Objective:

A common mantra of business academics is “publish or perish.” Indeed, at many business schools promotion and tenure decisions are based heavily on one’s ability to publish (regularly) in academic business journals. The intent of this course/seminar is to have all interested academics (particularly Ph.D. candidates and new assistant professors) consider issues relating to the publishing of relevant and rigorous scholarly research in business journals.

Course Content

Topics that are normally addressed/discussed in this seminar include:

• What makes for impactful research?
• What is interesting research? Significant research?
• Crafting a scholarly manuscript
• Reasons manuscripts are rejected
• Traversing the journal review process
• Managing a research project from conceptualization through publication

General Structure:

A list of academic articles will be provided to participants and will serve as the basis for discussion of the topics covered in the sessions. (Articles are taken from such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Retailing, American Economist, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.) The readings are divided into 6 “topics” (i.e., sessions), although they are not all equal in length. While many of the examples provided are in marketing contexts, most scholars from related disciplines who desire to publish social science work in business journals would likely find the seminar useful.

Eight books on writing are also recommended but probably will not be discussed. Additionally, four specific research projects will be used as examples to illustrate the issues scholars can face in managing such projects, with emphasis on issues surrounding the initial conceptualization, submission to a journal, the review process, and (ideally) publication in a premier journal (in three of these examples, the Journal of Marketing). Each attendee will also be expected to identify and bring to the seminar two (published) articles (one “good” article and one “poor” one) from their home discipline to use as a basis for discussion (time permitting). Participants may also be expected to bring an “extended abstract” (10-15 pages) of one of their manuscripts to the seminar to have it reviewed by another seminar participant and a “statement of intended contribution” for their research project (time permitting).

Timing:

The seminar will be about 24 hours in length, spread over several days between May 23 and 28, 2025. There will be opportunities for the audience to ask questions about the publication process. There is an expectation that the audience will spend an appropriate amount of time reading/preparing materials prior to the sessions.