To challenge the world view or to flow with it? Teaching sustainable development in business schools Fernando Lourenço 1,2 1. Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Manchester, UK 2. Institute for Tourism Studies, Macau, China This paper explores the fundamental question of what ‘responsibility’ means to different sets of world views adopted implicitly by business students. The exploration adopts the stakeholder theory and three subsets of the Friedman mentality to explain how individuals may value sustainability initiatives. Subsequently, it explores whether it is better to flow with the dominant economic-driven world view as prescribed by the business school or to challenge it in order to cultivate business students with sustainability-driven values. The conclusion highlights implications for business and management education, as well as the role of entrepre- neurship to promote sustainability values. Introduction The acceptance of sustainable development (SD) to support social well-being, environmental protection and economic prosperity is gaining momentum in the world of commerce and management education. However, there is still a lot be learned because edu- cation for SD is an emerging agenda for most busi- ness schools (Starik et al. 2010). This paper explores the relevance of SD as part of business practice. This leads to a conceptualisation of what ‘responsibility’ means to different sets of world views held by indi- viduals engaging in business education (economic world view and sustainability world view). Subse- quently, an examination of how these world views may affect the delivery of sustainability-related content in business and management education is discussed. This leads to the identification of a diffi- cult dilemma; that is, is it better to flow with the dominant world view or to challenge it? A discussion of how best to approach this dilemma is proposed for educators in the business and management field, emphasising the role of entrepreneurship to promote the values of instrumental stakeholder theory (IST). SD and corporate social responsibility in business SD or sustainability is a model for development in which economic, social and environmental aspects are, arguably, given equal importance (Elkington 1999, Haugh & Talwar 2010). This model for devel- opment entered the mainstream during the 1980s with the publication of ‘Our Common Future’ by the World Commission on Environment and Develop- ment (WCED 1987). The most widely used definition comes from the Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister (Gro Harlem Brundtland), defining SD as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs Business Ethics: A European Review Volume 22 Number 3 July 2013 © 2013 The Author Business Ethics: A European Review © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA 02148, USA doi: 10.1111/beer.12021 292