Size Matters: Research in a Small University Business School

How a business school evolves, and how it develops its structure and purpose, is dependent on many variables at both the beginning and during the process of development. The University of Chichester Business School is a small department that was set on the meandering path towards research excellence in 2008 by the then Head of the Business School. There was a plan, sometimes opportunistic, but it was stuck to as much as possible. However, there were also other factors that affected that development—including those of staff, location, size and reputation. This chapter explores how those variables impacted our research culture through the eyes of a researcher who was taken on at the beginning of the story. The impact is discussed of location both within the university itself and geographically, and of changes in staff. By including the views of current and previous staff, and by looking with hindsight at the evolving process in relation to that of other smaller business schools in the region, a clearer idea emerges of how the research activities of a small university business school can flourish, regardless of size.