Tag: Impact

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Business Research Categories and Impact from the Perspective of AACSB Standard 8

By Dr. Vlad Krotov

AACSB and Research Impact

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) places significant emphasis on research impact as part of its accreditation standards. Under Standard 8: Impact of Scholarship, AACSB encourages business schools to demonstrate that their faculty’s scholarly activities contribute meaningfully to business theory, practice, and education. The focus is not just on producing research but ensuring that it has a measurable influence on business, society, and academia. 

Three Categories of Research as per AACSB Standard 8

AACSB’s Standard 8 posits that a business school can produce a portfolio of intellectual contributions that fall into the following areas: 

    • Basic or Discovery Scholarship:  focuses on expanding the existing knowledge base and developing new theories within business disciplines.
    • Applied or Integrative/Application Scholarship: leverages foundational knowledge, established theories, and methodologies to address real-world challenges faced by business professionals and their organizations.
    • Pedagogical or Teaching/Learning Scholarship: examines pedagogical theories and methodologies, fostering new insights, strategies, and content that improved usefulness and effectiveness of business education.

The exact nature and mix of intellectual contributions should reflect the mission of the business school. For example, a business school, as specified in its mission, may chose to become a leader in business thought, policy development, innovation, or certain business practices, such as sustainability. The portfolio of intellectual contributions should reflect that chosen area of focus. 

Impact within Basic, Applied, and Pedagogical Research Categories

Each type of research outlined by AACSB Standard 8 contributes to business knowledge, practice, and education in distinct ways. Below is an overview of how each type of research generates impact.

Basic Scholarship: Expanding Knowledge and Theory

Basic or discovery scholarship focuses on advancing fundamental knowledge, developing new theories, and contributing to the academic body of work. An example of such research would be a new organizational behavior model that explains how leadership styles influence employee engagement over time.

Some of the key impact areas of this type of research include: 

    • Theoretical Advancement: helps refine or develop new business theories in areas such as leadership, organizational behavior, strategic management, and finance.
    • Interdisciplinary Influence: contributes to knowledge across multiple fields, such as behavioral economics, AI in business, and business analytics.
    • Research influence: through theoretical and empirical insights, basic research lays the groundwork for future applied research and practical implementations.

Applied Scholarship: Solving Real-World Business Problems

Applied research builds on foundational knowledge and applies theories, methodologies, and techniques to address practical business challenges. An example of an applied research project would be a study applying blockchain technology to improve supply chain transparency and reduce fraud in the retail sector.

Applied research can have impact in the following areas: 

    • Business Decision-Making: helps organizations make evidence-based strategic, financial, and operational decisions.
    • Policy and Regulatory Influence: guides policymakers in areas like corporate governance, taxation, and labor laws.
    • Technological Innovation:  supports businesses in adopting AI, big data, and digital transformation strategies.
    • Entrepreneurship:  leads to the creation of new products, business models, or business practices.
    • Industry Best Practices: develops frameworks for improving management practices, supply chain efficiency, and customer experience.
    • Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility: influences business policies on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives.

Pedagogical Scholarship: Enhancing Business Education and Pedagogy

Teaching and learning scholarship can lead to the creation of new content for business education (e.g. case studies, books, book chapters, or white papers). It can also have a more research-driven and empirical focus and examine educational methodologies, student engagement strategies, and curriculum innovations to improve business education. A study exploring the effectiveness of simulation-based learning in teaching strategic management to MBA students would be an example of the latter type of pedagogical research. 

Teaching and learning research can have impact in the following areas:

    • Curriculum Development: leads to the creation of more effective business courses and learning materials.
    • Innovative Teaching Methods: enhances learning experiences through simulations, case studies, and digital tools.
    • Student Learning Outcomes: provides insights into how students acquire business knowledge and skills.
    • Workforce Readiness: ensures that graduates have the necessary competencies to succeed in the business world.
    • Faculty Development: helps educators refine their teaching approaches based on empirical research.

