Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the relationship between business and education and thereby offer a research agenda for examining the influence of business on education. Educational research has given relatively limited attention to the impact of business on education. Design/methodology/approach: This paper describes a theoretical framework drawn from organization theory that identifies five types of influence of business on education. The emerging literature on business-school relations is accessed not to present a comprehensive review of research on the impact of business on education, but rather to identify issues regarding the impact of business on education that bear the scrutiny of researchers and educational and business leaders and policy makers. Findings: The types of influence include business consuming the outputs of schools, supplying inputs to schools, competing with public schools for students and state funding, shaping educational policy at various levels, and distributing wealth in ways that indirectly affects education. Originality/value: This paper identifies an issue that requires further research and policy attention and offers a conceptual framework and research agenda. (Contains 1 figure.)