Research performance and the organizational effectiveness of universities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test Shattock's legacy reputation thesis that non-leading universities in the UK face insuperable resource barriers to entering the leading group. Design/methodology/approach Employing regression analysis, the authors examine whether prioritizing research performance is a viable strategy for non-leading UK universities aiming to improve their organizational effectiveness. The dependent variable, organizational effectiveness, is measured by the annual Guardian rankings of universities. The main independent variable, research performance, is measured using research power (RP). RP is derived from the UK Research Excellence Framework. Findings For 2008-2014, the authors find that changes in research performance impacted university rankings. However, the authors also find that changes to the rankings are largely confined to non-leading universities and have not led to these institutions breaking into the group of leading universities. Therefore, Shattock's thesis is supported. Practical implications Failing to maintain research performance can have significant negative consequences for the rankings of non-leading universities. Originality/value This is the first study that examines the relationship between the research performance of universities in the UK with a measure of their overall organizational effectiveness.