Conclusion

Each type of business research outlined in AACSB Standard 8 plays a critical role in shaping business theory, practice, and education. Basic research advances theoretical knowledge, applied research translates that knowledge into real-world solutions, and pedagogical research ensures that business education remains effective and relevant. Together, these research approaches drive innovation, improve business decision-making, and enhance the quality of business education. The exact mix of research and its specific impact is driven by the mission of a business school. Regardless of the exact area of focus chosen for its mission, all business schools must provide evidence of how their research translates into real-world applications rather than just accumulating publication counts and citations by other scholars. This is the most important idea behind AACSB Standard 8. 

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Altmetrics

By Dr. Vlad Krotov

What is Altmetrics?

Altmetrics, short for “alternative metrics,” are non-traditional measures that assess the reach and influence of academic research by assessing online attention and engagement that the research produces. Unlike traditional scholarly metrics like number of citations, h-index, and journal impact factor, altmetrics capture the broader, real-time impact of research on various platforms, such as social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), news outlets, blogs, policy documents, online repositories (e.g., GitHub, Figshare), and various academic platforms (e.g. Mendeley, ResearchGate). 

Altmetrics provide a broader and more diverse perspective on the impact of research, particularly its societal, professional, and educational relevance. Moreover, altmetrics can help a business school align its research strategy with its mission and AACSB Standard 8, which deals with the impact produced by a business school’s portfolio of intellectual contributions. 

How Altmetrics Measure Research Impact

In order to measure research engagement and impact online, altmetrics may use the following metrics:

    • Mentions in Social Media: Measuring how often a study is shared or discussed on platforms like Twitter or Reddit.
    • Policy Citations: Tracking references in government and organizational policy documents.
    • Media Coverage: Counting mentions in mainstream and specialized news outlets.
    • Public Usage: Analyzing usage and engagement in non-academic contexts, such as clinical practice guidelines, teaching resources, or public discussions.
    • Online Accessibility: Assessing the frequency with which research outputs are viewed, downloaded, or interacted with on various academic and non-academic platforms.

Altmetrics tools like Altmetric.com and PlumX aggregate and visualize these data to help researchers and institutions understand their research’s digital footprint and societal reach.

Relation to AACSB Standard 8 – Impact of Scholarship

AACSB Standard 8 emphasizes that the impact of scholarship is a key criterion for assessing academic excellence of business schools.  The standard requires schools to demonstrate that their faculty’s research and intellectual contributions are relevant, impactful, and aligned with the school’s mission. Altmetrics align with AACSB Standard 8 in several ways:

    • Broadening Impact Assessment: Altmetrics capture the societal and practical impact of research, showcasing its value beyond traditional academic measures like citations. This broader scope supports AACSB’s emphasis on demonstrating tangible benefits to businesses, communities, and broader society.
    • Real-Time Feedback: Unlike traditional metrics that take years to materialize, altmetrics can provide real-time data on how research is received, discussed, and applied. This helps schools quickly assess the relevance and effectiveness of their scholarly output.
    • Demonstrating Relevance: Altmetrics data can highlight how faculty research aligns with industry needs, public policy, or community issues, reinforcing AACSB’s focus on relevance to practice and societal engagement.
    • Strategic Insights for Schools: Schools can use altmetrics to align research strategies with their mission, identifying areas where faculty scholarship has (or should have) significant societal or economic impact.
    • Showcasing Stakeholder Engagement: By reflecting public, media, and policy engagement, altmetrics demonstrate how research contributes to broader conversations and decision-making processes, a key aspect of scholarship impact under AACSB standards.

Conclusion

Altmetrics provide a valuable tool for demonstrating and measuring the broader impact of scholarship in ways that align with AACSB Standard 8. By showcasing the societal, policy, and professional influence of research, altmetrics help institutions fulfill the AACSB’s requirement that accredited business schools should produce scholarship that matters to a wide range of stakeholders that a business school serves.