Key factors affecting faculty commitment toward accounting curriculum change: Differences between UAE and UK AACSB-accredited universities

• In the UAE, change management impacts faculty affective and normative commitments more than in the UK. • The nuanced effects of transformational leadership on faculty commitments across cultural contexts. • Challenging previous assumptions about organizational culture’s impact on faculty commitment to curriculum change. • Faculty commitment to curriculum change is influenced by demographic factors such as gender and academic rank. • Emphasizing the critical role of long-term accreditation on curriculum change. This study examines the relationship among change management, transformational leadership, organizational culture, and faculty members’ commitment to accounting curriculum change in universities accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Survey data were collected from accounting faculty members in the UK and UAE (n = 202) and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results are interpreted using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. This paper contributes to understanding faculty commitment to curriculum changes at AACSB-accredited universities in the UAE and UK by providing empirical evidence that change management positively influences faculty affective and normative commitments, with a greater impact in the UAE. It reveals the nuanced effects of transformational leadership on faculty commitments across cultural contexts. It challenges previous assumptions about organizational culture’s impact on commitment to change, and highlights the importance of demographic factors such as gender and academic rank. The study emphasizes the critical role of long-term accreditation and offers practical recommendations for culturally sensitive change management strategies, while also identifying areas for future research to address its limitations. This study contributes significantly to the literature on change management and academic accounting education. It also has practical implications for higher education institutions who are considering changing their accounting curricula, particularly for accreditation purposes.