The history of LUT School of Business dates back to the year 1919 and the founding of the Society for Viipuri School of Economics in Vyborg (Viipuri). The aim was to establish a Finnish-language higher-level economics institution in Vyborg, the biggest international centre of commerce in Finland at the time.
The re-drawing of the national boundary after World War II put Vyborg in the Soviet Union. The society shifted its focus and aspired to establish a school of business in Finland close to the eastern border. Lappeenranta was the chosen location.
The Society for Viipuri School of Economics played a key role in the establishment of a university of technology in Lappeenranta in 1969. It continued to work purposefully towards establishing a department of Business Administration, which materialised in 1991.