The role of research reputation in choosing a UK business school and the contrasting perspectives of students and research leaders

Business School students in the UK place a high value on the research in their school as it enhances both the reputation of their institution and the quality of the teaching that they experience. However, research leaders in Business Schools severely underestimate the value that they believe their undergraduate students in particular place on their research. This mismatch creates a gap that of opportunity to enhance both research profiles and student experiences. In an increasingly competitive higher education sector, understanding the potential applicant is critical. University and Business School or Faculty of Business and Management rankings are widely referenced globally. Measures of research excellence are key to such rankings. This study investigates a disparity between what students seek and what UK Business School Research Leaders believe interests them. The research is based on a quantitative survey of over one thousand undergraduate and postgraduate UK Business School students and on semi-structured qualitative interviews with UK Business School Research Leaders. The indications are that such Research Leaders might have been misunderstanding what students are looking for, especially at undergraduate levels. This may, in part, be due to the limited information about student choices that they receive from their institutions and their lack of involvement in centralised efforts to promote their Business Schools’ research reputation. The study confirms that an enhanced research reputation positively influences Business School choice at all student levels, including undergraduates, and that there is also a demand for research to play an even greater role in taught degree programmes.