Professor Robin Holt was the editor-in-chief of Organization Studies (2013-2017) and an editorial board member for the Academy of Management Review and Academy of Management Learning and Education (2017-2020).

Professor Renate Meyer is the Editor-in-Chief of Organization Studies (2019-today, senior editor 2015-2019), editorial board member for the Academy of Management Review and Organization Theory, and Special issue editor for Organization Studies and Research in the Sociology of Organizations.

Professor Silviya Svejenova is senior editor of Organization Studies; editorial board member for Organization Theory and the Academy of Management Review and formerly Organization Science. Special issue editor for Organization Studies; Research in the Sociology of Organizations; Industry and Innovation; Creativity and Innovation Management.

Assoc. Professor Joana Geraldi is senior editor of Project Management Journal (PMJ), and on the editorial board of the International Journal of Project Management (IJPM). Special issue editor for the Scandinavian Journal of Management, IJPM and PMJ.

Prior to coming, think of a paper generally accessible to others that will form the basis of a group discussion on Day 1. You will be asked to talk about the choice. It does not have to be something you like, but certainly, something that provokes you into thinking about the nature of academic writing and publishing. Be prepared to talk it through in some detail.

In addition, all students will be expected to submit a written piece of work two months after the completion of the course. The course is designed for PhD students embarking on writing journal articles. There is an expectation that those attending will prepare and share a piece of work. It does not have to be complete but substantial enough to form the subject of constructive discussion. Following the workshop, the course coordinator will provide feedback on an abstract and introduction of the written work. And, after the workshop, the participants are expected to develop a draft paper, receive feedback from peers and peer review other draft papers. This is an important aspect of the course, so demands careful attention.

Aim

The aim of this course is to take participants through the process of journal publication. There are two aspects to this. First, considering the nature of academic knowledge production, and secondly the craft of writing and participating in the peer review process. As such this is not just a practical ‘how to’ course of producing written work suitable for academic publishing, but also requires participants to consider actively and reflexively the uses to which academic knowledge is being put, and the relational conditions of ‘its’ generation. 

Presentations from the academic leads will be used, but the emphasis will be a discursive one, involving participants in conversations, presentations and group work. Participants should come prepared to discuss not only others but their own work, and to comment in constructive and substantive debate. 

Whilst quantitative work is in no way precluded and much of the course remains relevant for either qualitative and quantitative work, the discussion on the nature of knowledge production will take in ideas from philosophy, cultural theory, the humanities and technology studies. Relatedly, the academic staff teaching on the course have largely been involved in qualitative work. The emphasis will not be on the technicalities of methodological approaches or methods, but on the kind of knowledge they create - for example how hypotheses work within a wider practice of verification which, in the social sciences, can be traced back to the logical positivists, or possible sympathies between the use of narrative methods in ethnography and fiction. 

Course Content

As the course combines academic writing with scholarly discussion on the nature of knowledge production, dissemination and use, the content will include consideration of the following:

·       The craft of writing
·       Conditions of knowledge production in business, management, and organization studies
·       Landscape of journals, subjects, approaches, formats, and styles
·       Nature of a motivation, research question, and theoretical contribution 
·       Crafting publishable articles – motivation, research questions, theory building, structuring
·       Publication Process, development of the manuscript, dealing with reviewers and editors 
·       Art of reviewing and engaging with reviewers, editors, and the academic community 

Learning objectives

• To discuss journal publications as part of knowledge production in business, management and organization studies, and their relevance for participants’ career, the academic community and beyond
• To develop a rich and full sense of the process required to develop an academic journal publication.
• To appreciate the different approaches and styles of writing and imagery and differentiate expectations and styles between organization and management journals
• To articulate and frame a paper for their respective academic communities.
• To understand the intricacies of the review processes, including but not limited to conducting and responding to reviews.

Note that our focus and expertise lie within organization and management journals, with a strong bias towards qualitative work.

Teaching style

The seminar consists of a combination of presentations and discussions. Each day will be led by one of the faculty members, including the course coordinator who will also be present throughout the course, ensuring continuity between the days.

Lecture plan and schedule

Lecture plan and schedule: 4 full days (9am to 16pm)

03.09: Monday: Advancing academic knowledge (The nature of publishing, contribution, knowledge production, specifically in the field of management and organization studies) What makes a ’good’ academic paper?

04.09: Tuesday: Framing and writing (Choice of paper type, problematization, community and journal) How do you frame and write compelling papers?

05.09: Wednesday: Navigating the review process (different roles and perspectives) How do you walk the reviewing process?)

06.09: Thursday: Contributing to the community and developing a career (reviews, conferences, community building, etc.) What makes a ’good’ academic citizen?

Submissions:

·       4.10: Submission of abstract and introduction through Canvas.

·       4.12: Submission of paper draft for peer review through Canvas.

·       11.12: Submission of peer review to your colleague (directly to your colleague via email with a copy to the course coordinator) 

Literature

An updated course literature list will be available before the start of the course. The list below provides examples of potential literature. Course participants are expected to have read selections from the list before the course. They will also be expected to have read the papers selected by the other participants.

Day 1: Advancing Academic Knowledge

Meyer, R., & Quattrone, P. (2021). Living in a Post-truth World?: Research, Doubt and Organization Studies. Organization Studies, 42(9), 1373-1383.

Davis, M. S. (1971). That's interesting! Towards a phenomenology of sociology and a sociology of phenomenology. Philosophy of the social sciences, 1(2), 309-344.

Weick, K. E. (1989). Theory construction as disciplined imagination. Academy of management review, 14(4), 516-531.

Whetten, D. A. (1989). What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 490–495.

Chia, R., & Holt, R. (2008) ‘On managerial knowledge’, Management Learning, 39(2), 141-158.

Davis, G. (2014) Why do we still have journals? Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(2): 193-201.

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Day 2: Framing and writing

Alvesson, M., & Sandberg, J. (2011). Generating research questions through problematization. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 247-271.

Clegg, S., Pina e Cunha, M., & Berti, M. (2022). Research movements and theorizing dynamics in Management and Organization Studies. Academy of Management Review, 47, 382–401.

Huff, A. S. (1999). Writing for scholarly publication. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Patriotta, G. (2017). Crafting Papers for Publication: Novelty and Convention in Academic Writing. Journal of Management Studies, 54(5), 747-759.

Barley, S. (2006) When I write my masterpiece: Thoughts on what makes a journal Interesting, The Academy of Management Journal, 49(1), 16-20.

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Day 3: Navigating the review process

A practical case example will be shared with course participants.

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Day 4: Contributing to the community and developing a career

Clarke, C., & Knights, D. (2015). Careering through academia: Securing identities or engaging ethical subjectivities?, Human Relations, 68(12), 1865–1888.

Courpasson, D. (2013). On the Erosion of “Passionate Scholarship.” Organization Studies, 34(9), 1243–1249.

Parker, M. (2013) ‘Becoming Editor: Or, Pinocchio finally notices the strings’, tripleC. 13(2): 461-474.

Reinecke, J., Boxenbaum, E., & Gehman, J. (2022). Impactful Theory: Pathways to Mattering. Organization Theory, 3(4).

Svejenova, S. (2019). Constructive pluralism for a theory of organization: Rediscovering our community, identity, and vocation. Organization Studies, 40(1), 59–64.

We will inquire into the different approaches researchers have used and their styles of writing and imagery, as well as ways for constructively providing and responding to peer review feedback. 

Emphasis is placed on participants’ scholarly development as well as on their capacity to craft a paper for submission to an academic, peer-reviewed journal.