Business School Rankings and Business Relevance, an Overlooked Dimension

EDHEC BUSINESS SCHOOL ECONOMICS RESEARCH CENTRE EVALUATION OF PUBLIC POLICY AND REFORM OF THE STATE 393 promenade des Anglais 06202 Nice Cedex 3 Tel.: +33 (0)4 93 18 32 53 Fax: +33 (0)4 93 18 78 40 E-mail : [email protected] Business school rankings and business relevance, an overlooked dimension July 2011 Stéphane Gregoir Director of the EDHEC Economics Research Centre, EDHEC Business School Research Director, EDHEC Business School Summary Newspapers, academic or political key element in a student’s choice. Research institutions regularly promote their own activity is necessary for professors to stay assessment of the relative performances at the edge of their fields and improve their of a particular subgroup of higher teaching, but students are more users and education institutions conveyed through interested in practical implementations of a one-dimensional ranking. This generates new concepts or methodologies. Attending much comment from students, politicians courses delivered by researchers in which and Directors of the ranked institutions. new relevant concepts, new relevant These rankings differ in the surveyed methodologies or simply the current populations, their methodology and their questions in the fields are introduced objectives which are not always thoroughly is a career accelerator for the student. presented. In the nineties, they were Aware of the current debates in their marketing operations to sell special issues fields, graduates can select appropriately of newspapers or simple lists compiled new opportunities. Moreover, on the one by academics to help parents and future hand, such a teaching allows for a swift students make their choice, they now have dissemination of new practices which is gained a political importance as a key piece socially beneficial and on the other hand, of information used by funding agencies, taking into account this dimension in regional and national politicians in their rankings would introduce some forward- designing of new policies as well as heads looking dimension. of higher education institutions in their strategic choices. In such circumstances, We illustrate here the feasibility of such a their legitimacy has been questioned. They business relevance oriented ranking based have come under close scrutiny and are on citations in influential international today the subject of research works. business newspapers and magazine. Such a ranking brings additional information with Academic rankings are relevant and respect to already existing rankings. To informative for comparable institutions help users to make their choice or analyse and foster competition between them. the relative performances of business Nevertheless, they do not seem clearly schools, we encourage the compilation related to teaching quality and do not of new rankings with explicit alternative deal with efficiency issues. Most of these goals and recommend the simultaneously rankings are conservative and have a use of several of them. A Business oriented backward-looking and self-fulfilling bias. citation ranking can be one of these. They today are primarily a measure of reputation which is a slow cumulative process and reinforce it. We focus here on Business School rankings and illustrate that within the informational content of the available rankings, the key dimension of the business relevance of the research activity and curricula has not been addressed. Nonetheless, the business relevance of the research and curricula is a 2 The work presented herein is a detailed summary of academic research conducted by EDHEC. For more information, please contact Joanne Finlay of the EDHEC Research Department at [email protected] The ideas and opinions expressed in this paper are the sole responsibility of the author. About the Author Stéphane Gregoir is associate dean for research and head of the Economics Research Centre. His research relates principally to macroeconomics and econometrics, and more specifically to time-series methods. He has also worked on the theoretical analysis of anticipations formation or developed methods for dating the economic cycle. Winner of the Tjalling C. Koopmans Prize, Stéphane Gregoir has been editor, co-editor, and member of the editorial committee of various international academic journals. He has doctorate in applied mathematics (social sciences) from Université de Paris IX. 3 Table of Contents Summary ..................................................................................................................................................2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................5 1. Rankings: Contents and Possible Uses .........................................................................................6 2. About the Business Relevance of Research .............................................................................. 13 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................16 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................17 References.........................................................................................................................................................23 Position Papers and Publications of the EDHEC Economics Research Centre ......................24 4 Introduction Rankings of higher education institutions of the research activity and curricula has are regularly disseminated in newspapers not been addressed. Nonetheless, these or on websites throughout the year. Each elements are key ones for students’ month, newspapers and academic or choices. Research activity is necessary for political institutions promote their own professors to stay at the cutting edge of assessment of the relative performances their fields and improve their teaching, but of a particular subgroup of institutions students are primarily users and interested conveyed through a single ranking. This in the practical implementations of new generates much comment from students, concepts or methodologies. Attending public representatives and directors of courses delivered by researchers in which the institutions ranked. The scope of new relevant concepts, new relevant these rankings can be international1 or methodologies or simply the current national2. They differ in the populations questions in the fields are introduced is a surveyed, their methodology and career accelerator for the student. When their objectives, which are not always they are aware of the current debates thoroughly presented. In the nineties, the in their fields, graduates can select new rankings were marketing operations to sell opportunities appropriately. Moreover, for special issues of newspapers or simple lists one, such teaching allows also for swift compiled by academics to help parents and dissemination of new practices, which is future students. They have now gained socially beneficial, and for another, taking political importance as key information this aspect into account in rankings would used by funding agencies, regional and introduce a forward-looking dimension. national public representatives in designing We illustrate here the feasibility of such a new policies, as well as heads of higher business relevance-oriented ranking based education institutions. Their legitimacy on citations in international business has thus been questioned. They have come newspapers and magazines and the fact under close scrutiny and are today the that it brings additional information with subject of research into their role and respect to already existing rankings. To help content. Academic rankings are relevant users to make their choice, we encourage and informative for comparable institutions the compilation of new rankings with and foster competition between them. explicit alternative goals and recommend Nevertheless, they do not seem clearly the simultaneous use of several of them. related to teaching quality and do not A business-oriented citation ranking could deal with efficiency issues outputs with be one of these. respect to inputs. In this regard, most of the rankings available today should be used cautiously by policymakers. Most of these rankings are conservative and have a backward-looking and self-fulfilling bias. Today, they tend to be a measure of reputation, which is a slow, cumulative process, and reinforce the reputation that already exists. We propose here to focus on business school rankings and illustrate that among the various informational content of the available rankings, the key dimension of the business relevance 1 - For instance Times Higher Education Supplement, Forbes, Financial Times, The Economist, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Higher Education, Leiden University, Ecole 5 des Mines-ParisTech, CHE – Centre for Higher Education Development (Germany) or the Sherpa Network (European project U-map, U-Multirank). 2 - in France: Le Point, Challenge, L’Étudiant, Le Figaro…, in the U.S.A: U.S. News and World Report, Forbes,..., in the UK: The Guardian, The Times, Sunday Times,… 1. Rankings: Contents and Possible Uses 1.1 Target beneficiaries of authorities, watchdogs, trustees, boards rankings and funding agencies, who have to assess First of all, it is important to stress that the efficient use of resources. the

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