Collegiate schools of business occupy a unique and important position among management education organizations and practitioners. Although other organizations (e.g., corporate universities and for-profit education providers) share with business schools the purpose of developing managerial talent, business schools also conduct research. In fact, the mission of any school seeking AACSB International accreditation must include research, broadly defined to include discipline-specific scholarship, contributions to practice, and studies to improve management teaching and pedagogy.

The rigorous thinking and theoretical grounding of business school scholars and their research offer an advantage over the casual empiricism and fads coming from non-academic writers.  The primary source of this advantage is that universities and business schools provide an environment conducive to high-quality research. Academic scholars have freedom to pursue original ideas without pressure to increase the bottom line or create "sellable' business propositions.  Business schools reward quality research and provide access to resources.  Thriving communities of academic and practitioner experts facilitate collaboration and stimulate cross-pollination across fields. Peer review provides powerful checks on the quality of research.

  Impact of Research Task Force

Impact of Research Task Force – Timeline

February 2006
The AACSB International Board of Directors charges the Impact of Research Task Force with recommending how AACSB and other organizations, such as academic discipline associations, publishers, and individual business schools, could enhance the impact and overall value of academic research. The task force was given the following objectives:

• consider the overall value proposition for academic research in business schools, 
• study existing channels for disseminating research, and 
• consider opportunities to strengthen the involvement of various stakeholders in defining the target areas for research.

August 3, 2007
The AACSB International Board of Directors releases the Report of the AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force (Draft for Comments). (Read the Press Release) 

August 2007 through December 2007
For five months, AACSB solicits feedback from member schools and various other stakeholders regarding the report and the recommendations within it. 

• In the first two weeks after the report is announced, 2,289 visitors visit resource center and 1,601 open the Draft for Comments.
• Numerous articles are published, including by the Chronicle of Higher Education, BusinessWeek.com, and Economist.com. The press coverage generates many blog posts as well. 
• Many individuals contribute publicly viewable comments to AACSB’s online resource center or email their comments directly to the task force. 
• Formal discussions are held at meetings of the CIME, the Board of Directors, and AACSB accreditation committees, as well as at numerous AACSB events, including the International Conference and Annual Meeting (April 2007) Continuous Improvement Conference (October 2007), and World Class Practices Conference (November 2007). 
• The report is discussed at fall meetings of the U.S. regional deans associations, the Canadian Federation of Business School Deans, the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, and other stakeholder groups.

Overall, nearly 1,000 business deans, directors and professors participate in formal discussions about the report or offer feedback and suggestions during this comment period. This feedback influences revisions to the final report.

January 2008
The AACSB International Committee on Issues in Management Education and Board of Directors approve release of the Final Report of the Impact of Research Task Force. The preface to the report summarizes revisions to the final report and describes how AACSB will proceed regarding the report’s recommendations.