Teaching Conscious Capitalism in Higher Education: Learning
Experience and Paradigm Shift
Adriana Morales-Rodriguez
1a
, Nelly Ramírez-Vásquez
2b
and Enrique Bores-Rangel
3c
1
Business School, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Tampico, Mexico
2
Business School, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
3
Business School, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Toluca, Mexico
Keywords: Conscious Capitalism, Higher Education, Educational Innovation, Online Education, Learning Experience.
Abstract: The course Introduction to Conscious Business was designed based on the Conscious Capitalism model to
educate students about the social imperative for companies to move beyond a singular focus on profit and
strive for higher goals that benefit communities and the planet. The course is conducted synchronously online
and is open to students from all university majors. It features a lead professor, a tutor professor, an
international expert on the subject, and several guest speakers from companies that exemplify the proposed
business paradigm. Additionally, various digital team activities are incorporated to foster dialogue and critical
reflection among students. To assess the impact of the course, a pre-course and post-course questionnaire was
administered to investigate students' initial and final perceptions regarding the role of business in the
contemporary world and to measure changes in their perceptions. The results indicated a positive evolution
in students' paradigms concerning certain tenets of Conscious Capitalism, which is encouraging. However, it
is important to acknowledge the study's limitations, thus suggesting the need for further investigation in this
area.
1 INTRODUCTION
Higher education institutions (HEIs) play a central
role in society. University students are considered the
next generation of leaders who can affect the goals
and aims of organizations and society (Yousefi et al.,
2012). Pirson (2017) pointed out that numerous
proponents have emphasized the need to transform
consciousness, recognizing the profound
interconnectedness between ourselves, fellow human
beings, and the surrounding world.
In particular, while entrepreneurial activity is seen
as noble, good, ethical, and heroic (Mackey and
Sisodia, 2013), companies today face the challenge of
expanding their goals from focusing solely on profit
efficiency to addressing the needs of society.
Business schools are faced with the challenge of
teaching students that “business must serve the needs
of humanity rather than the needs of business” (Rocha
et al., 2021, p.354).
a
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4755-4815
b
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8288-8343
c
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1171-7755
Conscious Capitalism is one of the most respected
movements promoting the evolution of business
perspective and serves as the foundation for the
undergraduate course Introduction to Conscious
Business presented here. The course included diverse
activities designed to promote critical thinking and an
evolution of the business paradigm by college
students.
Attitude and behavior changes among students are
fundamental aspects of the learning process and serve
as the ultimate goal of education. The attitude change
in college students has been explored across various
domains, ranging from parenthood to civic
engagement (Moely et al., 2002; Sohr-Preston, 2015).
The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the
learning experience of this online course contributes
to an evolution of the students’ thinking regarding the
role of business in the contemporary world.
Specifically, the study seeks to assess if there is a shift
Morales-Rodriguez, A., Ramírez-Vásquez, N. and Bores-Rangel, E.
Teaching Conscious Capitalism in Higher Education: Learning Experience and Paradigm Shift.
DOI: 10.5220/0012544400003693
Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2024) - Volume 2, pages 461-466
ISBN: 978-989-758-697-2; ISSN: 2184-5026
Proceedings Copyright © 2024 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda.
461

from a traditional perspective to an approach that
envisions business as having a higher purpose.
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 The Course and the Learning
Experience
Introduction to Conscious Business is an elite course
offered by Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico to
undergraduate students under a synchronous online
format in Spanish, with some sessions in English.
Elite courses are designed for an interactive digital
experience led by a professor with the participation of
industry and academic experts. They use technology
for an interactive experience with students located on
diverse campuses, promoting the formation of a
diverse learning community.
In this course, we explore a new way of doing
business, adopting a more human-centered approach
that seeks to enhance the positive impact companies
can have on society. The course includes an analysis
of various case studies, empowering students to not
only challenge conventional business practices but
also to reconsider their personal behavioral
guidelines.
Engaging discussions covered a spectrum of
topics, ranging from the current state of affairs to the
desired future state for this new business approach.
This included exploring the essential changes needed
to avoid untruthful responsibility claims, such as
green-washing (false environmental claims) and
other related concepts that describe misleading claims
(Hatami et al., 2023). These discussions spanned both
organizational and personal levels, encouraging
students to express their commitment towards society
and make responsible decisions.
Different elements distinguish this course from a
regular synchronous online course (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Memorable elements of the course.
