Journal of Management Development

Purpose – Over the past years, the teaching of third sector management and corporate social responsibility in business schools has been characterized by two main features: it has become widespread, and the assumption that a company's moral behavior has a financial correlate was abandoned. It follows from the second element that these classes are no longer meant to train managers to make a more effective economic contribution. The courses can now find a different, higher purpose, namely to emphasize the impact of the companies' and non-profit organizations' social activities. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at two prevailing models of integration of third sector management in the curriculum and their limits.

Findings – The paper finds that emphasizing companies' and non-profit organizations' social activities can be achieved if managers are trained in a way that better apprehends the stakes of these social activities. However, for business schools to make a significant contribution to this field and avoid missing the opportunities of this “non profit turn”, they must establish a vision of what these courses mean to them.

Originality/value – This paper provides useful information on the challenges of teaching a curricula taking into account the companies' and non-profit organization' social activities.