KUBS receives highest points among business schools in Korea

JWB released a research performance assessment based on nine years of data analyzed through GRP system.

Topping the list of Korean business schools, KUBS ranked 10th in Asia and 143rd in the world.

A recent article from Journal of World Business (JWB) published by Elsevier revealed that the Korea University Business School (KUBS) received the most points among business schools in Korea. The article was based on research which covered nine years of research performances made by business schools around the world from 2007 to 2015.

Outperforming other business schools in Korea, KUBS ranked 10th among business schools in Asia and 143rd in the world, which is a remarkable achievement. KUBS was followed by other Korean business schools affiliated to Seoul National University (173rd), Yonsei University (177th) and Sungkyunkwan University (268th). If a research field were specified as International Business (IB), KUBS not only topped the list of the Korean business schools, but also ranked higher on the Asian list (6th) and global list (33rd).

This research performance assessment was carried out through the Global Research Performance (GRP) system designed by JWB. The journal pointed out that existing university rankings did not reflect university performances in many fields, including journals published in the field of International Business. Before assessing the business schools, the journal obtained nine years of data provided by the Web of Science. To be as fair as possible, the assessment was made based on the number of papers, the rate of citations, the exposure rate of papers, and their accessibility.

A total of 389,785 pieces of data from 3,352 higher education institutions in 127 countries was used in the assessment. Overall, 53.1% of the data was related to schools and institutions located within the United States. In addition. 68% of all schools and institutions involved in the process was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). If the scope were narrowed down to the International Business field, the number of institutions that published more than one paper from 2007 to 2015 was 1,029 from 75 different countries.

The achievement made by KUBS was meaningful in that it was highly appraised despite the fact that it is located in a non-English-speaking country. The assessment was conducted on research papers written in English and published in the world’s top journals. Among the 200 high-ranking schools and institutions on the list, only 54 of them were situated in countries where English is not the native language.

Soo Young Kwon, Dean of the Korea University Business School, commented on the assessment result by saying, “Making global research achievements are as important as strengthening our global competitiveness as a business education institution. Without being complacent with our current status, we will do our best to solidify our position as a globally competitive business school that is prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.