2.1.1 Faculty Roles
A lead professor from Tec de Monterrey co-teaches
the course with a renowned international expert in the
field. In this case, the expert is a co-founder of the
movement of Conscious Capitalism and a major
author in the field.
The International Professor Has a Distinctive
Impact on the Course, Sharing His Knowledge and
Experience with Students. the Planning of the Course
Required to Decide the Topics the Expert Teaches
and the Schedule of His Sessions, Resulting in His
Leading of Six of Thirty Sessions. the Agenda of
Each Session Was Established, with Diverse
Interventions: Lecturing, Class Interaction,
Mandatory Practical Activities, Students’ Sharing of
Relevant Concepts or Ideas Learned During the
Session, and General Announcements.
The elite format is reinforced through an
academic support and monitoring scheme performed
by a tutor that provides personalized attention and
advice to our students.
2.1.2 Interactive Digital Experience
The course is available for 25 campuses in Mexico
and is open to all undergraduate majors and all
university schools. Synchronous sessions are held on
Zoom twice a week, and the learning management
system (LMS) of the course is Canvas. The course is
designed under the flipped classroom didactic
technique in which students are asked to review most
of the information in advance of the class, and the
class time is devoted to activities that require critical
and high-order thinking.
Course activities include participation in a
metaverse rally and a digital escape room with
activities designed to be solved collaboratively. The
rally takes place in Tec de Monterrey's Tec Virtual
Campus metaverse, where students in teams are
required to face questions about Conscious
Capitalism (see Figure 2). This type of virtual
encounter enables students to engage with each other
in comparison to real-world settings where certain
students may not feel as comfortable.
Figure 2: Rally in Tec Virtual Campus.
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Another activity was a Digital Educational
Escape Room (DEER) under the topic of Conscious
Capitalism that was developed for teams to solve
riddles of conscious capitalism during a class session
(see Figure 3). Additionally, the Padlet application
was used for students to share their experiences
during the course.
Figure 3: Room of the Digital Educational Escape Room.
2.1.3 Guest Speakers
Outstanding professionals in their fields are invited to
share their professional experiences with the students
in one-hour sessions. Guest speakers are not an
alternative to class lectures but rather a
supplementary support for previous lessons. They are
leaders who live the philosophy of Conscious
Capitalism on a daily basis, capable of inspiring by
example and demonstrating that it is possible to have
a financially successful business while also
generating a positive impact on society.
Having multiple guest speakers in class helps the
learning process in multiple ways, particularly when
the topic may be controversial and requires a
paradigm shift for students, such as in the case of
conscious business. This strategy provides diverse
perspectives by avoiding only the point of view of the
course instructor, complements the arguments
presented, gives greater validity to the points
addressed, and allows seeing the practical and applied
aspects of the theories exposed.
Inviting guest speakers to a class can indeed serve
the following purposes: 1) improving students'
confidence in their professional paths, 2) providing a
groundwork for job interviews, and 3) facilitating an
informal environment to connect with professionals
(Metrejean et al., 2010). Ostorga and Farruggio
(2013) propose that this practice provides
opportunities for exemplary role models to the
students, motivating them to extend their learning to
new topics.
There is evidence of the positive outcome of
including a guest speaker in a course or discipline.
According to students' perceptions after having this
type of experience, it would provide relevant career
information not contained in textbooks. Also, it helps
to improve professional skills (Metrejean et al.,
2010).
The lead professor, with the support of the
Conscious Enterprise Center, has established three
phases to manage guest speaker sessions. These
phases are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Management of guest speakers’ sessions.
Previous Session
1. The lead professor identifies the topic's sessions, and
the profile of the guest speaker required.
2. Lead professor contacts the Conscious Enterprise
Center to define the guests that suit the best.
3. Conscious Enterprise Center invites the guest
speaker selected and introduces the lead professor.
4. Lead professor and the guest speaker define the
scope of the participation and schedule the session.
Guest speaker’s session
1. Introduction of the topic’s lesson.
2. Introduction of the guest speaker.
3. Guest speaker shares his or her experience in the
field.
4. Q&A
5. Closure and student’s reflection on the main
learnings of the tal
k
Afte
r
the session
Participation diploma, recording of the session, and
students’ reflections are share
d
with guest speakers.
Two guest speakers participated in this course,
both of them CEOs of Mexican enterprises with
international presence who are committed to
elevating humanity through business. The purpose of
these interventions was to enrich students' learning by
involving them in two case studies of Mexican
leaders and enterprises that demonstrate outstanding
Conscious Capitalism practices.
