Publishing in Top Tier Journals
Thanks to a FAB grant, I was able to attend the Academy of Management’s annual conference in Chicago a few months ago. The AOM is arguably the premier management organization, with some of the best minds in the world offering PDWs and various types of presentations. I had one especially inspiring PDW about publishing research on managerial cognition as related to strategic management. Attending this PDW involved an application process, where I submitted a manuscript for approval, and was then provided three world leaders in research and editorial of this content area. This PDW provided a full 30 minutes discussion with these three folks – it was extremely rewarding, and I hope I can now relay the main takeaways to you (see the attached)!
Keep in mind that your area of expertise need not be managerial cognition or strategic management, as I focus on advice/guidelines for publishing in top tier journals. To be clear, note that these takeaways refer to publishing in TOP TIER journals, i.e. those that provide the most significant impact on its respective research community. It is much more difficult and challenging to publish in top tier journals as opposed to those with lower levels of impact.
Steven Cofrancesco, PhD
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- Steven Cofrancesco
- December 7, 2018
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Thanks for sharing your experience and advice on getting publishing in top tier journals.
Thanks... very informative. One of my goals is to publish... I will start with a "lower tier" journal but I think your points apply.
You're welcome, Elizabeth.
Is there any part of my post that stands out as especially beneficial (or confusing)?
There is actually quite a bit more I could say about all of this, so please reach out to me directly if you ever want to chat about it.
Good luck with your publishing efforts,
Steven
Hello Tom,
Probably not a bad idea to start with a second or third tier journal to get yourself some experience. I have been working on this one manuscript for 2 years now, and it was probably good enough 1 year ago to be published in a second or third tier journal.
Although my points apply to both, as you say, there are details and nuances of my main points that do not apply to both. We can chat about it some time if you would like, but for example consider the use of secondary or tertiary concepts in your manuscript and their operational definitions (such as "strategy teams" when the focus of the research is strategic cognition). The editors advised me to use extant concepts and operational definitions as opposed to my own, no matter how valid. It's because those seemingly simple concepts have already undergone iterations of exploration and testing in the literature before being considered valid concepts. Second tier or third tier journals are normally not concerned with such nuances.
Regardless, it seems to me there are positives and negatives to both approaches, and deciding which path is best is probably a personal decision.
Sincere good luck to you,
Steven
For me, the biggest takeaway was developing a sensitizing framework for the research while still considering why my intended audience will find my research beneficial. I find these two pieces converge fairly regularly for me.
Elizabeth, glad you found some value in my post. That was the hope, of course.
Perhaps you will let me know if these thoughts actually help you publish in a top tier journal. Please let me know if you have already done so; would love to review your work.
Steven
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