Retaining, resigning and firing: bibliometrics as a people analytics tool for examining research performance outcomes and faculty turnover

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on the use of bibliometric indicators as a people analytics tool for examining research performance outcome differences in faculty mobility and turnover.Design/methodology/approachEmploying bibliometric information from research databases, the publication, citations, h-index and newly developed individual annualized h-index (hIa-index) for a sample of university faculty is examined (N = 684). Information relating to turnover decisions from a human resource (HR) information system and bibliometric data from a research database are combined to explore research performance differences across cohorts of retained, resigned or terminated faculty over a five-year period in a single university.FindingsAnalysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicate traditional bibliometric indicators of h-index, publication count and citation count which are limited in their ability to identify performance differences between employment status cohorts. Results do show some promise for the newly developed hIa-index, as it is found to be significantly lower for terminated faculty (p < 0.001), as compared to both retained and resigned faculty. Multinomial logistic regression analysis also confirms the hIa metric as a predictor of terminated employment status.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the results imply that the hIa-index, which controls for career length and elements of coauthorship is a superior bibliometric indicator for comparison of research performance.Practical implicationsResults suggest that the hIa metric may serve as a useful tool for the examination of employment decisions for universities. It also highlights the potential usefulness of bibliometric indicators for people analytics and the examination of employment decisions, performance management and faculty turnover in research-intensive higher education contexts.Originality/valueThis empirical paper is entirely unique. No research has previously examined the issue of turnover in a university setting using the bibliometric measures employed here. This is a first example of the potential use of hIa bibliometric index as an HR analytics tool for the examination of HR decisions such as employee turnover in the university context.

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Assessment of research impact through citation analysis: a new approach

Journal of Advances in Management Research ◽

10.1108/jamr-06-2019-0102 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 160-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Prem Vrat

Keyword(s):

Citation Analysis ◽

Research Performance ◽

Value Added ◽

Detailed Comparison ◽

Research Assessment ◽

H Index ◽

Content Type ◽

Practical Applications ◽

New Approaches ◽

P Index

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the limitations of h-index in assessing research performance through citation analysis and suggest two new indexes called prime index (P-index) and value added index (V-index), which are simpler to compute than g-index and more informative. For more serious research performance evaluation, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology is proposed. Design/methodology/approach The methodology adopted is to compare existing indexes for citation-based research assessment and identify their limitations, particularly the h-index, which is most commonly employed. It gives advantages of g-index over h-index and then proposes P-index which is simpler to compute than g-index but is more powerful in information content than g-index. Another V-index is proposed on a similar philosophy as P-index by considering total number of citations/author. For serious evaluation of finite candidates for awards/recognitions, a seven-criteria-based AHP is proposed. All new approaches have been illustrated by drawing raw data from Google scholar-powered website H-POP. Findings This paper demonstrates over-hype about use of h-index over g-index. However, it shows that newly proposed P-index is much simpler in computation than g but better than g-index. V-index is a quick way to ascertain the value added by a research scientist in multiple-authored research papers. P-index gives a value 3–4 percent higher than g and it is holistic index as it uses complete data of citations. AHP is a very powerful multi-criteria approach and it also shows g-index to be a more important factor, whereas h-index is the least important but frequently used approach. It is hoped that the findings of this paper will help in rectifying the misplaced emphasis on h-index alone. Research limitations/implications The research focus has been to suggest new faster, better methods of research assessment. However, a detailed comparison of all existing approaches with the new approaches will call for testing these over a large number of data sets. Its limitation is that it has tested the approaches on 5 academics for illustrating AHP and 20 researchers for comparing new indexes with some of the existing indexes. All existing indexes are also not covered. Practical implications The outcomes of this research may have major practical applications for research assessment of academics/researchers and rectify the imbalance in assessment by reducing over-hype on h-index. For more serious evaluation of research performance of academics, the seven-criteria AHP approach will be more comprehensive and holistic in comparison with a single criterion citation metric. One hopes that the findings of this paper will receive much attention/debate. Social implications Research assessment based on proposed approaches is likely to lead to greater satisfaction among those evaluated and higher confidence in the evaluation criteria. Originality/value P- and V-indexes are original. Application of AHP for multi-criteria assessment of research through citation analysis is also a new idea.

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Do authors play fair or manipulate Google Scholar h-index?