2.2 Instrument of the Study
An instrument was designed to assess a paradigm
shift in business, as shown in Table 2. Prior to the start
of the course, the questionnaire was uploaded on
Canvas, and students were instructed to complete it
individually during week 1 and week 15 of the Fall
2022 semester. For the purpose of the present study,
only the responses from students who completed both
questionnaires were considered valid. The
questionnaire utilized a Likert scale, where 5
represented "Strongly agree," 4 represented "Agree,"
3 represented "Not sure," 2 represented "Disagree,"
and 1 represented "Strongly disagree."
Teaching Conscious Capitalism in Higher Education: Learning Experience and Paradigm Shift
463

Table 2: Instrument of the study.
1. Businesses today are focused on the well-being they
generate for society.
2. Companies should establish mutually beneficial
relationships with their employees.
3. The main
p
urpose of a
b
usiness is to make money.
4. The current way of doing
b
usiness requires changes.
5. Non-profit organizations provide greater value to
society than for-profit ones.
6. Ambition and selfishness are the best driving forces
for a business.
7. The traditional model of doing business results in a
benefit for all; in reality, there are a few “bad apples”
that have caused damage.
8. The well-being of society and the planet is the
responsibility of governments and not companies.
9. A company must seek at all costs to have the power
of negotiation in its relationship with its customers.
10. A company must seek at all costs to have the power
of negotiation in its relationship with its suppliers.
2.3 Data Analysis
The dataset comprised information from 65 students
who completed the questionnaire twice: once at the
beginning and again at the end of the semester. The
SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences)
program was utilized for data processing and statistical
analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated to
determine the profile of the students and to analyze
their responses to the questionnaire. The normality
level of the data was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk
test. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed to
examine whether there was a change in the median
scores between the pre-test and post-test.
3 RESULTS
The participants in this study were 45% male and 55%
female students who were enrolled in different
programs: 34% from the Business School, 54% from
the Engineering School, and the remaining 12% from
other schools. Table 3 shows the analysis of
frequencies in order to identify the profile of the
participants.
Descriptive statistics were calculated to analyze
students’ responses to the questionnaire. Shapiro-
Wilk test indicated that responses to questions are not
normally distributed (see Table 4).
Table 3: Participants’ profile.
Variable Frequenc
y
%
Gende
r
Male 29 44.6
Female 36 55.4
Academic Discipline
Business 22 33.8
Engineering 35 53.8
Othe
r
8 12.3
Table 4: Descriptive statistics and normality test.
Variable Mean SD Median
p
-value
*
Q1 Pre 2.98 1.03 3 0.000
Q1 Post 2.69 0.96
2
0.000
Q2 Pre 4.49 0.68 5 0.000
Q2 Post 4.72 0.62 5 0.000
Q3 Pre 2.58 1.12
2
0.000
Q3 Post 1.89 1.01
2
0.000
Q4 Pre 4.28 0.67
4
0.000
Q4 Post 4.48 0.58 5 0.000
Q5 Pre 3.31 0.89 3 0.000
Q5 Post 3.03 1.02 3 0.000
Q6 Pre 1.49 0.73 1 0.000
Q6 Post 1.28 0.57 1 0.000
Q7 Pre 2.42 0.94
2
0.000
Q7 Post 2.20 0.90
2
0.000
Q8 Pre 1.89 0.84
2
0.000
Q8 Post 1.54 0.61 1 0.000
Q9 Pre 3.29 1.12
4
0.000
Q9 Post 3.03 1.34 3 0.000
Q10 Pre 3.51 1.08
4
0.000
Q10 Post 3.14 1.23 3 0.000
* p-value for Normality Shapiro-Wilk
As seen in Table 5, the Wilcoxon signed rank test
results show significant differences for 8 of the
questions, except for questions 7 and 9. The changes
for each question are discussed below.
The ranking of Q1, “Businesses today are focused
on the well-being they generate for society,”
significantly decreased from pre to post (Z= -1.977
p= 0.048). The ranking of Q2, “Companies should
establish mutually beneficial relationships with their
employees” significantly increased from pre to post
(Z= -2.557 p= 0.011). These findings indicate that
students are increasingly aware of the importance for
businesses to prioritize the well-being they generate
for society and cultivate mutually beneficial
relationships with their employees.
The ranking of Q3, “The main purpose of a
business is to make money” significantly decreased
from pre to post (Z= -3.749 p= 0.000). This indicates
that, by the end of the course, students embraced the
principle that businesses should have a higher
purpose beyond profit.
