Pirates, Adventurers, and Free Spirits: The People of Academy of Management Discoveries
2024; Academy of Management; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.5465/amd.2024.0048
ISSN2168-1007
Autores Tópico(s)Management and Marketing Education
ResumoAcademy of Management DiscoveriesVol. 10, No. 1 From the EditorFree AccessPirates, Adventurers, and Free Spirits: The People of Academy of Management DiscoveriesC. Chet MillerC. Chet MillerUniversity of HoustonPublished Online:28 Mar 2024https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2024.0048AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Academy of Management Discoveries (AMD) is an upstart journal with a different kind of mission, a mission that eschews many of the usual tenets of deductive and inductive research. As a testament to the road less traveled, AMD has been doing quite well. Submissions have been increasing, with a record set in 2023. Journal impact factors have been strong, and the related article influence scores have been outstanding, with AMD ranked 11th among established management journals. Visibility using alternative metrics also has been exciting (e.g., Altmetric). Finally, AMD continues to have an outsized presence in AOM Insights, which speaks to the interest in our empirical findings beyond the academic community. For 2023, three of the five most popular Insight articles were based on AMD research.With an exploratory mission that departs from typical practice, AMD always has attracted people who dance to a different kind of drummer, or perhaps to a different kind of jazz trumpeter. For those of us who have taken more than a few trips around the sun, the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue might come to mind as a pertinent analog, given the different path taken in the creation of that wonderful, world-renowned LP. The Frank Sinatra song "My Way" also might be apropos, as the lyrics highlight a life lived on its own terms. If not for the specific context of a failed relationship inside the band, the Fleetwood Mac song "Go Your Own Way" might fit. This From the Editors commentary celebrates the people of AMD who definitely go their own way.THE MYSTIC OF THE AMD COMMUNITYAs is well known at this point in time, AMD emphasizes empirical explorations into phenomena that are not well understood, phenomena for which existing theory and scholarship do not offer strong insights (Rockmann, 2023; Van de Ven et al., 2015). Related to this, the journal leans strongly into abductive reasoning and approaches (Bamberger, 2018). This means that we are comfortable playing hunches and embracing doubt when contemplating what might be seen in an empirical investigation. In interpreting what has been seen, we thrive on plausible explanations that need further examination. We generally do not live in a world of deductive certainty. Definitive conclusions regarding underlying causal processes and narrow contributions to an existing theory do not apply here. We are an upstream journal intent on being generative of downstream research based on provocative findings and speculative explanations. We strive to create new ideas and set empirical foundations for exciting new paths.Consistent with this mission, AMD has generated interesting research, rich storytelling, and strong support. Also consistent with the mission, the journal has attracted brave, creative people—the pirates, the adventurers, the free spirits. These are the people who are comfortable operating outside of the typical strictures of deductive and inductive research. And they are not faint of heart. As Locke, Golden-Biddle, and Feldman (2008: 916) observed in their discussion of abduction and doubt, "many of our community's institutional mechanisms continue to overemphasize validation and the avoidance of mistakes to the exclusion of exploring discovery processes and excellence in theorizing."So, who exactly has come along for the AMD ride? Based on my decade-long association with the journal, members of the AMD community seem to share four prominent characteristics: (1) a deep love affair with real-world problems and phenomena; (2) an embracing of hunches and imagination in both quantitative and qualitative research; (3) a celebration of doubt; and (4) an enthusiastic leveraging of broad, eclectic lives.A Deep Love Affair with Real-World Problems and PhenomenaIn a memorable article with implications across academic disciplines, Daniel Sarewitz (2016) contrasted research that is driven by the preoccupations, theories, and ideas inside a discipline with research that is focused on problems in the real world. In his examples, internally oriented research often produced publications that added little value to society but safely advanced the careers of those who wrote the articles; externally focused research, in contrast, tended to add value to society. He summed up the ideal state of affairs with the following words:In the future, the most valuable science institutions will be closely linked to the people and places whose urgent problems need to be solved; they will cultivate strong lines of accountability to those for whom solutions are important; they will incentivize scientists to care about the problems more than the production of knowledge. They will link research agendas to the quest for improved solutions … rather than to understanding for its own sake. The science they produce will be of higher quality, because it will have to be. (Sarewitz, 2016: 39)To save science from itself, Sarewitz (2016: 5) strongly believes that "scientists must come out of