Library Hi Tech ◽

10.1108/lht-04-2021-0141 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Fayaz Ahmad Loan ◽

Nahida Nasreen ◽

Bisma Bashir

Keyword(s):

Information Science ◽

Google Scholar ◽

Bibliometric Indicators ◽

Academic Institutions ◽

Simple Arithmetic ◽

H Index ◽

Content Type ◽

Publication Count ◽

Microsoft Office ◽

Practical Implications

PurposeThe study's main purpose is to scrutinize Google Scholar profiles and find the answer to the question, “Do authors play fair or manipulate Google Scholar Bibliometric Indicators like h-index and i10-index?”Design/methodology/approachThe authors scrutinized the Google Scholar profiles of the top 50 library and science researchers claiming authorship of 21,022 publications. The bibliographic information of all the 21,022 publications like authorship and subject details were verified to identify accuracy, discrepancies and manipulation in their authorship claims. The actual and fabricated entries of all the authors along with their citations were recorded in the Microsoft Office Excel 2007 for further analyses and interpretation using simple arithmetic calculations.FindingsThe results show that the h-index of authors obtained from the Google Scholar should not be approved at its face value as the variations exist in the publication count and citations, which ultimately affect their h-index and i10 index. The results reveal that the majority of the authors have variations in publication count (58%), citations (58%), h-index (42%) and i10-index (54%). The magnitude of variation in the number of publications, citations, h-index and i10-index is very high, especially for the top-ranked authors.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of the study is strictly restricted to the faculty members of library and information science and cannot be generalized across disciplines. Further, the scope of the study is limited to Google Scholar and caution needs to be taken to extend results to other databases like Web of Science and Scopus.Practical implicationsThe study has practical implications for authors, publishers, and academic institutions. Authors must stop the unethical research practices; publishers must adopt techniques to overcome the problem and academic institutions need to take precautions before hiring, recruiting, promoting and allocating resources to the candidates on the face value of the Google Scholar h-index. Besides, Google needs to work on the weak areas of Google Scholar to improve its efficacy.Originality/valueThe study brings to light the new ways of manipulating bibliometric indicators like h-index, and i10-index provided by Google Scholar using false authorship claims.

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Authenticity in educational leadership: history, ideal, reality

Journal of Educational Administration ◽

10.1108/jea-01-2014-0012 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 152-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Patrick A. Duignan

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Educational Administration ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Authentic Leadership ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Modern World ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Content Type ◽

Moral Force ◽

Coherent Body

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to undertake a personal, historical, analytical and interpretive investigation of the evolution of the concept of authentic leadership in educational administration/leadership over a number of decades. Design/methodology/approach – The paper includes the author's reflections on his own journey on the topic as well as an analysis of the contributions of great researchers, theorists and writers since early in the twentieth century but, especially, since the early 1960s. Findings – While there is no coherent body of literature on the development of the concept of authentic leadership, there is a general discernible trend starting with a focus on self (know thyself, to thine own self be true); to considering and defining self in relationships; to accepting that there is a moral force behind notions of self-fulfillment; to recognising that authentic leaders operate in a real post-modern (perhaps post-post modern) world of pressures, paradoxes and ethical challenges. This is often a world of standards, assessment and accountability for performance outcomes. Originality/value – The paper draws on the author's own research journey and legacy on the topic as well as the contributions of “giants in the field” who have continually pushed the envelope when exploring the topic and closely interrelated topics.

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Relationship amongst ResearchGate altmetric indicators and Scopus bibliometric indicators

New Library World ◽

10.1108/nlw-03-2015-0017 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 116 (9/10) ◽

pp. 564-577 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

RISHABH SHRIVASTAVA ◽

Preeti Mahajan

Keyword(s):

Sample Size ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Strong Positive Correlation ◽

Bibliometric Indicators ◽

Pearson’S Correlation ◽

Content Type ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Pearson's Correlation ◽

Different Characteristics ◽

The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the study aims to investigate the relationship between the altmetric indicators from ResearchGate (RG) and the bibliometric indicators from the Scopus database. Second, the study seeks to examine the relationship amongst the RG altmetric indicators themselves. RG is a rich source of altmetric indicators such as Citations, RGScore, Impact Points, Profile Views, Publication Views, etc. Design/methodology/approach – For establishing whether RG metrics showed the same results as the established sources of metrics, Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated between the metrics provided by RG and the metrics obtained from Scopus. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were also calculated for the metrics provided by RG. The data were collected by visiting the profile pages of all the members who had an account in RG under the Department of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh (India). Findings – The study showed that most of the RG metrics showed strong positive correlation with the Scopus metrics, except for RGScore (RG) and Citations (Scopus), which showed moderate positive correlation. It was also found that the RG metrics showed moderate to strong positive correlation amongst each other. Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this study is that more and more scientists and researchers may join RG in the future, therefore the data may change. The study focuses on the members who had an account in RG under the Department of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh (India). Perhaps further studies can be conducted by increasing the sample size and by taking a different sample size having different characteristics. Originality/value – Being an emerging field, not much has been conducted in the area of altmetrics. Very few studies have been conducted on the reach of academic social networks like RG and their validity as sources of altmetric indicators like RGScore, Impact Points, etc. The findings offer insights to the question whether RG can be used as an alternative to traditional sources of bibliometric indicators, especially with reference to a rapidly developing country such as India.

