Transforming management education in the Global South: empirical evidence on robotics-enabled embodied learning in economic universities

Abstract This article examines the role of robotics-enabled embodied learning in transforming management education within the Global South. As higher education institutions in developing and transition economies face increasing pressure to modernize curricula and cultivate digitally fluent, adaptive graduates, conventional pedagogical approaches often prove insufficient. Drawing on embodied cognition theory—which emphasizes the integration of mind, body, and environment in learning—this study positions robotics as a pedagogical medium capable of operationalizing experiential and practice-oriented management training. The study adopts a mixed-method research design with a dominant quantitative component, combining a cross-country survey of faculty and students in economic universities across four Global South countries with complementary conceptual and contextual analysis. Empirical findings indicate that the integration of robotics and embodied learning practices is positively associated with higher levels of student engagement, critical thinking, and perceived learning effectiveness. Regression analysis further demonstrates that institutional support, faculty training, and access to technological infrastructure are the strongest predictors of successful implementation. Beyond empirical validation, the article critically examines structural and policy-related barriers—such as uneven digital readiness and institutional capacity constraints—that mediate the adoption of robotics-based pedagogy in the Global South. By situating technological innovation within broader developmental and geopolitical contexts, the study advances a context-sensitive framework for management education reform. It contributes to the literature by linking embodied cognition and educational robotics to measurable learning outcomes, while offering actionable insights for universities and policymakers seeking to foster inclusive, future-ready management education systems.