Higher education in management: the case of Portugal

Abstract

The quality of management schools in Portugal is positively evaluated by the latest “Global Competitiveness Report” published by the World Economic Forum, ranking Portugal in 26th among 140 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development economies. Management education in general started within economics schools, following the same path as ISEG, the original Portuguese school of economics and management. Management departments within these schools have increased in terms of numbers of students, numbers of faculty members and volume of research in comparison with their economics departments. Nowadays, management courses generate the majority of revenues at the five major schools of economics and management. As a consequence of this growth, the management faculty profile has been changing towards more full-time members and graduates with PhDs. Most career progression contests show a higher weight for research in comparison to teaching and management tasks, assuming that research-based universities have a better quality of teaching and better public image. Tenure is also more likely to be given to those faculty members that are more research oriented. Many schools have created financial 326 J.C. das Neves and V. da Conceição Gonçalves incentives for faculty members who produce high quality publications. This strategy has resulted in a higher quantity and quality of management research. The challenge management schools are facing is to maintain these aspects in tandem, keeping the same level of quality of teaching and attendance of students.