Original scientific paper
The relationship between the quality of management schools and global competitiveness: an analysis based on stages of economic development
Drago Pupovac
; University of Applied Sciences of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
This paper examined the association between the perceived quality of management schools and the
Global Competitiveness Index and compared the observed relationships across stages of economic
development. The analysis uses secondary data for 137 economies from the World Economic Forum’s
2017–2018 reporting cycle. The methods of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, simple linear
regression, and one-way analysis of variance were applied. For the full sample, the variable of quality of
management schools is strongly and positively associated with the variable of Global Competitiveness
Index (r = 0.758; p < 0.001), whereas stage-specific correlation coefficients range from 0.08 to 0.65.
ANOVA results indicates statistically significant differences in both variables across development
stages. The findings are interpreted as associative rather than causal because the managementschool
indicator is one component of the broader competitiveness index, creating a risk of mechanical
correlation. Nevertheless, the results suggest that stronger management education is embedded in
the broader institutional and developmental characteristics of more competitive economies. The
study therefore contributes a cautious cross-country perspective while highlighting the need for future
research based on independent outcome measures and longitudinal designs.
Keywords
global competitiveness, education quality, management schools, human capital; stages of development
Hrčak ID:
352238
URI
Publication date:
15.10.2026.
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