Finance, marketing make nation's top 20
By Sookhan Ho
Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 20 - February 8, 1996
Recent national surveys of academic research productivity ranked the finance and marketing departments of the Pamplin College of Business among the nation's top 20. The authors of both surveys also pointed out the positive and "very highly significant" relationship between publication and institutional prestige, as measured by such rankings as U.S. News and World Report 's annual listings of leading schools.
The Department of Finance was ranked 20th in terms of total number of scholarly articles published in finance journals over a five-year period. The study, titled "Finance Research Productivity and Influence," was published in the December '95 issue of The Journal of Finance . It examined differences in finance research productivity and influence across 661 academic institutions from 1989 through 1993.
The authors were four faculty members from Lehigh University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Cincinnati. They found that 40 institutions accounted for more than half of all the articles published in 16 leading journals, and that 66 institutions accounted for two-thirds of the articles. "Influence is more skewed," the authors said, "with as few as 20 institutions accounting for 50 percent of all citations to articles in these journals."
Interim finance head George Morgan said his department takes pride in its research accomplishments and its contribution to the reputation of the Pamplin College. Virginia Tech, he added, was the only Virginia university represented in the top 50.
In a separate, informal survey, the Department of Marketing was ranked 17th in terms of number of publications, during the 1990-1995 period, in three leading journals specializing in consumer behavior, Journal of Consumer Research , Journal of Consumer Psychology , and Journal of Marketing Research . The listing was compiled by a University of Cincinnati faculty member and published in the fall newsletter of the Society of Consumer Psychology.
Marketing head David Brinberg added that his department was fourth in terms of service on editorial boards of the main marketing journals, with marketing faculty members represented nine times on the boards of the Journal of Consumer Research , Journal of Marketing , and Journal of Marketing Research . "These indices are both imperfect measures of national visibility, to be sure, but they consistently reflect our status as one of the top 20 marketing departments in the U.S."
Noting the link between research and prestige, the Journal of Finance authors said prestigious business schools tend to have high research productivity and influence." Research productivity, the author of the marketing survey said, "is the single most important determinant of business-school reputation."