The UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 and Retail Research Output

Knowledge creation processes in British Universities have been affected significantly by formal evaluations of research performance. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 in the UK shows that retail research is based primarily in the business and management subject area and in selected institutions. There is a tension amongst institutional strategies to maximise assessment results and thus income, individual career paths, journal 'ratings' and the direction of research. The emerging focus on a North American model of research knowledge creation raises fundamental concerns covering the philosophy, methodology, techniques and topics of retail research in the UK