At a fundamental level, quality research could be anything that has a clear focus, is based upon sound research methods, and draws logical conclusions from the data and information obtained.  When business schools proudly speak of the quality of their research, however, this judgment generally includes two other dimensions.  The first is the relevancy of the research to the business school’s constituents – be they students, other faculty, or the business community.  The second is the ability of the research to have impact on either practice or the generation of new ideas.  Not only does this require that quality research be presented to an audience that will find it relevant, it must also have the ability to motivate action or further scholarly inquiry; ultimately it must have impact.

Just as business schools have varying missions, so will different schools seek diverse channels to impact their stakeholders through their faculty's research.  Methods of determining impact will also vary according to the focus of the research and the form it takes.  The following sections offer examples of practices that may be used to determine the impact of various forms of research, methods of increasing the impact of scholarly activity, and examples of scholarly activity that has been successful in impacting business practices.

  Methods of Determining Impact

  Methods of Increasing Impact

  Examples of Scholarly Impact on Practice