IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v42y2013i9p1679-1693.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Facts and fads in academic research management: The effect of management practices on research productivity in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Beerkens, Maarja

Abstract

As a response to competitive market forces and governmental steering policies, Australian universities have strengthened considerably their internal research management in the last two decades. This paper examines empirically the effect of management on academic research productivity. The results suggest that management practices indeed seem to have some positive effect on research productivity, and the effect is consistent in the earlier (1995–2000) and later (2001–2007) time period. Universities with a more intensive management approach not only have higher absolute level of research productivity but they demonstrate also faster growth in productivity. An omitted variable bias and robustness of the results to the choice of the output measure are under a particular attention and call for some caution in interpreting the results.

Suggested Citation

  • Beerkens, Maarja, 2013. "Facts and fads in academic research management: The effect of management practices on research productivity in Australia," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1679-1693.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:42:y:2013:i:9:p:1679-1693
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2013.07.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733313001303
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2013.07.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schubert, Torben, 2009. "Empirical observations on New Public Management to increase efficiency in public research--Boon or bane?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1225-1234, October.
    2. Wolfgang Glänzel & Henk F. Moed, 2013. "Opinion paper: thoughts and facts on bibliometric indicators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 96(1), pages 381-394, July.
    3. Goodall, Amanda H., 2009. "Highly cited leaders and the performance of research universities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1079-1092, September.
    4. Aldo Geuna, 1999. "The Economics of Knowledge Production," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1689.
    5. Herbert W. Marsh & John Hattie, 2002. "The Relation between Research Productivity and Teaching Effectiveness," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 73(5), pages 603-641, September.
    6. Carayol, Nicolas & Matt, Mireille, 2004. "Does research organization influence academic production?: Laboratory level evidence from a large European university," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1081-1102, October.
    7. John Taylor, 2006. "Managing the Unmanageable: The Management of Research in Research-Intensive Universities," Higher Education Management and Policy, OECD Publishing, vol. 18(2), pages 1-25.
    8. Malcolm Abbott & Hristos Doucouliagos, 2004. "Research output of Australian universities," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 251-265.
    9. Koshal, Rajindar K. & Koshal, Manjulika, 1999. "Economies of scale and scope in higher education: a case of comprehensive universities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 269-277, April.
    10. Plümper, Thomas & Troeger, Vera E., 2007. "Efficient Estimation of Time-Invariant and Rarely Changing Variables in Finite Sample Panel Analyses with Unit Fixed Effects," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 124-139, April.
    11. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2010. "Why Do Management Practices Differ across Firms and Countries?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 203-224, Winter.
    12. Sandra E. Black & Lisa M. Lynch, 2001. "How To Compete: The Impact Of Workplace Practices And Information Technology On Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 434-445, August.
    13. Johnes, Geraint, 1988. "Determinants of research output in economics departments in British universities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 171-178, June.
    14. Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Does competition raise productivity through improving management quality?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 306-316, May.
    15. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2003. "Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1169-1208.
    16. James D. Adams & J. Roger Clemmons, 2009. "The Growing Allocative Inefficiency of the US Higher Education Sector," NBER Chapters, in: Science and Engineering Careers in the United States: An Analysis of Markets and Employment, pages 349-382, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Robert Birnbaum, 2000. "The Life Cycle of Academic Management Fads," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(1), pages 1-16, January.
    18. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Cinzia Daraio, 2005. "Exploring size and agglomeration effects on public research productivity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 63(1), pages 87-120, March.
    19. Butler, Linda, 2003. "Explaining Australia's increased share of ISI publications--the effects of a funding formula based on publication counts," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 143-155, January.
    20. Nicolas Carayol & Mireille Matt, 2004. "Does research organization influence academic production ?," Post-Print hal-00279014, HAL.
    21. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Cinzia Daraio, 2003. "Age effects in scientific productivity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(1), pages 49-90, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mao, Guozhu & Zou, Hongyang & Chen, Guanyi & Du, Huibin & Zuo, Jian, 2015. "Past, current and future of biomass energy research: A bibliometric analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1823-1833.
    2. Youssef Elomari & Masoud Norouzi & Marc Marín-Genescà & Alberto Fernández & Dieter Boer, 2022. "Integration of Solar Photovoltaic Systems into Power Networks: A Scientific Evolution Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-23, July.
