Network restructuring of global edu-business: The case of Pearson's Efficacy Framework

The network diagrams that present in this chapter were constructed using Gephi open-source software. Specifically they analyzed corporate documents relating to Pearson's Efficacy Framework and the reworking of their business strategy. In this chapter, it focuses on Pearson, a leading global edu-business, which has shifted the focus of its business from education inputs. In 2011, Pearson appointed Sir Michael Barber as the company's Chief Education Advisor. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is also a discourse that has been adopted to support the broader activities of Pearson. In an interview with one of Pearson's executives, and in the context of discussing Pearson's Efficacy Framework, the importance of Barber's networks for some of the company's latest initiatives was made clear. Barber is also a former academic with connections into that world as well, another element of his contribution to Pearson's network capital