Wroclaw University of Economics and Business researchers among the world’s leading scientists: six included in the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists database

Six researchers from Wroclaw University of Economics and Business (WUEB) have been included in the latest edition of the World’s Top 2% Scientists database. Among them is Professor Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej, who ranks first among Poland-affiliated authors included in the Business & Management subfield. An analysis of the last three editions also reveals a consistent increase in citations to the University’s researchers’ publications.

How should organisations manage people during the green transition? How are energy systems and food economies changing? And how can statistical methods support better decision-making? These are among the questions explored by Wroclaw University of Economics and Business researchers featured in the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists database.

Compiled using bibliometric data from Scopus, the database provides insight into the international visibility of scientific research. Its methodology considers not only publication citations but also factors such as co-authorship and authors’ positions in jointly authored publications.

In the edition published on 7 October 2026, WUEB is represented by six researchers. Five appear in the single-year database, which examines citations received during a particular calendar year, while two feature in the career-long database, covering their cumulative research records. Associate Professor Arkadiusz Piwowar is included in both.

Professor Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej leads WUEB’s results

One of the most notable findings in this year’s edition is the position achieved by Professor Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej, whose research focuses on human resource management, organisational sustainability and future skills.

She ranks 546th among 68,786 researchers classified in the Business & Management subfield, placing her within the top 1% of this group.

Among the 12 Poland-affiliated authors included in the same subfield and edition, she holds first place.

The growth in citations to her publications is equally significant. Excluding self-citations, her work received 181 citations in 2023, 377 in 2024 and 509 in 2025. This represents an increase of 181.2% over two years.

These figures indicate the growing presence of her research in international academic literature. Her work addresses issues including Green Human Resource Management (Green HRM), which connects people management with environmental objectives, the digitalisation of HR processes and changing skills requirements associated with technological development.

Among the highest-ranked researchers in food-related sciences

Associate Professor Agnieszka Orkusz also achieved a particularly strong result in her subfield.

She ranks 307th out of 78,455 researchers in Dairy & Animal Science, placing her within the highest-ranked 0.4% of this group. Among 27 Poland-affiliated researchers included in the same subfield, she ranks third.

Annual citations to her publications increased from 94 in 2023 to 210 in 2025, a rise of 123.4%.

Dr Monika Wereńska is also included in Dairy & Animal Science, ranking 1,110th among 78,455 researchers. She is another WUEB researcher featured in this year’s single-year database.

The inclusion of both researchers highlights the international visibility of WUEB’s research relating to food quality and the food economy.

Energy and economic transition: growing research visibility

Associate Professor Arkadiusz Piwowar and Associate Professor Adam Sulich are included in the Energy subfield.

They rank 4,451st and 4,512th respectively among 371,959 researchers classified in this area.

Both have improved their positions compared with the 2024 edition. Adam Sulich’s progress is particularly marked: his subfield ranking improved from 9,439th to 4,512th, while his annual citations, excluding self-citations, increased from 136 to 244.

Over the same period, annual citations to Arkadiusz Piwowar’s publications rose from 140 to 188. He is also included in the career-long database, which assesses cumulative research records.

Research on energy and economic transition is especially relevant to challenges facing businesses and national economies. The inclusion of WUEB researchers in this subfield reflects their contribution to the international academic discussion surrounding these transformations.

Research achievements developed over a caree

Professor Stanisław Heilpern is also included in the career-long database. His research encompasses quantitative methods, statistics and decision theory.

His work is classified in the Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing subfield, where he ranks 9,619th among 517,648 researchers. This places him within the highest-ranked 1.9% of the group under the relevant bibliometric measure.

The other WUEB researcher appearing in the career-long database is Arkadiusz Piwowar, whose research record is classified in Energy.

The career-long database uses cumulative citation indicators, providing a longer-term perspective on research visibility than the single-year assessment.

What does the three-year analysis reveal?

Inclusion in the World’s Top 2% Scientists database provides only one perspective on scientific performance. Changes over time offer additional insight.

An analysis of four WUEB researchers with comparable data for 2023–2025 reveals a consistent annual increase in citations, excluding self-citations.

Researcher	2023	2024	2025	Change, 2023-2025
Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej	181	377	509	+181,2%
Agnieszka Orkusz	94	131	210	+123,4%
Adam Sulich	136	219	244	+79,4%
Arkadiusz Piwowar	140	150	188	+34,3%

Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej recorded the largest percentage increase across the entire period. In the most recent year, Agnieszka Orkusz recorded the fastest growth in annual citations, at 60.3%.

These findings point to the increasing visibility of the four researchers’ publications in academic literature. Citations indicate that their work is being used by other scholars, although they do not, in themselves, establish research quality or demonstrate an impact on business practice and society

The international visibility of WUEB research

The 2026 edition of World’s Top 2% Scientists demonstrates the diversity of research areas in which WUEB scholars are gaining international recognition: from organisational management and the food economy to energy systems and quantitative approaches to decision-making.

Compared with the University’s previous announcement, the number of researchers featured increased from four to five in the single-year database and from one to two in the career-long database.

This is a positive indication of the international visibility of the University’s research. Its significance becomes clearer when combined with the citation trends, which reveal not only researchers’ current positions but also changes in the attention their publications receive.

How is the World’s Top 2% Scientists database compiled?

The database draws on Scopus data and a methodology developed by researchers associated with Stanford University. The latest Elsevier Data Repository update was published on 7 October 2026 and includes bibliometric information covering the period up to the end of 2025.

It provides two distinct perspectives: single-year, measuring citations received in a particular year, and career-long, assessing cumulative research records. Inclusion is determined by a composite citation indicator, known as the c-score, or by reaching a sufficiently high position within a scientific subfield.

The database is a bibliometric resource rather than a comprehensive assessment of research quality or societal impact. Since publication and citation practices differ across disciplines, comparisons are most meaningful when made within the same subfield and using consistent indicators.

Author of text: Justyna Morawska-Płoskonka