Research at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
Research at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration has 284 researchers who teach, develop courses, conduct empirical studies, write books and articles. In addition, many of the researchers are in charge of the administration of study programmes, departments and research programmes and participate in the public debate; they conduct research activities in cooperation with foreign research institutions, the business community and the public sector; they participate in fact-finding work and consultancy services as well as continuing education activities at CBS and elsewhere; they work as teachers of Master of Business Administration and PhD study programmes in Denmark and abroad; they work with the editing staff of national and international trade journals; and finally, they organise conferences and workshops and are on the boards of various professional associations.
Although only some of these activities may be regarded as research in the traditional sense of the word, i.e. creating new knowledge and exposing this knowledge to the international research community through conferences and various publications, they are all dependent on research. Research is therefore the engine driving all the other activities.
Research as an engine
Research is an engine creating relations. Producing research results of interest to other people means communicating. Communication is intensified through research, thereby increasing the dialogue on research processes and research results. This in itself creates further research results and strengthens research activities. The quantity and quality of research is improved through this positive spiral, thereby creating new relations to other research environments.
But that is not all. An increase in the quantity and quality of research also increases the competence of the researchers, improving their teaching capability. The result is better courses; increasingly up-to-date programmes; more perspective on the issues of the discipline; better students. It also increases the number of international visitors and visiting lecturers. And it results in a higher degree of variation in courses and a lot of influence from the globalised world. Word gets around that the Faculty has something to offer, and consequently more international students apply. Exchange agreements are made with universities in other countries based on the reputation of the Faculty and its position in international research. Thus, Danish students quickly link up to the internationalisation trend and they are encouraged to play an active part in global education.
This also impacts the research process itself. The quality researchers may claim as part of the international research community enables them to develop better research projects – not least projects conducted in cooperation with private and public enterprises. Access to good international sparring partners and the certainty that local research environments at least possess a quality rendering them interesting to other researchers, increases the quality of local research projects.
Especially quality in research – and the interest in empirical issues – makes it possible to develop interesting master's programmes of high quality (e.g. Master of Business Administration, Master of Management Development, Global eManagement, Master of Public Administration), which will only survive if they give access to international-calibre knowledge, including lecturers from abroad.
Research is also an engine, because it is the foundation of both the production and the dissemination of knowledge. It is the foundation of the Faculty's endeavours to obtain visibility in the international research community, thereby accentuating the shape of individual researchers and research environments: It creates better results and a better background for generating new results in terms of education and dissemination.
Do we do enough? Are the success criteria fulfilled?
This is a difficult question. The figure below shows Faculty production in recent years.
Figure 1: Types of Faculty publications 2000-2004
In a way, this is an example of adding apples and pears. Each graph covers both articles and books, and no distinction has been made between 'good' and 'not so good' channels of publication. The figure illustrates that the number of foreign-language (especially English) publications has decreased in 2004 against 2003, whereas the number of Nordic-language publications has increased. This is not quite satisfactory, as the scientific staff increased slightly during the same period. The number of 'Other publications' is also increasing. This is a somewhat mixed category, but often it refers to general contributions to newspapers and trade journals. It is OK to produce contributions to publications of this kind, but obviously they are not as important as proper research publications. The number of working papers and proceedings fluctuates around a stable level, which is not bad at all. Such publications may be important to get in touch with colleagues around the world, but they are not final publications even though many of them are given as references in papers published by other researchers. It seems that working papers and proceedings are gradually being substituted by proper research production, which is promising, as it means that the research work will then be finalised.
The research productivity of individual researchers varies greatly – at least when measured by the number of publications per employed researcher. The medium of publication also varies greatly. This means that our researchers reach a wide audience in terms of research issues and themes; in terms of 'level' as well as methods. There is a high degree of heterogeneity, the advantage being the many links to the surrounding world. It also reflects the size of the Faculty – 284 researchers can only equal heterogeneity.
On average, each researcher accounts for 1.5 foreign-language publication, 1.25 Nordic-language publication and 1.22 working paper/proceeding. A slightly higher output would be ideal. Indeed, the Faculty aims to achieve an even higher publication rate by encouraging department progress through academic planning and sound recruiting. An increased publication rate is particularly important, because it is a prerequisite for objective dialogue.
Faculty research ambitions/what is next?
The CBS Faculty of Economics and Business Administration offers an environment of research and higher education using research as an engine to circulate ideas and people in an international world. Research enables the Faculty to be a player in the international research community; it calls attention to competence and attracts interesting institutions and persons to Denmark from all over the world. For the Faculty, research is an international activity creating exposure and consequently interest and relations, international standards and perspectives, not only in research per se, but also in courses and business partnerships.