    3. Aliakbar Akbaritabar & Niccolò Casnici & Flaminio Squazzoni, 2018. "The conundrum of research productivity: a study on sociologists in Italy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 859-882, March.
    4. Stefan P L de Jong & Corina Balaban, 2022. "How universities influence societal impact practices: Academics’ sense-making of organizational impact strategies [Between Relevance and Excellence? Research Impact Agenda and the Production of Pol," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 609-620.
    5. Mulyanto,, 2016. "Productivity of R&D institution: The case of Indonesia," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 78-91.
    6. Shamsul Arifeen Khan Mamun & Mohammad Mafizur Rahman, 2016. "Modelling a Causal Relationship between the Internet and Academic Research Performance in an Australian University: A Case Study," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 10(1), pages 143-167, February.
    7. Claudiu Vasile Kifor & Ana Maria Benedek & Ioan Sîrbu & Roxana Florența Săvescu, 2023. "Institutional drivers of research productivity: a canonical multivariate analysis of Romanian public universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(4), pages 2233-2258, April.
    8. Amanda H. Goodall & John M. McDowell & Larry D. Singell, 2017. "Do Economics Departments Improve after They Appoint a Top Scholar as Chairperson?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(4), pages 546-564, November.
    9. Marcel Clermont, 2016. "Effectiveness and efficiency of research in Germany over time: an analysis of German business schools between 2001 and 2009," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(3), pages 1347-1381, September.
    10. Goodall, Amanda H. & McDowell, John M. & Singell, Larry D., 2014. "Leadership and the Research Productivity of University Departments," IZA Discussion Papers 7903, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maaike Verbree & Edwin Horlings & Peter Groenewegen & Inge Weijden & Peter Besselaar, 2015. "Organizational factors influencing scholarly performance: a multivariate study of biomedical research groups," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(1), pages 25-49, January.
    2. Joaquín M. Azagra-Caro & Fragiskos Archontakis & Alfredo Yegros-Yegros, 2007. "In which regions do universities patent and publish more?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 70(2), pages 251-266, February.
    3. Tasso Brandt & Torben Schubert, 2014. "Is the university model an organizational necessity? Scale and agglomeration effects in science," Chapters, in: Andrea Bonaccorsi (ed.), Knowledge, Diversity and Performance in European Higher Education, chapter 8, pages iii-iii, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Tasso Brandt & Torben Schubert, 2013. "Is the university model an organizational necessity? Scale and agglomeration effects in science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(2), pages 541-565, February.
    5. Mulyanto,, 2016. "Productivity of R&D institution: The case of Indonesia," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 78-91.
    6. Maloney, William F. & Sarrias, Mauricio, 2017. "Convergence to the managerial frontier," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 284-306.
    7. Torben Schubert, 2014. "Are there scale economies in scientific production? On the topic of locally increasing returns to scale," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(2), pages 393-408, May.
    8. Brandt, Tasso & Schubert, Torben, 2012. "Is the University Model an Organizational Necessity? Scale and Agglomeration Effects in Science," Papers in Innovation Studies 2012/1, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    9. M. Teresa Antonio-García & Irene López-Navarro & Jesús Rey-Rocha, 2014. "Determinants of success for biomedical researchers: a perception-based study in a health science research environment," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(3), pages 1747-1779, December.
    10. Yann Kossi & Jean-Yves Lesueur & Mareva Sabatier, 2016. "Publish or teach? The role of the scientific environment on academics’ multitasking," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(3), pages 487-506.
    11. John McCormack & Carol Propper & Sarah Smith, 2014. "Herding Cats? Management and University Performance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(578), pages 534-564, August.
    12. Nicolas Carayol, 2006. "La production de brevets par les chercheurs et enseignants-chercheurs.. Le cas de l'université Louis Pasteur," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(4), pages 117-134.
    13. Nicholas Bloom & Renata Lemos & Raffaella Sadun & Daniela Scur & John Van Reenen, 2014. "The New Empirical Economics of Management," NBER Working Papers 20102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Fouad El Ouardighi & Konstantin Kogan & Radu Vranceanu, 2013. "Publish or Teach ? : Analysis of the Professor's Optimal Career Plan," Working Papers hal-00823514, HAL.
    15. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Luca Secondi & Enza Setteducati & Alessio Ancaiani, 2014. "Participation and commitment in third-party research funding: evidence from Italian Universities," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 169-198, April.
    16. A. Baccini & L. Barabesi & M. Cioni & C. Pisani, 2014. "Crossing the hurdle: the determinants of individual scientific performance," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(3), pages 2035-2062, December.
    17. repec:hal:journl:hal-00823514 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Walsh, John P. & Lee, You-Na, 2015. "The bureaucratization of science," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(8), pages 1584-1600.
    19. Scur, Daniela & Lemos, Renata, 2019. "The ties that bind: implicit contracts and management practices in family-run firms," CEPR Discussion Papers 13794, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Alona Zharova & Wolfgang K. Härdle & Stefan Lessmann, 2017. "Is Scientific Performance a Function of Funds?," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2017-028, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    21. Botsch, Matthew & Vanasco, Victoria, 2019. "Learning by lending," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-14.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:42:y:2013:i:9:p:1679-1693. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.