the lab and into the real world." From inside the management and organizations discipline, Van Maanen, Sorenson, and Mitchell (2007) expressed a similar sentiment, citing Kilduff (2006) for inspiration: "Good theory comes from engagement with problems in the world, not gaps in the literature" (p. 1149).Importantly, contributors to AMD tend to deeply immerse themselves in real-world phenomena and problems. Indeed, early statements of the journal's mission emphasized phenomenon-driven research (Van de Ven et al., 2015), and today's mission statement emphasizes phenomenon-forward expressions of such research (https://aom.org/research/journals/discoveries). Do contributors to other major journals concern themselves with real-world phenomena and problems? Of course they do, but, at AMD, this rises to the level of raison d'être.There are many great examples of phenomenon-driven, problem-oriented research in the pages of AMD, including Majchrzak, Griffith, Reetz, and Alexy's (2018) work on catalyst organizational designs for transformational innovation; Rouse and Harrison's (2022) work on creativity in dance troupes and its applications to technology consulting; Kahn's (2022) work on the surprising source and nature of dysfunction inside a child welfare organization; and Kray, Kennedy, and Lee's (2023) work on women negotiating salaries at least as much as men, in contrast to received wisdom, and in contrast to standard explanations for gender pay gaps. Whiteman's and Cooper's (2016) paper "Decoupling Rape" provides another great example, as these authors immersed themselves in problems connected to forestry firms raping the land while seeking and often obtaining environmental stewardship certifications. Along the way, Whiteman and Cooper discovered problems related to the rape of young women and girls in some areas engaged by forestry firms in South America, with the first author coming under direct threat herself when on-site in a key forestry sector. Whiteman's and Cooper's (2016) research played a role in the decertification of a firm, while also creating scholarly insights into how the events could have happened in the first place.Embrace of Hunches and Imagination in Both Quantitative and Qualitative ResearchRené Descartes and many others have highlighted the value of a very logical, deliberate approach to scientific discovery, with deductive and inductive reasoning being the anchor points.1 Although very popular, this position has been questioned. Simonton (2003) said this:Other thinkers have questioned whether scientific creativity can be subsumed under some totally rational method. These opponents include both philosophers, like Karl Popper (1959), and Nobel laureate scientists. For example, Max Planck (1949) claimed that creative scientists "must have a vivid intuitive imagination, for new ideas are not generated by deduction, but by an artistically creative imagination" (p. 109), and Albert Einstein reported that "To these elementary laws there leads no logical path, but only intuition, supported by being sympathetically in touch with experience." (Simonton, 2003: 475)Locke et al. (2008), Van de Ven (2007), Sætre and Van de Ven (2021), von Hippel and von Krogh (2016), and others have supported Simonton's basic point. Even Amazon seems to have an appreciation for the process:Wandering in business is not efficient … but it's also not random. It's guided—by hunch, gut, intuition, curiosity, and powered by a deep conviction … Wandering is an essential counter-balance to efficiency. You need to employ both. The outsized discoveries—the "non-linear" ones—are highly likely to require wandering. (Bezos, 2019: 2)In papers published at AMD, intuition in the form of hunches, imagination in all of its glory, educated guesses as direction finders, disturbing anomalies as idea generators, and simple logic are prototypical drivers of empirical expectations and general paper framing. Consider the recent words of Houwelingen and Stoelhorst (2023: 299): "Against this background, the starting point of our research is the intuition that the degree to which stakeholders anthropomorphize firms may be important for how they perceive their relationship with a firm." As a second example, consider my words in describing the foundation of Burt and Merluzzi's (2016) research: "Based on simple logic, a few disparate data points, and a bit of intuition, the authors explore the possibility that four different kinds of network change are important for individual advantage over time" (Miller, 2016).Of course, mistakes can be generated when hunches and imagination are used to initially understand a phenomenon and then to generate expectations for what might be seen empirically in studies of the phenomenon's underlying dynamics. This means patience and courage are required to cope with the inevitable blind alleys. While such alleys are seen as wasteful by some, they are in fact part of the normal process of a vibrant science in which variation in ideas and empirical examinations is fundamental for grappling with complex, poorly understood phenomena (Sætre & Van de Ven, 2021; Weick, 1989). At AMD, blind alleys are expected, and are valued as part of transparent research reports. We celebrate the messiness of novel, exploratory science and encourage the messy process to be shared with our readers.Celebration of DoubtPeople learn most easily against familiar backdrops using familiar tools (Levitt & March, 1988; Sitkin, 1992; Sitkin, See, Miller, Lawless & Carton, 2011). As such, explorations into the unfamiliar using abductive tools can be