Research in Business Schools: What is Wrong and What Should We Do?

Academics, deans, members of the business community as well as other business school stakeholders have broadly criticized current research practices in business schools. The main criticism is that business school research has not produced knowledge useful for practice and is biased in its choice of research topics.

A recent Wharton School study estimated the cost of an A-journal article to be about $400,000, counting only the salary of the research faculty. Every year, millions if not billions are spent on research that are published but not read or used. At the same time, many critical and pressing questions receive no research attention. What is wrong with business school research and what should we do?

The purpose of this Deans Forum Keynote Panel is to discuss potential solutions and identify opportunities for business schools to contribute to the increasing complex societies with technological progress, internet-based commerce, new organizational forms, and new forms of employment relationships.

Panel Chair:
Gerry George
Dean, Singapore Management University
Editor-in-Chief, AMJ

Panel Speakers (alphabetically):
Hongbin Cai, Dean, Guanghua School of Management, PKU
Dan LeClair, COO, AACSB
Judy Olian, Dean, UCLA

Background about keynote speakers:

Gerry George
Dean
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Singapore Management University

Professor Gerry George is Dean and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at LKCSB. He is Editor of the Academy of Management Journal, the flagship empirical journal in the field of management. Previously, he was Deputy Dean of the Business School at Imperial College London, Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre, and Academic Director of the Elite Programme, which supports ambitious private companies through their next stage of growth and is sponsored by the London Stock Exchange and delivered with partners including leading banks, investors, and advisers.

An award-winning researcher and teacher, Professor George has published several articles in leading scholarly journals (list). He was awarded a prestigious Professorial Fellowship (2011-2014) from the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council to work on resource-constrained or inclusive innovation. His work investigates business models, organisational design, and its implications for innovation and entrepreneurship. His latest book (with Adam Bock) introduces a narrative approach on how entrepreneurs conceive and change business models to make an implausible idea into a viable growth opportunity, Models of Opportunity: How Entrepreneurs Design Firms to Achieve the Unexpected, (Cambridge University Press, 2012). His previous book Inventing Entrepreneurs: Technology Innovators and their Entrepreneurial Journey (Prentice Hall, 2008) addresses the human side of innovation and technology transfer.

Until November 2014, he served as a non-executive director and chaired the Risk Management Committee of India Infrastructure Finance Company (UK)Limited, a Government of India enterprise subsidiary in the UK.

Hongbin Cai
Dean
Guanghua School of Management
Peking University

Hongbin Cai received his BA in Mathematics at Wuhan University in 1988, his M.A. in Economics at Peking University in 1991, and his Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford University in 1997. He is currently Professor in Economics and Dean of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. He taught at University of California, Los Angeles before moving back to Peking University. He is a National Chang Jiang Scholar (awarded by Ministry of Education of China) and a National Outstanding Young Researcher (awarded by National Science Foundation of China). Professor Cai has published many academic papers in top international journals in economics and finance, in a wide range of areas including game theory, Chinese economy, industrial organization and corporate finance.

He is elected as a Fellow and a Councilmember of the Econometric Society. Professor Cai is a member of the National People’s Congress, and a member of the Central Committee of China Democratic League and Vice Chairman of its Committee of Economic Affairs. He was the founding president of the Chinese Finance Association (TCFA, overseas).

Dan LeClair 
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International)

As the EVP & COO of AACSB, the leading global accreditor of business schools, Dan leads efforts to advance quality management education through strategic initiatives, learning events, and research. He is an internationally recognized expert, author, and presenter on business education. Dan has participated in numerous international boards, committees, and task forces. He is also past chair for the steering committee of the UN Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

Judy D.Olian, Ph.D.
Dean and John E. Anderson Chair in Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management

Judy D. Olian, Ph.D is the eighth dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management and John E. Anderson Chair in Management. Under her leadership, UCLA Anderson has hired a record number of faculty, launched new global degree and certificate programs, and initiated and developed targeted partnerships in Asia and Latin America. Recently, UCLA Anderson transitioned into a new financial model for the University of California, and has raised over $325M to support innovative programming and management thought leadership, and to advance UCLA Anderson as one of the leading schools of management in the world.

Dean Olian leads a school that annually provides management education to almost 2,000 students in MBA, Masters and doctoral programs, and to more than 2,000 professionals through executive education programs. The school has several widely recognized research centers and a global alumni network of more than 36,000 graduates.

She is a sought-after speaker and has consulted for major corporations. She serves on the advisory boards of Catalyst; the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney; Westwood Technology Transfer Inc; Ares Management; and United Therapeutics Corporation.