Strathclyde Business School Research Impact

Our research

The latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) has recognised the University of Strathclyde for its research and the impact it has on society, with the University performing very strongly in this latest national assessment of the UK’s higher education research profile. Almost 90% of research produced by the University of Strathclyde has been rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in the REF 2021.

In terms of highlights for Strathclyde Business School:

Its overall proportion of world-leading research at 42% is significantly above the sector average of 35%. With a GPA of 3.26 this positions SBS as the third-highest overall quality of all Scottish institutions, as ranked by THE.
Its proportion of world-leading and internationally-excellent research outputs combined at 81% is above the sector average of 76.3%.
SBS’s exemplary research environment achieved particularly strong recognition having a rating of 75% ‘conducive to producing research of world-leading quality and enabling outstanding impact’.
With the remaining 25% rated as ‘conducive to producing research of internationally excellent quality’, this places SBS significantly above the sector average and makes it the second-highest environment quality profile in Scotland.
The proportion of SBS’s impact assessed as ’outstanding’ is also well above sector average at 55.6% against 41.7%.
In terms of scale and quality, the SBS submission has been ranked 16th in the UK on Research Power by the THE (a calculation which takes account of the volume of associated staff). This makes it the second-highest in Scotland

In terms of research impact, SBS put forward a number of impact case studies.

As well as the quality of individual staff contributions, the strength of SBS reflects a number of distinctive factors:

We are a full service business school that enables strength in depth and sustained excellence at departmental level.
Our application of the University's mission as 'The Place of Useful Learning' through cutting edge research that is both theory-driven and relevant for policy and practice.
Engagement and collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders in business, government and civil society on issues that matter and are of benefit to all.
Links between departments and disciplines in and beyond the business school and the wider university.
An international as well as domestic focus, with strong collaborative links with partners in a variety of other countries and contexts.
A diverse range of funding, from research councils, government, business, voluntary organisations and trade unions.
A vibrant and large PhD community that creates synergies with staff expertise and projects.

The material contained elsewhere on these pages is intended to showcase projects and people that illustrate these distinctive strengths.