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Organization Science in 2023

  • 1.  Organization Science in 2023

    Posted 03-23-2023 15:09

    It is my great pleasure to serve as the new editor-in-chief at Organization Science and to have the opportunity to work with a fantastic team of authors, reviewers, and editors.  My overarching goal as EIC is to make Org Science a journal that publishes the best work on organizations, across a broad range of disciplines, fields, settings, and methodologies. I also want a journal that cares about social impact and helps to fill the gap in research on understudied or underrepresented populations. 

    Organization Science is launching a Substack newsletter and community to help nurture our every-growing community of scholars worldwide. We would be honored if you subscribed to the newsletter here: https://orgsci.substack.com/p/subscribe-to-the-organization-science

    Let me give you a short description of what we are trying to accomplish at Organization Science. A key principle will be advancing and refining theory through a portfolio of research.  Papers can be great in many different ways, with a diverse set of research approaches collectively helping us better understand, explain, and predict important phenomena involving organizations.  Some papers are purely theoretical, using formal notation or logic. Some papers combine theory and empirics to extend what we believe we already know. Theory is also built and refined through papers that are purely empirical, which can provide the groundwork for new theory or cast doubt on what is commonly believed to be true.  Theory needs pruning as well. 

    I am extremely excited about the new editorial team and editorial review board. I hope that both will increasingly represent diversity in types of research, author backgrounds, geography, and topics.  In both cases, I've focused on providing opportunities for new generations of scholars who will take the journal and broader field into the future. As some of you have already noticed (and debated), past publication in the journal was not a prerequisite. I wanted to introduce new ideas and opportunities. Check out these awesome groups here: https://pubsonline.informs.org/page/orsc/editorial-board

    There are a number of practical changes in the review process that should increase both efficiency and predictability in the review process. Senior editors will now directly issue decisions (under advisement of reviewers) without the paper returning to my desk for approval. Great scholars can disagree on specific papers, and no one wants me as the final arbiter of acceptance. The journal will represent a panoply of viewpoints and preferences. We are dedicated to building an efficient and equitable process that returns papers quickly and provides clear guidance on the path to publication for revision requests. I'm confident we can achieve a substantial reduction in time under review and number of rounds. Time is precious, particularly for junior scholars, and I hope these changes will reduce burden on both authors and reviewers, and improve the total time under review. 

    Our new editorial statement is here: https://pubsonline.informs.org/page/orsc/editorial-statement. I hope you will look to the editorial team as a strong signal of what we value, and strongly consider us as an outlet for your best work. I also hope that you will be willing to serve as timely reviewers with the expectation that your own submissions will receive efficient and fair treatment, even if the editorial decisions are not always what you hoped for.  

    To read more about our plans and vision, visit and subscribe to our Substack at https://orgsci.substack.com/p/welcome-to-organization-science-in .

    Sincerely,

    Lamar Pierce

    Organization Science Editor-in-Chief



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    Lamar Pierce
    Washington University in St. Louis
    Saint Louis MO
    (314) 935-5205
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