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2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
200
|
2000 vs 2004
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|
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Staff:
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||||||
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Academic staff as at 31 Dec.
|
231
|
248
|
262
|
274
|
284
|
23%
|
|
International visiting professors
|
17
|
14
|
16
|
19
|
21
|
17%
|
|
PhD studensts as at 31 Dec.
|
157
|
156
|
159
|
168
|
154
|
-2%
|
|
of which international PhD students as at 31 Dec.
|
30
|
28
|
22
|
22
|
25
|
-17%
|
|
Publications:
|
||||||
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
277
|
279
|
318
|
378
|
322
|
16%
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
291
|
369
|
326
|
270
|
373
|
28%
|
|
Funding:
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||||||
|
Internal reseach funding, DKK mill.
|
69,8
|
78,5
|
86,0
|
99,6
|
110,9
|
59%
|
|
External reseach funding through the European Union and Research Counsils, ect. DKK mill.
|
24,2
|
25,1
|
35,7
|
33,7
|
31,7
|
31%
|
|
External reseach funding through partnerships, ect. DKK mill.
|
20
|
22,2
|
30,2
|
29,0
|
28,0
|
40%
|
|
Miscellaneous:
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||||||
|
Visiting reseachers staying for periods of more than 2 month
|
2
|
5
|
5
|
17
|
21
|
950%
|
|
Reseachers staying abroad for periods of more than 2 month
|
12
|
21
|
26
|
14
|
24
|
100%
|
|
Conferences hosted and managed
|
75
|
91
|
97
|
112
|
111
|
48%
|
|
Review jobs and editorships
|
254
|
389
|
415
|
578
|
616
|
143%
|
|
Memberships of executive boards, councils and commisions
|
79
|
112
|
155
|
173
|
246
|
211%
|
Figure 2: Faculty research figures 2000-2004
Research is part of all Faculty activities and, therefore, it should be developed and supported. International publications are pivotal, because they indicate whether Faculty researchers are actually capable of finding an outlet for their ideas. International cooperation on projects is also important; visiting researchers are attracted by the Faculty's reputation, and participation in the organisation of international conferences and workshops is evidence of the Faculty's involvement in international 'communities of practice'.
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AStudent and Programmes
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2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2000 vs 2004
|
|
Students:
|
||||||
|
Dag-studerende (1.10.)
|
7.229
|
7.781
|
8.052
|
8.678
|
9.332
|
29%
|
|
HD-studerende (1.10.)
|
3.401
|
3.049
|
2.973
|
2.986
|
2.926
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-14%
|
|
Master-studerende (1.10.)
|
202
|
274
|
254
|
322
|
290
|
111%
|
|
- heraf udl. stud. (1.10.)
|
464
|
580
|
652
|
838
|
978
|
111%
|
|
Antal internationale udvekslingsstud.
|
424
|
574
|
770
|
856
|
910
|
115%
|
|
Mis:
|
||||||
|
Investeringer i studieudvikling mio. kr.
|
4.376
|
4.967
|
5.579
|
8.352
|
8.782
|
101%
|
|
Studenterårsværk på fremmedsprogede programmer og linier
|
656
|
740
|
746
|
889
|
1084
|
65%
|
|
Herudover antal fag udbudt på fremmedsprog
|
84
|
90
|
88
|
117
|
120
|
43%
|
Figure 3: Faculty student and study-programme figures 2000-2004
Research is also included in internationalised study programmes, as it is only possible to attract international students when part of an international network of universities, often based on research reputation. Exchange agreements presuppose research ballast and that educational activities are performed in English.
.
Figure 4: Research funds 2000-2004 broken down by external and internal funds
Finally, internationalised research contributes to preparing the Faculty for improved partnerships with the business community. Internationalisation is important to cooperation partners, because of the inherent quality and because it is possible to exploit ideas developed elsewhere in the world without delay. Quite often, international research-based networks are the means of ensuring international participation in projects, including projects involving Danish companies. Especially internationalised research enables the Faculty to demonstrate competences that are of interest to potential partners.
Thus, research includes both input and output – it is the process by which the Faculty is constantly preparing to be a serious partner, both in a narrow sense with regard to knowledge production and in a broader sense, thereby acquiring competences to develop courses and partnerships and to participate in the public debate in a qualified way. The Faculty must have international representation in order to create value-added research.
Department research areas and topics
For further information, see the websites of the individual departments and the CBS experts directory at Experts@cbs - www.cbs.dk/library/bln450002.shtml.
Research in Faculty focus areas
In its development contract for 2000-2003 with the Danish Ministry of Science, CBS formulated four focus areas to which the Faculty has also contributed. Two of these areas have been evaluated internationally: the Knowledge Management sub-area within Management Research in 2002 and Informatics in 2004. The Corporate Communication focus area will be evaluated in 2005, and the data has therefore been included here. The fourth focus area, Innovation, was introduced in 2003 and will continue as the innovation and entrepreneurship focus area under the next development contract between CBS and the Ministry of Science. The new focus areas, innovation and entrepreneurship, business and politics, experience economy, globalisation, are characterised by their broad academic spectrum and, to a varying degree, they involve the research environments of most of the Faculty departments. Several major interdepartmental research projects and centres were established within these focus areas in the course of 2004.
