What can university administrators do to increase the publication and citation scores of their faculty members?

Studies on publication and citation scores tend to focus mostly on frequently published and cited scholars. This paper contributes to advancing knowledge by simultaneously looking into both high and low performing scholars, including non-publishing scholars, and by focusing on factors increasing or impeding scholarly performances. To this end, two complementary sources of data are used: (1) data from ISI web of science on publications and citations of scholars from 35 Canadian business schools and, and (2) survey data on factors explaining the productivity and impact performances of these scholars. The analysis of the data reveals five scholar profiles: (i) non-publishing scholars; (ii) low performing scholars; (iii) frequently publishing scholars; (iv) frequently cited scholars and; (v) high-impact frequently publishing scholars. Statistical modeling is then used to look into factors that explain why scholars are any of these performance configuration rather another. Two major results emerge: first, scholars in the low performing profile differ from those in the non-publishing profile only by being in top tier universities and by having high levels of funding from research councils. Second, scholars who publish frequently and are frequently cited differ from those in the low performing profile in many ways: they are full professors, they dedicate more time to their research activities, they receive all their research funding from research councils, and, finally, they are located in top tier universities. The last part of the paper discusses policy implications for the development of research skills by university managers willing to increase the publication and citation scores of their faculty members.