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The effect of the adoption of an alternative corporate governance system on firms’ performances

Journal of Management Development ◽

10.1108/jmd-10-2015-0156 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 517-529 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini ◽

Bruno S. Sergi ◽

Emiliano Sironi

Keyword(s):

Corporate Governance ◽

Propensity Score ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Corporate Law ◽

Law Reform ◽

Governance System ◽

Content Type ◽

Alternative System ◽

The Impact ◽

Board System

Purpose – Alternative corporate governance systems (CGSs) have attracted a significant bulk of research recently. While the connection between the adoption of an alternative system (one tier board or two tier board system) and firms’ performances has not been fully analysed yet, the purpose of this paper is to analyse whether companies which have turned into an alternative board system have eventually improved their performance over time. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of more than 15,000 Italian unlisted joint stock companies, the authors compare performance outcomes in 2009 of firms adopting alternative systems with performances of firms that maintained the system in force before the 2003 Corporate Law Reform (defined as “traditional”). Because of the choice of an alternative system (one tier or two tier board) instead of a traditional one is not random, the authors reduce selection bias implementing matching methods and comparing firms that are close in terms of propensity score measured in 2003 (the year before the new CGSs have been introduced by a corporate law reform). Findings – The authors do not find evidence of a significant improvement of performances in 2009 concerning those firms that have adopted a one tier or two tier board systems with respect to those which maintained a traditional one. Originality/value – The novelty of the study concerns the application of propensity score matching for the evaluation of the impact of the change of the CGS that is possible in presence of two conditions that are all verified in our setting: first, to have a country where corporate law allows for choosing among different systems; in this case Italy is a good laboratory, because it allows for the choice among three different systems; and second, to have the opportunity to evaluate the effect of the change in light of a relatively recent “pre-treatment” condition; this is made possible by the fact that before the 2003 Reform of corporate law all the companies had a traditional system.

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Accessing offshoring advantages: what and how to offshore

Strategic Outsourcing An International Journal ◽

10.1108/so-07-2015-0017 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2/3) ◽

pp. 262-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Alona Mykhaylenko ◽

Ágnes Motika ◽

Brian Vejrum Waehrens ◽

Dmitrij Slepniov

Keyword(s):

Performance Outcomes ◽

Offshore Outsourcing ◽

Strategic Decisions ◽

Content Type ◽

Different Types ◽

Captive Offshoring ◽

Performance Results ◽

Governance Modes ◽

Different Levels ◽

Do So

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of factors that affect offshoring performance results. To do so, this paper focuses on the access to location-specific advantages, rather than solely on the properties of the offshoring company, its strategy or environment. Assuming that different levels of synergy may exist between particular offshoring strategic decisions (choosing offshore outsourcing or captive offshoring and the type of function) and different offshoring advantages, this work advocates that the actual fact of realization of certain offshoring advantages (getting or not getting access to them) is a more reliable predictor of offshoring success. Design/methodology/approach – A set of hypotheses derived from the extant literature is tested on the data from a quantitative survey of 1,143 Scandinavian firms. Findings – The paper demonstrates that different governance modes and types of offshored function indeed provide different levels of access to different types of location-specific offshoring advantages. This difference may help to explain the ambiguity of offshoring initiatives performance results. Research limitations/implications – Limitations of the work include using only the offshoring strategy elements and only their limited variety as factors potentially influencing access to offshoring advantages. Also, the findings are limited to Scandinavian companies. Originality/value – The paper introduces a new concept of access, which can help to more reliably predict performance outcomes of offshoring initiatives. Recommendations are also provided to practitioners dealing with offshoring initiatives.