Corporate communication, a focus area in 2000-2003
This particular focus area is based on the development of information technology and the new media which have turned up in its wake. This development signifies that the function-based enterprise was subject to pressure and that the ability to master both internal and external communication became an important competitive parameter.
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
|
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
8
|
11
|
10
|
25
|
37
|
13
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
10
|
6
|
20
|
20
|
14
|
14
|
|
Working Papers og Proceedings
|
14
|
25
|
27
|
37
|
9
|
19
|
|
Partnership-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
1.0
|
0.9
|
2.0
|
1.6
|
1.7
|
2.8
|
|
Council and EU-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
0.5
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
0.9
|
1.6
|
1.7
|
Figure 5: Publications [1] and external funds 1999-2004
Innovation and entrepreneurship, a focus area in 2003 and from 2005
The capacity for constant innovation will be decisive for the competitive power of the business community. The ability to organise and manage development processes, transform technical inventions into business goals, assess market potential and risks, safeguard and negotiate rights and establish new business areas will be crucial for growth and welfare in the future. Together, the Faculty departments possess much of the demanded knowledge, but it must be made visible to the public. In addition to the existing competences of the Faculty departments, a Research Center was established in the Biotech Sector at the turn of the year 2003/2004, and the Center for Knowledge Governance was established in 2004.
[1] Foreign-language and Nordic-language publications comprise theses and dissertations, books, articles in journals and anthologies.
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
|
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
31
|
37
|
37
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
11
|
10
|
16
|
|
Working Papers og Proceedings
|
42
|
38
|
68
|
|
Partnership-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
1.2
|
1.1
|
4.4
|
|
Council and EU-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
3.1
|
3.0
|
10.0
|
Figure 6: Publications and external funds 2002-2004
Experience economy, a focus area from 2005
Increasing welfare, not only in Denmark, but also in a number of development areas around the world, is expected to create a basis for considerable growth in industries such as design, culture, experience, leisure time and tourism. Research in the enterprises and institutions of the experience economy is important to be able to understand the correlation between experience, business and economy. With the establishment of two new centeres in 2004, the Center for Tourism and Culture Management (TCM) and Imagine .. Creative Industries Research (CIR), the Faculty has taken the initial steps to strengthen research within this field. In the autumn of 2004, researchers at the latter centre received a relatively large grant of approximately DKK 2.2 mill. from the Danish Social Science Research Council for research in the types of organisation and production in the Danish film industry.
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2004
|
|
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
14
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
3
|
|
Working Papers og Proceedings
|
13
|
|
Partnership-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
0,8
|
|
Council and EU-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
0,4
|
Figure 7: Publications and external funds, status in 2004
Business and politics, a focus area from 2005
Changing interfaces between business and state/market call for increased research and education. With the establishment of the International Center for Business and Politics steps have been taken to strengthen overall Faculty research within this field of research. The Center supplements current research with more departments, while strengthening CBS' international network in the field.
|
2004
|
|
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
45
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
73
|
|
Working Papers og Proceedings
|
28
|
|
Partnership-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
1,5
|
|
Council and EU-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
2,7
|
Figure 8: Publications and external funds, status in 2004
Globalisation, a focus area from 2005
To gain access to markets constituting an increasing part of the world economy in a global perspective, it is necessary to have in-depth knowledge of the culture, economy, politics and social conditions of the area in question. Therefore, the Faculty wishes to strengthen ongoing research in areas such as Asia, Europe and North and South America, while also focusing on the new development economies that are expected to represent the next stage in the global development. In this area obvious fields of cooperation with the Faculty of Languages, Communication and Cultural Studies are emerging. The Faculty has just established a Center for Business and Development Studies. Together with a previously established Center for Asia Research, it also falls into this category/field.
|
2004
|
|
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
48
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
6
|
|
Working Papers og Proceedings
|
36
|
|
Partnership-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
1,4
|
|
Council and EU-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
3,0
|
Figure 9: Publications and external funds, status in 2004
Other Faculty activities
A significant part of international and national publication is the result of achievements in many of the Faculty core areas not covered by the above focus areas and the four new focus areas.
|
2004
|
|
|
Foreign-language puclications
|
165
|
|
Nordic-language puclications
|
261
|
|
Working Papers og Proceedings
|
206
|
|
Partnership-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
17,0
|
|
Council and EU-funded projects, DKK mill.
|
13,8
|
Figure 10: Publications and external funds, status in 2004
Ole Stenvinkel Nilsson, Dean
Department Research Reports
Last updated by Tine Bächler Poulsen 27/11/2008