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Table 5: Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Q1 Pos
t
–
Q1 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 29 21.74 630.5 -1.977b 0.048
PR 14 22.54 315.5
Ties 22
Total 65
Q2 Pos
t
–
Q2 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 5 13.8 69 -2.557c 0.011
PR 19 12.16 231
Ties 41
Total 65
Q3 Pos
t
–
Q3 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 38 22.12 840.5 -3.749b 0.000
PR 7 27.79 194.5
Ties 20
Total 65
Q4 Pos
t
–
Q4 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 8 12 96 -2.208c 0.027
PR 18 14.17 255
Ties 39
Total 65
Q5 Pos
t
–
Q5 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 26 25.5 663 -2.037b 0.042
PR 18 18.17 327
Ties 21
Total 65
Q6 Pos
t
–
Q6 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 15 10.53 158 -2.108b 0.035
PR 5 10.4 52
Ties 45
Total 65
Q7 Pos
t
–
Q7 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 24 22.08 530 -1.363b 0.173
PR 17 19.47 331
Ties 24
Total 65
Q8 Pos
t
–
Q8 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 23 16.41 377.5 -3.184b 0.001
PR 7 12.5 87.5
Ties 35
Total 65
Q9 Pos
t
–
Q9 Pre
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 25 24.12 603 -1.621b 0.105
PR 18 19.06 343
Ties 22
Total 65
Q10 Pos
t
–
Q10 Pr
e
N MR SR Z Sig.2
t
NR 26 21.08 548 -2.678b 0.007
PR 12 16.08 193
Ties 27
Total 65
* MR: Mean Rank, SR: Sum of Ranks, Sig.2t: Asymp. Sig. 2- tailed, NR:
Negative Ranks, PR: Positive Ranks, b Based on positive ranks. c Based
on negative ranks.
The ranking of Q4, “The current way of doing
business requires changes” significantly increased
from pre to post (Z= -2.208 p= 0.027). This suggests
that students recognized the need for a new way of
doing business.
The ranking of Q5, “Non-profit organizations
provide greater value to society than for-profit ones”
significantly decreased from pre to post (Z= -2.037
p= 0.042). The ranking of Q8, “The well-being of
society and the planet is the responsibility of
governments and not companies” significantly
decreased from pre to post (Z= -3.184 p= 0.001).
These findings indicate that students realize the
positive impact that for-profit organizations can have
on society.
The ranking of Q6, “Ambition and selfishness are
the best drive for a business” significantly decreased
from pre to post (Z= -2.108 p= 0.035). This suggests
that students recognized the importance of having less
self-centered drives for businesses.
The ranking of Q10, “A company must seek at all
costs to have the power of negotiation in its
relationship with its suppliers” significantly
decreased from pre to post (Z= -2.678b p= 0.007).
This indicates that students acknowledged the
importance of having a mutually beneficial
relationship with suppliers rather than seeking solely
the power of negotiation.
4 CONCLUSIONS
This study provides support for the proposition that
the course "Introduction to Conscious Business"
contributes to the evolution of students' paradigms
regarding the nature of businesses, as advocated by
Conscious Capitalism. The course was conducted
synchronously online, with a focus on team activities
to encourage dialogue and critical thinking. It
featured experts in the field, including a renowned
scholar on the topic and several practitioners leading
diverse conscious businesses. While the results align
with the objectives of this study and are consistent
with previous research suggesting that integrating
business ethics into the curriculum can foster critical
thinking (Macfarlane, 1998), it is important to note
that they are preliminary due to several limitations
inherent in the research design.
The main limitation was that some students only
completed one of the questionnaires instead of both.
To mitigate potential biases in students' responses, the
authors strongly recommend clarity and positivity in
the questionnaire. Additionally, it is advisable to use
Teaching Conscious Capitalism in Higher Education: Learning Experience and Paradigm Shift
465

the same instrument consistently to refine it for future
studies.
No causal relationship may be assumed by the
results, considering that the study was correlational.
Further research could consider doing an
experimental study by randomly assigning students to
a control group and an intervention such as the one
used here. Students in the control group may be
assigned readings related to the topic, and students in
the experimental condition may attend sessions with
invited speakers.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial
support of the Writing Lab, Institute for the Future of
Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, in the
production of this work.
The authors would like to acknowledge the
Conscious Enterprise Center of Tecnologico de
Monterrey for advising in conducting the study.
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