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Birth mode of family firms, family entering time and R&D investment: evidence from China

European Journal of Innovation Management ◽

10.1108/ejim-03-2021-0146 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Muhammad Zulfiqar ◽

Shihua Chen ◽

Muhammad Usman Yousaf

Keyword(s):

Agency Theory ◽

Family Firms ◽

Family Firm ◽

Research Database ◽

Content Type ◽

Firm Birth ◽

The Relationship ◽

D Investment ◽

Moderating Role

PurposeOn the basis of behavioural agency theory and resource-based view, this study investigates the influence of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established), family entering time on R&D investment and the moderating role of the family entering time on the relationship between birth mode and R&D investment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected 2,990 firm-year observations from family firms listed on A-share in China from 2008 to 2016 in the China Stock Market and Accounting Research database. They used pooled regression for data analysis and Tobit regression for robustness checks.FindingsIndirect-established family firms show more inclined behaviour towards R&D investment than direct-established counterparts. Family entering time positively affects the R&D investment of family firms. Moreover, family entering time plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and R&D investment.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is a pioneering study that introduced the concept of family firm birth mode (i.e. indirect-established or direct-established) and family entering time. This work is novel because it differentiated family firms according to their birth modes, an approach which is a contribution to the existing literature of family firms. Moreover, the investigation of the moderating role of family entering time has also produced notable results that help understand the impact of family entering time on different types of family firms. The interpretation of outcomes according to behavioural agency theory also produced useful insights for future researchers as well as for policymakers.

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Corporate governance practices and firm performance: a configurational analysis across corporate life cycles

International Journal of Accounting and Information Management ◽

10.1108/ijaim-11-2020-0186 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Hala M. Amin ◽

Ehab K.A. Mohamed ◽

Mostaq M. Hussain

Keyword(s):

Corporate Governance ◽

Firm Performance ◽

Analytical Approach ◽

Research Study ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Related Activity ◽

Content Type ◽

And Performance ◽

Country Specific

Purpose This study aims to explore corporate governance (CG) practices that can lead to firms’ better performance in different organizational life cycles. The authors propose a configurational approach to explore how a set of CG practices combine in bundles to achieve high performance outcomes for firms across their corporate life cycles. Design/methodology/approach Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was used to analyze a sample of data of 21 countries and 9 industries. Data referred to the period of 9 years extending from the year 2005 to the year 2013. Findings This study reveals that there are multiple CG practices that exist through firms that can achieve high firm performance. Moreover, CG practices combine in different ways for firms in their growth, maturity and declining stages. Research limitations/implications This study demonstrates the value of using a configurational analytical approach to explore both the firm and country-specific CG practices (together) that engage firms to achieve the desired level of performance across the corporate life cycles. Practical implications The current study draws attention to the policymakers’ need to assess the current level of regulatory and competitive development of their countries and form policy accordingly. The approach used in the current research study not only offers the linkages between CG and performance to managers as incentives to comply with regulation but also to view CG-related activity as a strategic move. Social implications The approach used in the current research study not only offers the linkages between CG and performance to managers as incentives to comply with regulation but also to view CG-related activity as a strategic move. Originality/value This study broadening the focus of CG studies to include a rigorous explanation of the global CG phenomena and to provide effective solutions for the practitioners. Contribution to Impact This study demonstrates the value of using a configurational analytical approach to explore both the firm and country-specific CG practices (together) that engage firms to achieve the desired level of performance across the corporate life cycles.

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Supply chain information governance: toward a conceptual framework

The International Journal of Logistics Management ◽

10.1108/ijlm-05-2017-0132 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 506-526 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joonhwan In ◽

Randy Bradley ◽

Bogdan C. Bichescu ◽

Chad W. Autry

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Information Flow ◽

Information Quality ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Information Flows ◽

Content Type ◽

Information Governance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a scalable conceptual framework for governance of supply chain (SC) information flows by re-contextualizing the organizational concept of information governance as an SC concept. Design/methodology/approach This study leverages the strategy-structure-process-performance (SSPP) theory base to explain how effective SC information governance relates to improved internal SC performance. Via an in-depth literature review followed by conceptual theory building, the key features of organizational-level information governance are cast into a theoretical framework. Findings This study presents the theoretical framework that explains how SC information governance should contribute to improved internal SC performance. The proposed framework provides a theoretical basis for future research on SC information governance and would become a useful first step to extend the concept of SC information governance at the SC level. Practical implications SC managers should be aware that information governance mechanisms, rather than the management of basic, information flow-directed processes, to yield the best performance outcomes. Because of the numerous touch points information has in complex SCs, managing the quality of SC information through broader, higher-level governance standards is more important than maximizing connectivity and information flows, and information governance structures/policies across organizations should be designed accordingly. Originality/value This study theoretically links SC information governance and internal SC performance via information quality. It also advances the understanding of SC information flow by challenging the implicit but flawed assumption that uniformity of information quality within the supply chain to create the best outcomes.

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