Why learning style versatility matters in management and business education: Linking the concept to learning outcomes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2026.0016Keywords:
learning styles, learning style versatility, business schools, management educationAbstract
Business schools are facing growing criticism for their outdated structures and insufficient attention to relevance, ethics, and learner individuality. Against this backdrop, this study aims to introduce the concept of learning style versatility (LSV) – a learner’s capacity to flexibly apply multiple learning styles – to examine its role in shaping educational outcomes. Using a survey of 120 undergraduate and graduate business students at a private business school in India, this study operationalises a novel LSV proxy based on the Honey and Mumford Learning Style Questionnaire and tests its relationship with learning performance. Regression analysis shows that higher LSV is significantly associated with improved cumulative grade averages. The analysis controls for age, gender, and program level in the multivariate regression. However, LSV does not predict subjective outcomes such as learner satisfaction or perceived return on investment, underscoring the multidimensionality of “learning success.” This study provides the first empirical evidence of LSV’s impact on academic performance, positioning versatility as a crucial learner characteristic in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. The study’s findings suggest that integrating LSV into management education can enhance both teaching and institutional effectiveness in the highly competitive Indian MBA market, while simultaneously respecting learner individuality more than is currently the case. The article concludes with directions for future research to advance an ergo-ecology of learning.
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