Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9560
Authors: John McCormack; Carol Propper; Sarah L. Smith
Abstract: Using a tried and tested measure of management practices which has been shown to predict firm performance, we survey nearly 250 departments across 100+ UK universities. We find large differences in management scores across universities and that departments in older, research-intensive universities score higher than departments in newer, more teaching-oriented universities. We also find that management matters in universities. The scores, particularly with respect to provision of incentives for staff recruitment, retention and promotion, are correlated with both teaching and research performance conditional on resources and past performance. Moreover, this relationship holds for all universities, not just research-intensive ones.
Keywords: management practices; performance; universities
JEL Codes: I32; M51; M54
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Management practices related to incentives (M52) | Strong positive effect on performance (D29) |
| Higher management scores at the departmental level (M54) | Better performance in research and teaching (D29) |
| One standard deviation improvement in management scores (D29) | 2.74% improvement in Complete University Guide ranking (I23) |
| One standard deviation improvement in management scores (D29) | 2.49% improvement in Research Assessment Exercise ranking (A14) |