ABSTRACT
In an increasingly competitive and accreditation-driven higher education landscape, faculty research productivity and student course satisfaction have emerged as pivotal determinants of higher education organizations’ reputation and success. While scholarly output in high-ranked journals is widely viewed as essential for institutional prestige and faculty career advancement, its impact on the student learning experience remains contested. Some studies argue that an emphasis on research diverts faculty attention from teaching, undermining course satisfaction, while others contend that research excellence enriches pedagogy by infusing courses with cutting-edge knowledge. This quantitative study, employing a regression-based modelling approach, addresses this debate by empirically examining the relationship between faculty research productivity in prestigious journals and student course satisfaction within French business schools. The findings reveal that faculty research productivity exerts a positive influence on student course satisfaction, while the level of academic support—captured by the student-to-professor ratio—significantly moderates this relationship. Moreover, the strength and nature of these effects are contingent upon the number of international accreditations held by institutions. By highlighting the complex interplay between research excellence and student satisfaction, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the teaching-research nexus and outlines how research intensity, institutional resources, and accreditation status jointly shape students’ educational experiences. It underscores the importance of adopting a systemic approach beyond research/teaching trade-offs and highlights the relevance of an integrated model wherein research and teaching are not competing imperatives but mutually reinforcing dimensions of academic excellence and scientific knowledge.