Editor’s Comments: Intentional Inclusion of Diverse Voices and Global Perspectives at AMR

After being nominated as a potential editor of Academy of Management Review (AMR), I was asked to describe my vision for the journal. It turns out that this was not an easy task. Over the past decade, the editors of AMR have been excellent stewards of the journal. Roy Suddaby’s desire to enhance the value of theory to the broader community by encouraging AMR authors to demonstrate the “concrete connections between theory and practice” (Suddaby, 2012: 6) was both a fundamental and valuable initiative. “Developmental reviewing,” the cornerstone of Belle Rose Ragin’s term, created an AMR culture focused on author development that went far beyond guidance on a single manuscript as the learnings from a single review could be integrated into future research. Most recently, Jay Barney (2018) altered aspects of the review process to promote a more collaborative process between the editorial team and authors resulting in the publication of high-quality revolutionary science and normal science papers. Given the successful leadership that the most recent editors have demonstrated, what else could my vision be except to not mess things up?

Rather than think about what the journal needed, I stepped back and asked myself, “What do I care about and how does this manifest in being the editor of a high-impact, top quality journal?” The answer was “I care about treating people with respect, valuing unique perspectives, and working to be intentionally inclusive of others.” Thus, my vision for AMR is that it continues to be a top-quality theory publication outlet that is inclusive—inclusive of diverse views and global perspectives. In other words, I want to hear perspectives that have previously been unheard and marginalized. Furthermore, it is my firm belief that, in order to be inclusive, we must be intentional in our actions.

WHY INTENTIONAL INCLUSION AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR AMR?

As a proponent of diversity and the inclusion of multiple voices, there will be no end to conceptual novelty when we integrate diverse voices into our theorizing. Growing up on a small island in Hawaii meant that I was constantly exposed to different cultural perspectives and views. I also lived and worked in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia for a number of years. Living as a female outsider in these cultures has given me a great appreciation for the importance of observing, listening, and understanding the environments in which one lives. These experiences have been foundational in my ability to appreciate and actively seek out different perspectives, and they will continue to guide me as editor of AMR.

Inclusion is generally seen as the creation of an environment where individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, valued for who they are, and given equal access to opportunities and resources (Nishii, 2013). Individuals feel inclusion when their needs for belonging and uniqueness are jointly satisfied by acceptance into a desired environment (Shore, Randel, Chung, Dean, Ehrhart, & Singh, 2011). I would like AMR to be seen as an environment of inclusion wherein different voices and unique perspectives are nurtured, and where scholars from different parts of the world and different scholarly upbringings feel welcomed. Not only will inclusion expand our community of scholars but this type of environment will also strengthen the quality of the theories and conceptual development published in AMR, as scholars will be required to engage in different forms of logical discourse. Furthermore, I would like our community of scholars to feel a sense of inclusion through their interactions with the AMR community.

Engaging in intentional inclusion means that the entire AMR editorial team will work to create an environment where the publishing process and its related activities (workshops, presentations, one-to-one mentoring, social media activities) are seen as fair and respectful, and where individuals feel comfortable expressing their unique perspectives. We will also intentionally work to engage scholars who have not had formal training or exposure to conceptual writing, so as to expand the number of scholars engaged in AMR.

ACHIEVING INTENTIONAL INCLUSION AT AMR

One of the most important things we can do to achieve intentional inclusion at AMR is to understand the stakeholders associated with AMR and acknowledge their potential. For AMR to continue to successfully publish high-quality manuscripts that make strong theoretical contributions, we need to consider our associate editors (AEs), our editorial review board (ERB) members, our ad-hoc reviewers, and our aspiring reviewers and authors.

Associate Editors

One of the most important decisions one must make as an editor is determining who belongs on the team of AEs. I spent a great deal of time crafting a team of individuals who were great developmental AMR reviewers and established AMR authors. In addition, before they accepted the invitation to become an AE, I asked each of them to read and agree to my vision, as I wanted a team that would work on initiatives that contributed toward the goal of intentional inclusion of diverse voices and global perspectives. The team consists of John Amis (University of Edinburgh), Ruth Aguilera (Northeastern University), Shelley Brickson (University of Illinois, Chicago), Jonathon Bundy (Arizona State University), Joanna Campbell (University of Cincinnati), Don Conlon (Michigan State University), Greg Fisher (Indiana University), Patrick Haack (University of Lausanne), Morela Hernandez (University of Virginia), Richard Makadok (Purdue University), Kyle Mayer (University of Southern California), Shad Morris (Brigham Young University), and Abbie Shipp (Texas Christian University).

