Tilburg University Economics and Business Administration in the Netherlands Bartelsman, E.; van Damme, Eric; Heugens, P.; Teulings, C.N. Publication date: 2016 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in Tilburg University Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Bartelsman, E., van Damme, E., Heugens, P., & Teulings, C. N. (2016). Economics and Business Administration in the Netherlands: Moving to Triple-A or Risking a Downgrade to Single-A. Deans of the Disciplines of Economics and Business Administration (DEB). 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Download date: 30. sep. 2021 Economics and Business Administration in the Netherlands MOVING TO TRIPLE-A, OR RISKING A DOWNGRADE TO SINGLE-A? 1 Report written at the request of the Deans of the Disciplines of Economics and Business Administration (DEB) January 2016 Eric Bartelsman Eric van Damme Pursey Heugens Coen Teulings (chair) Contents CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSIONS 6 1.1 The remit of the Committee 7 1.2 Structure of this report 7 1.3 Summary and conclusions 7 2. THE ORGANISATION OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 10 2.1 The Dutch landscape 11 2.2 What is Economics? 13 2.3 And what is Business Administration? 14 2.4 Two distinct disciplines 16 2.5 Conclusions 18 3. THE QUALITY OF RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 20 3.1 Quantitative measures of the quality of research 21 3.1.1 Economics 25 3.1.2 Business Administration 28 3.2 Goals, incentives, constraints 31 3.3 Conclusions 34 4. SOME QUALITATIVE OBSERVATIONS 36 4.1 Foreign researchers’ views on Economics and Business Administration in the Netherlands 37 4.2 Some further observations 40 4.3 Conclusions 43 5. SOCIETAL RELEVANCE 44 5.1 Dissemination of knowledge to society 45 5.2 Societal relevance of the research 46 5.3 Conclusions 51 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 52 6.1 Despite a strong performance, no time for relaxation 53 6.2 SWOT analysis 55 APPENDICES ARE INCLUDED IN A SEPARATE DOCUMENT. 1. Introduction and conclusions 6 1.1 THE REMIT OF THE COMMITTEE “Disciplines should identify the effects of the Administration in the Netherlands. Chapter 3 national profiling of research at university level on provides an analysis of the research in both fields their field and identify any ‘blind spots’ that might in the Netherlands in an international perspective. follow from that process”. This recommendation Chapter 4 explores some further qualitative obser- was made by the Royal Netherlands Academy of vations. Chapter 5 analyses the societal relevance of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in its 2013 report, the research. Chapter 6 concludes by providing the Effecten van universitaire profilering en topsectoren- requested SWOT analysis. beleid op de wetenschap in Nederland. Een eerste kritische reflectie. The Deans of the disciplines of Economics and Business Administration in the 1.3 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Netherlands (DEB) responded to this recommenda- tion in October 2014 by commissioning a Commit- The conclusions of this report can be summarized tee of four professors to write a report on the state as follows: of research. This document reports the conclusions of this Committee. 1» The quality of research in both fields has increased markedly in the past couple of The remit for the Committee was to perform a decades—in Economics, since the publication SWOT analysis of the research in the disciplines of of the report of the Verkenningscommissie Economics and Business Administration in the Economische Wetenschappen in 1986. This Netherlands, taking into account the societal Committee recommended that the high atten- relevance of this research and its relation to the tion for the Dutch policy debate had to be teaching in both fields. The members of the Com- replaced by a higher focus on publishing in mittee were Eric Bartelsman (Professor of Econom- international top journals. This recommenda- ics, VU University Amsterdam), Eric van Damme tion has been followed. Today, Economics and (Professor of Economics, Tilburg University), Business Administration are well represented Pursey Heugens (Professor of Organization among the global top-100 departments. The Theory, Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Coen Netherlands may be proud to be among the Teulings (Professor of Economics at the University countries with the highest research output per of Cambridge and the University of Amsterdam, capita, only being superseded by Switzerland chair). The Committee was supported by José Kiss and Sweden. The first evidence suggests that for (secretary, University of Amsterdam). The Com- Economics, the tenure-track policy has proven mittee thanks Iris Vis (Professor of Industrial to be successful. Engineering, University of Groningen) for her evaluation of the analysis of Business Administra- 2» That Verkenningscommissie also recommended tion in this report and Jeanne Bovenberg (Editor, that Dutch Schools of Economics and Business Etc. Editing, Breda) for her help in editor the Administration engage in profiling. That report. The Committee thanks Wilfred Mijnhardt recommendation has been followed and it has (Policy Director at Rotterdam School of Manage- served the Schools rather well. There is now ment) for his contribution to the quantitative both some horizontal and vertical differentia- analysis of the research. tion, while (with only a few exceptions) it has not led to “blind spots”. The Committee does not see risks of further profiling, as on the 1.2 STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT whole, the market is functioning quite well. This report starts with an overview in chapter 2 3» The Netherlands, however, is hardly represent- of the current state of Economics and Business ed among the absolute top. Among the 7 report: Moving to triple-A, or risking a downgrade to single-A? top-500 economists in the world, at most one 6» There has been some concern that the focus on is affiliated to a Dutch university. This lack of publishing in international top journals has representation in the absolute top is the more reduced the practical relevance of the research striking since our peer group of continental —a concern that has been reinforced by the European countries have managed to attract an financial crisis. The Committee does not agree increasing number of top economists. Where with this argument, for several reasons. Most we should strive to become triple A, the threat importantly, societal relevance furthers the is that research in the Netherlands will be chances of getting the research published in downgraded to single A. international top journals. Though publishing empirical research on the US is obviously more 4» One cause for this situation, according to the easy, there is a market in top journals for high survey carried out by the Committee among quality research on Dutch data. Due to the foreign researchers familiar with the Dutch marked shift in economics towards more university system, is the level of pay. The labour applied research, a greater focus on a national market for researchers in Economics and audience might work to the detriment of the Business Administration is entirely global. quality of applied research in the Netherlands. Currently, salaries at Dutch universities are It would diminish the quality control and peer uncompetitive in this global market. pressure that results from an exposure to the global economic discipline. 5» The same survey indicated another cause for this situation: a lack of critical mass of top 7» Improving the availability of data on the researchers at one or two locations. High- Netherlands seems to be a much better strategy quality researchers want to interact with each for increasing the societal relevance of econom- other. Hence, a lack of a critical mass at one or ics and business research. In this respect, a more two locations hampers the attractiveness of the open attitude of Statistics Netherlands would Netherlands for top researchers. be helpful. 8 Introduction and conclusions 8» Adequate coverage of all subfields in Econom- ics and Business Administration is an important condition for Dutch universities to be able to offer a complete education programme. With a couple of small exceptions that are listed in the report, the coverage of subfields in the Netherlands is adequate. The Committee sees no value added in an overall programming of the research in both fields. As a broker between the demand for specific analyses and individual researchers at universities, the Dutch cabinet’s top-sector policy Topsectorenbeleid might play a role. Currently, as far as the Committee can judge, only very few academic economists or scholars in the field of management are actively engaged with this policy. 9» Although there is substantial and perhaps even increasing interaction between Economics and Business Administration—partly by the adoption of econom(etr)ic methods in business, partly by the rise of behavioural and experi- mental economics—both fields are globally perceived as different disciplines with a differ- ent definition of their object and methods, different journal lists, different job markets and different practices for training PhD students. While this demarcation is a global phenomenon, policymakers at Dutch universities should remain attuned to shifts and be more flexible to react to changing circumstances.