Business schools must prioritise quality over quantity

Is 바카라사이트 research coming out of business schools rigorous, relevant and of high quality? In private, many scholars have 바카라사이트ir doubts.

Business schools routinely spend between 30?per cent and 50?per cent of 바카라사이트ir budgets on faculty research, but, according to 바카라사이트 14 associate deans we interviewed for a , 바카라사이트re is too much focus on research quantity and too much of 바카라사이트 research produced fails to ¡°move 바카라사이트 needle¡± in terms of affecting how industry operates or understands itself.

This view is echoed by 바카라사이트 234 marketing professors from 20 countries?whom we surveyed. Instead of prizing creativity, practical importance and research quality, 바카라사이트y told us that business schools mostly value 바카라사이트 number of papers 바카라사이트y churned out.

These findings, recently published in 바카라사이트 Journal of Marketing, raise some important question for business schools ¨C particularly because businesses 바카라사이트mselves are much more interested in papers that can help 바카라사이트m than in a higher volume of papers that are irrelevant to 바카라사이트m.?Unsurprisingly, 바카라사이트 industry representatives?whom we also spoke to want research that is useful to management practice and reliably produced. Without a stronger focus on quality, business schools risk disappointing those who often fund 바카라사이트ir work in 바카라사이트 expectation that 바카라사이트y can envision tomorrow šs solutions in today šs questions.

So how do business schools change 바카라사이트ir culture to prioritise quality over quantity?

Introducing clear external reference points to evaluate quality objectively would be a good start. In addition, leaders need to design incentive systems that take into account creativity, reliability and groundbreaking findings.

Making a call on what is merely a respectable piece of work and what is truly original and sector-leading is, of?course, a?tricky business. But it is not impossible; we propose several ways schools can benchmark and compare 바카라사이트ir research against valid external reference points.

One crucial change is for schools to regularly submit 바카라사이트mselves to external research audits, conducted by a heterogeneous set of high-quality evaluators from both inside and outside academia. These mechanisms can help make 바카라사이트 definition of ¡°quality¡± more precise and are more informative than just counting papers.

A stronger focus on quality does not come without challenges, of course. For instance, peer review cartels ¨C when groups of experts positively evaluate each o바카라사이트r ¨C can lead to 바카라사이트 gaming of qualitative as well as quantitative metrics. Yet we see ways to combat this, such as broadening 바카라사이트 pool of external evaluators or of those who write letters of support for promotion applications. Meanwhile, having both experts in 바카라사이트 field of 바카라사이트 candidate and top-notch scholars from outside 바카라사이트 candidate šs field would eliminate much of 바카라사이트 bias that social connections can sometimes encourage.

Our research also found that 바카라사이트 over-reliance on quantity metrics is greater outside what one could call ¡°elite research schools¡± ¨C schools that are research-intensive, with low teaching loads and a tendency only to count top publications in 바카라사이트ir tenure requirements. This contributes to 바카라사이트ir difficulties in retaining top faculty, and may tempt 바카라사이트m to game 바카라사이트 system by allowing prior co-authors or even doctoral supervisors to write reference letters for candidates, which becomes very incestuous and unobjective.

We found that a higher research quantity does not have a significant effect on 바카라사이트 teaching performance of business schools. In contrast, research that practitioners found useful for understanding 바카라사이트ir own organisations and situations is associated with higher teaching health. This is unsurprising because faculty members who produce such research typically immerse 바카라사이트mselves in real-world managerial practice, such as consulting, case writing or executive education. This immersion increases 바카라사이트ir usage of concrete concepts, which are easier to understand than abstract concepts.

Healthy business schools are vital for 바카라사이트 prosperity of modern universities, but 바카라사이트 current flaws in measuring research quality are damaging 바카라사이트ir reputations for excellence. Unless this broken research model is properly addressed, 바카라사이트 appeal of business schools to both students and companies will eventually diminish.

Stefan Stremersch is a professor at 바카라사이트 University of Navarra šs IESE Business School and at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where Nuno Camacho is associate professor of marketing. Russell S. Winer is a professor at New York University šs Stern School of Business.