Faculty research productivity under alternative appointment types: tenure vs non-tenure track

Abstract

Purpose The increasing use of non-tenure employment contracting as a cost savings and/or management flexibility increasing mechanism in colleges and universities raises concerns about the impact of this strategy on other aspects of the higher education system. The purpose of this paper is to document reduced research productivity at a university that uses rolling contracts in comparison to research productivity at another university in the same state university system in the USA that uses tenure track contracting. Design/methodology/approach Negative binomial regression analysis allows investigation of the primary variable of interest (appointment type) while controlling for other factors that may also affect research productivity. Findings The findings suggest that non-tenure track employment contracting may have other long-term implications for institutions of higher education that warrant consideration. Originality/value No prior study has investigated the topic of comparative research productivity in business schools using this methodology or data source.