Not only are these individuals outstanding scholars but they also understand the value of the developmental review process and of ensuring the inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives. As a group, they have a broad range of expertise that reflects the Academy’s diverse divisions. Brief biographies of the AEs can be found on the Editorial Team page of AMR’s website: https://aom.org/research/journals/review/review-editorial-team. Collectively, they have different world perspectives, as many of them have grown up or lived in different parts of the world. Finally, the AE team is made of individuals who are at different places in their scholarly careers (associate professors, full professors, chaired professors); these differences in perspectives provide great value in our mission to publish top-quality conceptual work and to meet the vision of intentionally including diverse and global voices.

Editorial Review Board Members

ERB members are critical to AMR’s success. Individuals are invited to be an ERB member if they have accepted multiple review invitations, returned reviews in a timely manner, and received high-quality reviewing scores. Thankfully, approximately 200 scholars accepted the invitation to join our ERB. Our ERB members represent all the divisions of AOM, are based at various institutions around the world, and provide great insight into the different voices and perspectives that represent AMR. Thus, we view ERB members as critical to meeting our vision of intentional inclusion, as we need committed, developmental, and engaged stakeholders to actively participate in our initiatives targeted at aspiring authors and reviewers.

Authors, Ad-Hoc Reviewers, and Aspiring Authors/Reviewers

Finally, AMR would cease to exist without our experienced authors and ad-hoc reviewers. We need to continue to support and encourage our experienced authors—this is especially valuable as experienced authors, through collaborations with new colleagues and PhD students, develop new authors. These collaborations pave the way for the new voices and perspectives that we want to hear.

We also need to be intentional about our inclusion of ad-hoc reviewers in the review process. Through the process of reading submissions, and writing and crafting reviews, we all become better writers and authors. Furthermore, being included in the review process provides insights into how to write top-notch reviews and to better understand the key components that AEs are looking for as they make decisions on manuscripts. Current ad-hoc reviewers who desire to become more engaged and review more papers are welcome to contact me or one of the AEs.

We need our authors, ad-hoc reviewers, and aspiring authors and reviewers to recognize that our vision is geared toward ensuring greater numbers of opportunities at AMR for scholars from all backgrounds and perspectives.

INITIATIVES

In addition to continuing the great work of past editorial teams and filling our issues with groundbreaking theoretical work, my AE team—with the help from ERB members—will be engaging in a number of initiatives designed for inclusion of diverse views and global perspectives. These include the development and multiple offerings of three types of outreach workshops, a new “bridge reviewer” program initiative, and an increase in visibility designed to promote our authors and expand our readership.

Outreach

Past editorial teams have done an excellent job conducting the AMR Theory Writing Workshop at the AOM conference, hosting hackathons, and supporting AEs in conducting workshops or speaking on behalf of AMR at various institutions or conferences. From these experiences and various sources of feedback, we have decided to conduct three types of outreach specifically aligned with our vision of intentional inclusion: (1) a two-hour Introduction to AMR and Theory Writing Workshop, (2) a three-hour AMR Idea Development Workshop, and (3) a two-day AMR Draft Development Workshop. These three workshops are designed to help authors critique and constructively think through their conceptual ideas early in their development, before they have developed an entire manuscript. As the goal of these workshops is to be intentionally inclusive, we encourage aspiring authors to use them as an opportunity to voice and develop their unique research ideas and perspectives.

The two-hour Introduction to AMR and Theory Writing Workshop is modeled after the AMR Theory Writing Workshop that has been conducted at the AOM annual meeting for the last few years. The goals of this workshop are to communicate AMR’s mission, the elements and structure of a theoretical contribution, and the features of clear writing. Participants learn this information from the editor and AEs and then engage in small-group discussions during which they can pose specific questions to the editor, AEs, and ERB members. There is so much demand for this workshop that we plan to offer it two to three times a year, once at the AOM annual meeting and virtually at other times.

The three-hour AMR Idea Development Workshop is designed to help scholars who have an idea for a theoretical paper but are not quite sure how to frame and develop that idea. Participants of this workshop will be required to do some pre-workshop readings and develop a two-page introduction of their idea. During the workshop, led by members of the editorial team, participants will engage in a number of exercises and leave with a complete draft of an introduction for an AMR manuscript and a clearer sense of how to move forward. We will provide this workshop via two approaches. First, we will offer it one or two times a year to scholars from locations and groups that are currently underrepresented as AMR authors (e.g., scholars from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East; female scholars). Second, this three-hour workshop can be provided to scholars at an institution, a consortium of institutions, or in conjunction with a conference; those interested in hosting this workshop should work directly with me.

The two-day AMR Draft Development Workshop is designed for scholars willing to engage in a focused and intensive experiential event. Using a combination of editorial team-led presentations and exercises, breakout group facilitation and constructive critiques, and individual writing, our objective is for participants to leave the workshop with a complete draft of an introduction and a detailed outline of a manuscript. The editorial team and ERB members will play a crucial role in gently steering scholars in the right direction as they craft their manuscript. This two-day workshop requires a partnership with local organizers, and is best paired with a conference or a consortium of educational institutions; those interested in hosting a two-day workshop should work directly with me.

