Hello. Should managers read academic management journals? In his latest Notes from a Strategy Scholar substack, Nicolai Foss, professor of strategy at Copenhagen Business School, has sparked a lively debate by arguing that measuring publications against this yardstick (on which they perform poorly) is to misunderstand their purpose.

He is right to stress that peer-reviewed business journals serve a different primary role: to certify credibility within academia. The dissemination of ideas to practitioners comes instead primarily through teaching, he claims. But arguably, he lets business scholarship off too easily.

As one of his Scandinavian colleagues replied: “The main problem is not that journals aren’t read by practitioners, but that the findings are often impossible to apply.”

He cited Having Nothing to Say but Saying It Anyway, on the unhelpful nature of many “implications for practice” sections in the academic literature.

As another scholar, referencing Anonakis’ paper On doing better science on the dangers of theorrhea (a mania for new theory), put it in relation to randomised trials: “One asks not only whether it is methodologically sound, but whether it actually matters, and to whom.”

It is no surprise that both these commentators come from a background in life sciences, which has far tighter links between theory and practice. Perhaps business scholars should spend a little less time developing theoretical advances and more mulling practical ones.

Faculty: Check out the latest in our business school teaching case series.

Could you be the FT’s next stockpicking champion? The FT’s new Stock Picking Game is a fast, fun way to test your trading instincts, sharpen your market expertise and compete for the chance to win £1,000. Terms and conditions apply. Register for season two now.

Reminder: The Bracken Prize for young authors 2026 This FT award encourages emerging writers and researchers under 35 to submit business book proposals. It is free to enter and the deadline is September 30.

Next ranking: Our assessment of the top executive MBAs for senior working managers will be out on October 12 at ft.com/emba.

From the FT

How to make good decisions under pressure. Do not neglect the fundamentals when the world around you is going crazy.

How managers can support women in the workplace. Wider society may have changed but businesses need to do more to address the ‘motherhood penalty’.

Young workers trade the ladder for the lily pad. Job hopping has been rebranded as a strategy to rapidly acquire new skills in a tough market.

AI is creating ghostwriting jobs on LinkedIn. CEOs are looking for a more human touch.

Read our special report on Lessons in Leadership.

Professor insights

The era of AI warfare has arrived. Autonomous systems are being rapidly integrated on the battlefield, as models advance in ways even their creators cannot fully predict.

AI-enabled software can process “mass data at a scale, a speed that human staff officers can’t do”, says Anthony King, professor of war studies and director of the University of Exeter’s Strategy and Security Institute. Rather than altering the sharp end of a conflict, King says the primary function of AI has been to improve “situational awareness and intelligence”.

The technology can help commanders make battlefield predictions, from the sustainability of a campaign to the rate at which munitions are being depleted. The advantage over human estimates, King says, is that such systems simply have “more evidence to look at”.

Data line: Masters in Management

Masters in Management programmes are increasingly global, yet most students in FT-ranked schools still come from Europe.

In the schools that took part in this year’s MiM ranking, 57 per cent of the students were European, with 28 per cent of the cohort French. Indian students are also widely present, accounting for over 20 per cent of the cohort.

Research round-up

How online platforms are misaligned with late-career workers. Skilled older people seeking flexible work can struggle because freelance platforms fail to recognise their expertise, according to a study by Cambridge Judge and UC Santa Barbara.

Why purpose doesn’t always pay: the career cost of workplace climate activism. Employees advocating for climate action are most likely to be rewarded when their efforts support business goals, according to research by the University of Bath.

Business school news

Indiana University receives $100mn. The gift will rename the Kelley School’s graduate division the Jeffrey H Thomasson Graduate School of Business, after its alumnus and donor.

Spain’s Iese and Japan’s Shizenkan open applications for their Future of Capitalism course to MBA students worldwide. The free online programme explores the role of business enterprises and their leaders and the future of business education.

The University of Salford has unveiled plans for a new business school. The British university is launching a community consultation to share plans and generate feedback.

UCL School of Management collaborates with Dragonfly on an AI project. The partnership aims to help businesses make safer, more effective technology decisions.

More business school rankings. Stanford GSB, Switzerland’s IMD, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Canada’s Ivey lead Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2026-27 regional rankings. Stanford also heads LinkedIn’s top 100 MBAs for long-term career success. In the QS 2027 rankings, MIT Sloan leads for MBAs, while HEC Paris ranks first for Masters in Management.

FT Live events on October 1

FT Connect Europe Forum. Is new EU tech policy improving competitive growth? Learn more in this hybrid event in Brussels.

Marketing Leadership and AI. The webinar will explore how AI is reshaping the responsibilities of chief marketing officers.

Business School Insider is written by Wai Kwen Chan, Sam Stephens, Leo Cremonezi and Andrew Jack, and edited by Jonathan Moules.