This article reveals how school principals approach research in the wake of New Public Management reforms in Swedish schools. The empirical context is school principals’ accounts of how they use research and research collaboration to promote school and teacher development. Drawing from interviews with 15 school principals, the study uncovers three ideal types of school principals—collectivists, pragmatists, and networkers—capturing distinct patterns of relating to research. Guided by the concept of assetisation, the analysis demonstrates how these types produce different kinds of value: (i) pedagogical value—improving school and teaching quality; (ii) academic value—defining relevant and useful research; (iii) social value—connecting with qualified future personnel; (iv) economic value—improving the school’s reputation and obtaining grants; and (v) political value—persuading and silencing teachers. The article concludes with a call for a shift in the education governance system to enable research use among school principals that serve the interests of the teaching profession.