AKSOB Leads Lebanon in Research Excellence: Eighty-Five Percent of Top Business Scholars Call It Home
LAU’s Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB) is home to 85 percent of Lebanon’s top 2 percent most-cited business scientists—a distinction that underscores its dominance in the country’s research landscape and its rising global influence. At AKSOB, achievement and recognition go hand in hand with a deep-rooted culture of scholarship. This year, 11 faculty members were named among the world’s top two percent most-cited scientists in the 2025 Scopus Elsevier list, representing nearly one-fifth of AKSOB’s full-time faculty and reaffirming the school’s standing in the global research community.
Those recognized include Dean Dima R. Jamali, Professor Guy Assaker, Professor Elie Bouri, Associate Professor Leila Dagher, Professor Abdul Nasser El-Kassar, Associate Professor Rim El Khoury, Professor Maya Farah, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Marketing Omar Itani, Associate Professor Dervis Kirikkaleli, Associate Professor Zahy Ramadan and Associate Professor Muhammad Umar. Their scholarship spans finance, economics, energy policy, sustainability, consumer behavior, entrepreneurship, corporate governance and digital marketing. Collectively, their work has been widely cited by peers worldwide, shaping both academic debates and real-world practice.
Dean Jamali emphasized that this acknowledgement reflects individual brilliance and the school’s collective strength and reputation. “We are truly honored and fortunate to have 11 of our distinguished faculty members at (AKSOB) recognized among the top 2 percent of global scholars by Elsevier.” she added.
From finance to marketing, economics to sustainability, the acknowledgment highlighted the school’s interdisciplinary excellence. In the Department of Finance and Accounting, the inclusion of Assistant Dean Rim El Khoury and Associate Professor Muhammad Umar was met with great pride. Department Chair Mustafa Dah noted that this recognition “reflects our strong commitment to research and academic excellence,” adding that it “reinforces LAU’s and AKSOB’s vision of advancing knowledge that shapes both academic thought and real-world practice.”
The Department of Economics echoed that sense of collective achievement. Commenting on the success of associate professors Leila Dagher and Dervis Kirikkaleli, Chair Jamal Haidar highlighted that “the faculty members of the Department of Economics at LAU are committed to research excellence—fueled by dedication, curiosity and a genuine desire to create knowledge.” Such recognition, he added, “reaffirms that the expertise, rigor and impact of our faculty’s work place our department among the very best in Lebanon.”
A similar spirit of pride resonated at the Department of IT and Operations Management (ITOM), where Professor Abdul Nasser El-Kassar’s inclusion in the ranking underscored the department’s culture of innovation and collaboration. Department Chair Manal Yunis said that ITOM “takes pride in a vibrant research culture that values intellectual curiosity, collaboration and impact,” noting that Dr. El-Kassar’s work—which spans sustainability, corporate social responsibility and innovation—“exemplifies the analytical rigor that defines both ITOM and AKSOB.” For Dr. El-Kassar, the honor was “both humbling and inspiring,” reflecting a “collaborative and interdisciplinary spirit where precision and innovation drive meaningful research that benefits organizations and society.”
Within the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Department Chair Rania Haddad noted that “the department’s commitment to research excellence is evident through the groundbreaking work and innovative approaches spearheaded by our faculty,” adding that Professor Guy Assaker’s contributions “advance knowledge in his fields and foster an environment of intellectual curiosity and rigorous scholarship.”
The Department of Marketing also made a strong showing, with three of its faculty members among those recognized. Chair Omar Itani reflected that this milestone “highlights AKSOB’s intellectual strength, where scholarship transcends metrics in the pursuit of truth and innovation.” Research, he added, “is fundamentally a philosophical journey that connects curiosity with impact, challenges existing paradigms and deepens our understanding.”
Provost George E. Nasr framed the collective achievement within LAU’s broader mission to foster scholarship that addresses global challenges, contributes to international knowledge and strengthens the university’s position as a hub for impactful, innovative research.
At the forefront of this recognition, AKSOB’s 11 faculty members embody the school’s enduring commitment to advancing research on sustainable development, corporate responsibility, consumer behavior and cutting-edge approaches to business, economics and finance.
The 2025 Scopus Elsevier list—developed by researchers at Stanford University—draws on standardized citation metrics across 22 fields and 174 subfields to identify the most influential researchers worldwide. This year, 28 LAU full-time faculty were included, up from 17 in 2023 and 25 in 2024, representing 6.5 percent of LAU’s full-time faculty. The steady increase reflects LAU’s rise as a center of high-impact research and the growing international visibility of its scholars.