ScholarGPS, a relatively new scholarly analytics and independent database platform, announced their 2025 rankings, which included me as a ‘Top Scholar’ in the field of business and management. They define a top scholar as someone whose scholarly achievements place them in the top 0.5% of all scholars globally. More specifically, they have placed me as the 45th leading scholar in the discipline of entrepreneurship in the previous five years. The ScholarGPS rankings are based on an algorithm that examines the productivity, impact, and quality of work by scholars and institutions. Of course, there are questions about the value of such rankings, whether quantitative metrics alone can assess quality and impact, and whether publishing in a certain outlet reflects high standards. Plus concerns exist about the metricisation of academia and research, and the side affects and potential negative implications that this can bring.
As the ScholarGPS Rankings are still in their infancy, it is unclear how much stature and reputation they will gain in academia. They say that they ‘are quantitative and rigorous, enabled by innovative, accurate, and thorough ScholarGPS algorithms that are used to factually assess and organize scholarly information’, yet legitimacy takes years to create and value, and credibility is in the minute details. However, it is reassuring to know that my research is likely on a positive track.
Robin Bell 