Hybrid vs. in-person learning: The displacement of boundaries in customized executive programs

Abstract

Business schools tailor Customized Executive Programs (CEPs) to address the specific needs of organizations. This paper illustrates how expanding knowledge boundaries during CEP delivery enhances a participant’s learning. Through multiple case studies, we address the question of how trading zone boundaries are displaced during the delivery of CEPs. We compared five in-person and five hybrid CEPs from across Latin America and Europe, comprising different industries, to answer this inquiry. The data was analyzed using qualitative-mixed methods techniques. Our findings reveal that, paradoxically, when tension arises within CEP’s delivery trading zone, interactive experiences, diverse cultures, and physical proximity improve adult learning. Our research contributes to the field of executive education by expanding theory and highlighting three in-person behaviors that virtual environments alone cannot replicate: engaging in a cognitive-affective dialectic for enriched learning, knowledge boundary displacement through interpersonal dynamics, and integration of cross-cultural diversity.