daunting and filled with doubt. Indeed, doubt related to ideas, interpretations, and intended empirical plans are central to investigations of complex, poorly understood phenomena. Misgivings and disconfirmations are natural parts of the territory. The good news is that doubt can energize deeper thinking and be a catalyst for productive empirical work (Locke et al., 2008; Van de Ven, 2007; Weick, 1989). Doubt is an uneasy feeling that can motivate inquisitive researchers to keep the process alive as a way of alleviating that feeling, perhaps eventually arriving at the "peaceful, easy feeling" described by the Eagles in their hit song of the same name.Of course, there are headwinds when dealing with doubt. We tend to be trained in deduction and induction where there is more certainty, or at least the veneer of more certainty. Charles Sanders Peirce, who generally is given credit for being the parent of abductive thinking, staked out the territory this way: "Deduction proves that something must be; induction shows that something actually is operative; abduction merely suggests that something may be" (Peirce, Hartshorne & Weiss, 1935: 171, emphasis in original). Locke et al. (2008: 912), whose amazing treatise on the role of doubt should be read and savored by all of us, spoke to the implications of living in a world characterized by "may be":Cultivating doubt requires, in part, the ability to turn toward or embrace not knowing. Although many of us who engage in research have been rewarded for knowing and have been encouraged to show that we know and that we know quickly, the experience of not knowing may be less familiar and more difficult to cultivate because we have to unlearn how we typically respond to doubt.Despite the headwinds, the generative role of doubt can be seen in the messy research journeys that AMD authors often describe, with the best descriptions typically occurring in embedded audio clips recorded by the authors in response to queries regarding challenges and surprises in the research process. Rerup, Gioia, and Corley (2022), for example, describe how they unexpectedly stumbled onto an opportunity to study an organization over its entire lifecycle and had to shift to a new methodology because their favorite approach did not work. They also describe a lengthy research process filled with struggles for success. Caza, Main, and Stuart-Edwards (2022), Rogiers, De Stobbeleir, and Viaene (2021), and Tsay (2021) provide additional interesting examples.Enthusiastic Leveraging of Broad, Eclectic LivesEclectic lives seem to play a role in creating or at least supporting the ability to see what others do not see (Sætre & Van de Ven, 2021; Simonton, 2003). Breadth of experiences and the particularly high-pitched curiosity that often accompanies that breadth can help people connect dots that others cannot connect, and perhaps see dots that others do not see in the first place. In his bestselling book Range, David Epstein (2019) provides evidence for this process, and points out its importance for people who are operating in complex worlds. In his chart-topping book Originals, Adam Grant, a member of AMD's founding editorial board, shares interesting stories and evidence related to eclectic lives being important breeding grounds for nonconformists who change the world (Grant, 2016). Closer to home, Sætre and Van de Ven (2021: 618) put it this way:The likelihood of observing an anomaly is a function of a scholar's adaptation level, cognitive flexibility, exposure to divergent experiences, and reading of diverse literature (Dane, 2010; De Dreu, Baas & Nijstad, 2008; Koestler, 1964; Perry-Smith & Mannucci, 2017).All scholars in the management and organizations area have very interesting lives, but some members of this community do not leverage those lives as fully as they could in their research. Instead, they focus more narrowly in hopes of a less complicated research career. AMD authors, editorial board members, and editors, however, tend to revel in dancing to the broad, eclectic music. Andy Van de Ven, our founding editor in chief, perhaps serves as the best exemplar. From our interactions over the years, I know how broad Andy's experiences and insights were, and how motivated he was to leverage those experiences. From discussing architecture as we walked through Barcelona, to discussing religions as we walked around Singapore observing a Hindu temple, an Islamic mosque, and a Christian church, he seemed to know something about everything, and to be quite interested in how that diverse knowledge could inform his scholarship. My tribute to Andy that appeared in AMD back in 2022 sums up the eclectic life, at least partially:"I have a chair, so I don't care!" I remember these words as if they were sung yesterday. In point of fact, they were sung (in jest) by Andy in 1988, on the day he and I first met. We were at San Miguel's restaurant in Austin, TX, having a group dinner as part of a methods conference. Our table, thanks to Andy, was the life of party.In those brief hours back in 1988, I learned everything I needed to know about Andy. He was thoughtful and serious about scholarship, but also irreverent and fun. Quite the paradox, and my kind of person.Andy lived a full life, not a life focused only on scholarship, and I always admired that. His horse riding, cattle raising, fly fishing, canoeing, skiing, and four wheeling are legendary. What I admired most, though, was his willingness and ability to fight the good fight when necessary. (Academy of Management, 2022: 167)When recruiting the current editing