Bridge Reviewer Program

Another initiative to create intentional inclusion is the Bridge Reviewer program; a PDF providing more information can be downloaded from the following AOM webpage: https://aom.org/docs/default-source/reviewing/amr_bridge_reviewers.pdf?sfvrsn=b412997b_2. While I was an AE during Belle Rose Ragin’s term from 2014 to 2017, scholars often admitted to me that they did not know how to review or write an AMR paper and, as a result, did not deeply engage with the journal. The Bridge Reviewer program is an initiative designed to provide late-stage PhD students and young scholars, especially those who have attended institutions that do not provide formal training in writing and reading conceptual papers, with the opportunity to review an AMR manuscript. We know that thoughtful and developmental reviewing makes us better authors (Ragins, 2015), so honing this skill in junior scholars should, over time, create a larger pool of great reviewers and great authors at AMR.

After completing the activities required to become a “bridge reviewer,” each program participant will act as a shadow reviewer on a single manuscript. This shadow reviewing process allows bridge reviewers the opportunity to write a review on a submitted manuscript, and to view comments from expert reviewers and from the AE. Where possible, these bridge reviewers will also receive mentoring on their review from ERB members or other expert reviewers. Bridge reviewers who complete the review and a set of questions reflecting critical self-evaluation of their performance as a reviewer will receive a completed bridge reviewer designation for their CV and in AMR’s Manuscript Central system, and will advance to ad-hoc reviewer status.

Visibility

A third initiative that my editorial team will undertake to ensure the intentional inclusion of diverse voices and global perspectives will be to increase the visibility of AMR authors and their work so that individuals from all backgrounds will want to join the AMR community. We will be implementing a two-pronged approach to increase our visibility: (1) early-publication alerts and (2) social media ventures.

There is often a substantial time lag between when a manuscript is accepted for publication and when it is published. In an effort to decrease the time between when a manuscript is accepted and when the scholarly community has access to the work, we will be working with authors to ensure that their AMR publications are sent to a set of relevant scholars as they appear “in-press” online. This initiative will enable authors to showcase their work and more quickly influence theoretical conversations in the management and organizational field.

Furthermore, the editorial team is planning a series of interviews with authors to provide insight not only on the topic of their manuscript but also on the manuscript’s journey. These frank conversations are meant to demystify the process of theory writing, especially for authors new to the realm of conceptual development. Other potential interviewees include members of the editorial team who will answer the questions that are most commonly asked about AMR. Providing information through different channels and using different media will expand the audience of people who read and contribute to AMR as well as provide our current audience with new opportunities to engage with our authors.

THE CORONAVIRUS

It is impossible to speak about the next three years at AMR without acknowledging the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on our community. COVID-19 has ravaged the world causing widespread sickness and death and has wreaked havoc on many aspects of our ways of life. As academics and researchers, we can no longer travel easily across borders to engage with our coauthors, we must use virtual tools and creative exercises to engage our students, and many of our research activities have had to be suspended or altered. Intentional inclusion will require being vigilant with respect to the way that COVID-19 is impacting the world around us.

We are currently unable to travel freely to deliver in-person outreach efforts to scholars interested in publishing in AMR, but we can develop virtual workshops. These virtual workshops represent an opportunity to connect with and guide more scholars, especially those with fewer resources to attend workshops. The experience of COVID-19 has touched the entire world, in a way that few events do. It is likely that the manuscripts we receive will begin to reflect how COVID-19 has changed our world and new theories will be developed to describe these changes as they influence employees, organizations, and the organizational environment for decades to come. We are hopeful that we will see a variety of global perspectives reflected in these manuscripts.

Most importantly, times like this call for compassion. In the best of times, publishing research in high-quality journals like AMR can be difficult and stressful. It is important that we extend compassion by listening to, supporting, and understanding that our colleagues—our authors, ERB members, and our reviewers—are dealing with a tremendous amount of change and stress. I have every confidence that the editorial team, our ERB members, and our ad-hoc reviewers will navigate these times with the utmost compassion.

WHAT DOES AMR LOOK LIKE IN THREE YEARS?

As a diversity and inclusion scholar, I strive to understand diverse perspectives and appreciate how they influence organizational life. Being exposed to diverse perspectives is illuminating, but it can only add value if those perspectives are respected and integrated into our interactions and goals. In other words, without intentional inclusion, diverse perspectives can be lost or dismissed; inclusion will not happen unless we put our resources and effort into ensuring that it is a priority.

At the end of my term in three years, I know that AMR will continue to be the foremost outlet for management and organizational theoretical work. I would like that we also be known as a journal that creates and builds a community of authors and constructive, yet challenging, reviewers. Finally, I would love to be able to show that my editorial team has extended the excitement, enthusiasm, and engagement associated with AMR to a broader set of scholars with different perspectives that deserve to be heard.