social and environmental welfare. Moving beyond the mere recognition of theory performativity, researchers have called for ‘positive performativity’—that is, interventions that leverage theory to enact more desirable realities. Such interventions, however, are driven by values. Recognizing that values themselves are performed, this paper theorizes the dynamic relationships between theory performativity and value performativity. We conceptualize ‘performative valorization work’ as a set of microprocesses coenabling the performativity of theory through values
and
the performativity of values through theory. We integrate these microprocesses into a positive performativity model that shows how performative valorization work contributes to theory and values de/realization at business schools. We illustrate our model with a case of realignment of a finance programme with ecological values at a business school—a shift that produced performative effects on the ecosystems of researchers, students and practitioners. By theorizing how theory and value performativity interact, we advance the analysis of positive performativity and clarify how theory and values interact in pedagogical transformations.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026 British Academy of Management. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Belinga, R., Gond, J.-P., Revelli, C. and Lagoarde-Ségot, T. (2026), The Dynamics of Theory and Value Performativity at Business Schools: Performative Valorization Work for Finance Education. Br. J. Manag. e70038. , which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.70038. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Publisher Keywords:	Positive performativity, Values, Valorisation, Business Schools, Finance Education
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Actuarial Science & Insurance
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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