The publish or perish culture, very common in academia, has had a

positive impact on Business schools

Business schools, like other schools, are generally also evaluated by the caliber of
their research executed by the faculties. Simultaneously, these schools strive to
prepare the students for the real world. Now, whether academic research carried out
by business schools out of the pressure to publish brings forth anything that can be
made use in practice of business, and thereby has had a positive impact or not evokes
arguments.

Business schools in America annually spend around USD 320 million on research
(The Economist, 2007), which calls for a legitimate question on the purpose for which
it is undertaken. A straightforward answer is research aims at broadening the
boundaries of knowledge, and it is true for business schools too. These schools can
undoubtedly receive pat on the back for their faculties’ contribution in publication,
and help themselves climb up the rankings. Also, members of the faculty are
benefitted in terms of recruitment, promotion and tenure by means of their
publications in journals. In some ways publications also attract funding business
schools receive.

However, if we intend to change our perspective, we would see that most of the
research is supremely quantitative, mostly driven by hypothesis, and obscure: little
of it is grounded in actual business practices. Findings from such research do not even
surface in classroom discussions (The Economist, 2007). And the research papers are
mostly not read by a majority of the real-world managers as the research is not
designed keeping their needs in mind. Moreover, prestigious journals are exclusively
moderated and read by other academics. This scenario necessitates publishing
research work that is pertinent enough to make itself felt in the real world of business
(Salleh, Ahmad, & Kumar, 2008). Warren Bennis and James O’Toole (2005) argue that

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skills that most business schools instill are not relevant to students, for which the
authors blame those schools’ scientifically demanding research endeavors in areas
which do not require to be proved to apply in real world. The need for such an attempt
in research can be attributed to the fact that elite journals ask for research papers that
are scientifically appealing relying on sophisticated statistical techniques, precision
and control.

In addition to the above, the pressure to publish, according to Smith (1990),

discourages original work. Bouchikhi & Kimberly (2001) opine that the intense
pressure to publish put on faculty have gradually led to institutionalization of
management research, which results into less innovative research by being unable to
efficiently adapt to real world. The outcome of such scholarly activity is a closed
system. It might generate scientifically novel and interesting body of knowledge, but
unfortunately does not address real problems of leaders, entrepreneurs, managers,
investors and marketers. Not only this, but also the pressure forces professors to
spend a majority of their time in searching for research topics which they hope would
interest other business professors, carrying out the research, and attending
conferences to promote the research work (Eckhardt & Wetherbe, 2014). The ever
increasing need for running after publishing might not let them perish, but at the
same time, it might not serve the very purpose of the business schools.

The pressure to publish is widely believed to come up with some wholesome

benefits to the business schools with respect to their reputation and ranking, and to
the professors in terms of their recruitment, promotion and tenure. However, owing
to a different set of other consequences arising out of that pressure, and when we
look from the perspective of the mission of the business schools, whether the impact
on business schools is positive is still contentious.

References

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Bennis, W. G., & O'Toole, J. (2005). How business schools lost their way. Harvard
Business Review, 83(5), 96-104.
Bouchikhi, H., & Kimberly, J. R. (2001). It’s difficult to innovate: The death of the
tenured professor and the birth of the knowledge entrepreneure. Human
Relations, 54(1), 77-84.
Eckhardt, J., & Wetherbe, J. C. (2014). Making business school research more
relevant. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2014/12/making-business-school-research-more-relevant
Salleh, A., Ahmad, A., & Kumar, N. (2008). Call for A Paradigm Shift in The Quest for
Advanced Business Schools. Journal of International Social Research, 1(5).
Smith, P. (1990). Killing the spirit: Higher education in America. Viking Penguin
Publishing. New York: Viking Penguin Publishing.
The Economist. (2007, August 28). Business schools and research practically
irrelevant? What is the point of research carried out in business schools?
Retrieved 09 12, 2018, from The Economist:
https://www.economist.com/business/2007/08/28/practically-irrelevant