team, I focused my search on people who relish leveraging eclectic lives. In other words, I searched for people who could and would extend the vision put in place by Andy when founding AMD, a vision so brilliantly advanced by Peter Bamberger and Kevin Rockmann as successor editors in chief. Reflecting on the seven months that the current team has spent handling manuscripts and setting policy, I have no doubt that I succeeded in assembling a brilliant, fun, and eclectic group of scholars. To be properly specific, members of the current team are Shiko M. Ben-Menahem (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Brianna Barker Caza (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), Prithviraj Chattopadhyay (University of Cambridge), Susan K. Cohen (University of Pittsburg), Erika V. Hall (Emory University), Candace Jones (University of Edinburgh Business School), Zhike Lei (IMD Business School), Christopher G. Myers (Johns Hopkins University), and Dusya Vera (University of Western Ontario). I could not be prouder of these nine people.SUPPORTING OUR AUTHORS, THE EXTERNAL COMMUNITY, AND SCIENCE ITSELFLooking to the future, the current team of editors is committed to doing all that we can to build on AMD's existing momentum and excitement. While risking eyeball fatigue by readers, I present our plans below in the form of three bulleted lists related to supporting authors, supporting the external community, and supporting science itself.2Supporting Authorscontinued emphasis on rich feedback in the review process through our outstanding editors and reviewerscontinued emphasis on voice of the author through messaging that reminds reviewers not to attempt to rewrite papers in their own images (for more on AMD's longstanding emphases on voice of the author, see Miller & Van de Ven, 2015, and Van de Ven et al., 2015)continued emphasis on efficiency in the review process, which includes both short review times and the fewest possible review rounds for a given papercontinued emphasis on author expression through multimedia components with some reshaping based on current best practicesimplementation of AMD-specific social media promotion for each published paperoutreach campaign targeting deans and senior associate deans to enhance perceived value of AMDoutreach campaign targeting potential authors through paper development workshopsSupporting the External Communitycontinued emphasis on problem-driven research where the problems reside in the external community (phenomenon-forward exploratory research lends itself to problem-driven emphases)continued emphasis on successful AMD connections to the Responsible Research for Business and Management (RRBM) movementencouragement for authors who want to include practitioners in the design and execution of research projects (more about this in the next From the Editors essay)encouragement for authors who want to include voice-of-practitioner audio and video components in their published papersselect commissioning of stand-alone paper commentaries from practitionerstracking Altmetric and related indicators of impact to identify papers for further promotion to the external communitycreation of a new award that highlights the paper that has had the most visibility/impact on the external community five years post publicationSupporting Sciencecontinued emphasis on rigorous research methods for both quantitative and qualitative projectscontinued emphasis on internal replicationscontinued emphasis on multi-method approachesembracing of new Registered Reports initiative (Registered Reports have been arriving for both quantitative and qualitative papers)encouragement for authors who wish to use alternative methods to supplement traditional approaches (e.g., Bayesian approaches to compensate for the drawbacks of frequentist-based statistics)continued emphasis on exploratory research, which obviates problems related to HARKingCLOSINGIn closing, I will return to where I began: AMD is a special journal that has caught lightening in a bottle. It has been doing quite well in attracting great papers and impacting both scholars and practitioners. To borrow from Jane Dutton's and Mike Pratt's brilliant catch line for Academy's OMT division: AMD, the place to be!31 See, for example, Descartes's ([1637] 2019) Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences.2 With credit to Burton-Jones (2021) for the three categories used here.3 Personal communication.AcknowledgmentsI thank most sincerely Peter Bamberger, Laura Cardinal, and Kevin Rockmann for their very helpful suggestions on an earlier draft of this commentary. Without their inputs, I inadvertently would have committed several sins.REFERENCESAcademy of Management. n.d. Defining features of AMD. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://aom.org/research/journals/discoveries Google ScholarAcademy of Management. 2022. Obituary: A tribute to Andy Van de Ven, 1945–2022. Academy of Management Discoveries, 8: 167–169. 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Academy of Management Discoveries, 2: 115–154.Link , Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 10, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 28 March 2024 Published in print 1 March 2024 Information© Academy of Management DiscoveriesAcknowledgmentsI thank most sincerely Peter Bamberger, Laura Cardinal, and Kevin Rockmann for their very helpful suggestions on an earlier draft of this commentary. Without their inputs, I inadvertently would have committed several sins.Download PDF
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