Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) ranks among the world’s top business schools for producing influential academic research for decision makers in business and government, according to a Financial Times (FT) ranking and analysis.
In the FT Research Insights Ranking 2025, the School was placed third in Asia and 23rd globally, and sixth worldwide for teaching cases — underscoring the strength of our research in solving real-world business challenges, advancing sustainable development and bridging academic insights with practical application. It is also noteworthy that SMU LKCSB is the youngest business school in the global Top25.
The FT ranking lists the top-50 business schools in the world that excel at rigorous academic research (measured by publications in top-tier journals), whose work has a significant impact on the advancement of knowledge in academia (measured by citations to that work) and that resonates with practitioners (measured by citations in policy documents and patents). Additionally, it considered how much the research appears in the traditional and social media, the relevance of topics studied with respect to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the way the research translates into teaching cases used in the classroom. In this way, the ranking takes a holistic view of research produced by business schools globally, based on their impact on students, researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and society.
LKCSB Dean Professor Bert De Reyck expressed delight that the high-impact SMU research in business, accounting and economics has been recognised by the Financial Times.
He said, “Our vision at SMU has always been to generate research insights based on rigorous research but with a firm eye on creating meaningful impact on industry, policy makers and society. So it is great to see that our School has been included in the top 50 business schools for research insights and impact,” he said. “However, as a University, our biggest impact is made through the many students that we educate and transform, so I am especially pleased to see that our teaching case writing efforts have also been recognised.”
Demonstrating impact through case studies
SMU ranked sixth globally with case impact, making it the top institution in Asia in this category. Impressively, SMU stands alongside some of the world’s most recognised case-writing institutions, including Harvard Business School (1st) and Western University Ivey (2nd).
FT worked with the three largest publishers of cases — Harvard Business Impact, Ivey Publishing and The Case Centre — to identify individual recent cases (published in or since 2023) that are most widely used around the world, and to recognise the schools producing them.
In an accompanying article where FT citied 15 case studies with reach, it mentioned two such case studies produced by SMU’s Centre for Case Learning Excellence (CCX) – one focused on the contrasting business models of Amazon and Walmart and another on how DBS bank went all in on AI.
Associate Professor Tamas Makany, SMU’s Associate Provost (Teaching and Learning Innovation), said the recognition highlights the fruitful collaboration among SMU faculty, SMU’s corporate partners, and the University’s case writing team. “This year’s ranking continues to demonstrate our commitment to educational innovation that converts industry voices and experiences into compelling cases to deliver on our transformative education strategy," he observed.
Dr Havovi Joshi, CCX Director, shared that CCX case writers work closely with SMU faculty and industry partners to produce teaching cases. “SMU’s extensive collection of over 500 cases, including several award-winning titles, addresses how decision-makers navigate critical issues such as digital transformation, sustainable growth, and fostering inclusion and diversity in the workplace,” she said.
Global Top 20 in the Case Centre Impact Index 2025
The impact of SMU’s teaching cases has also been recognised in The Case Centre Impact Index 2025. The annual ranking evaluates contributing organisations based on the global reach and influence of their case writing. This year, SMU ranks 18th, and is the only Singapore institution to be listed among the top 20 since the Index was introduced in 2023. From 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025, 78 teaching cases by SMU were distributed across The Case Centre’s network to 68 organisations in 23 countries.
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