A Probationary Drivers Guide to A* Journals – Setting the Scene

Dr. Giles HirstMonash University, Melbourne, Australia

About meAssociate Professor, Deputy Director of Research at the Department of Management, Monash University. Track record of top tier journals publications, and outstanding research and consulting expertise.

In 2008 to 2012 Dr Hirst had 10 articles accepted for publication including The Academy of Management Journal (x2), Journal of Applied Psychology, The Journal of International Business Studies, The Journal of Organizational Behavior (2)

Over $650,000 of ARC grant money. Over $400,000 of additional industry funding.

Editorial Boards: Journal of Organizational Behaviour and British Journal of Management.

About meSenior Lecturer, Department of Management

Monash UniversityTidle Press/ANZAM ECR award winner for 2010In 2008 to 2012 had 10 articles accepted for

publication Journal of Business Ethics (3) Journal of Management and Governance (1) Business and Professional Ethics Journal (1) Human Resource Management Review (1) Employee Relations (1) Philosophy of Management (1) Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (1) Book chapter (1)

Seven grants from 2007-2012Associate Editor, Business & Society, Editorial

Board, Journal of Business Ethics, Editorial Board, Business and Professional Ethics Journal, Editorial Board, Advances in Business Ethics Research (book series), Guest Editor special issue on Ethics and HRM, Journal of Business Ethics

The Global Study of Employee Creativity

Can too much interest in learning diminish one’s creativity?

Does empowerment have similar positive outcomes in different cultures?

Do individual goals influence whether companies adopt new innovations?

How do we keep up with creativity of offences in a regulated environment?

When does diversity enhance the creativity of confident individuals?

Is creativity fostered by who we know or the contacts of the people we know?

How do servant leaders enhance individual & team creativity?

Can leaders influence the way we see ourselves and in turn our creativity?

Hirst, van Knippenberg & Zhou, 2009 AMJ

Hirst,van KnippenbergZhou,Quin&Zhu under review.

Yoshida, Hirst, Sendjaya & Cooper, under review.

Richter, Hirst et al. conditional accept JAP

Hirst, et al., 2008 JIBS

Hirst, van Knippenberg Sacramento & Chen, 2011 AMJ

Keong & Hirst, 2010 IJEI

Hirst, Vandick & van Knippenberg, 2008 JOB

Ethics and HRM, stakeholder theory

Accounting for stakeholdersMitchell, Freeman, Van Buren and Greenwood

Religion and employment ethicsHRM ideologyHRM professionalisationEthics and HRM edicationGreenwood and Van Buren

CSR and HRM Greenwood and Vogtlin

Visual design of corporate reportingGreenwood and Haylock

Social value measurementNeesham and Greenwood

Ethics and HRMAcademic ethics Greenwood

Ethics and HRMJack, Greenwood and Schapper

Really meIn 2001 September-January knocked back from

more than 20 interviews after at least the first interview.

First journal submission to LQ described as having ‘serious’(ly) flawed.

18 months of nothing but 2nd or 3rd rejections between 2004-2005

Repeated grant rejections.

In April 2010 stung by a stingray.

Really meTook 15 years to finish my PhDNever been full-time employed 0.5 from up

to 2008, 0.8 2008-2012Never published in A* journal (never will?)No grant above $19,000Publish mainly conceptual and critical workThree children

School of hard knocks!Your revised manuscript ….has now been reviewed by

the three original referees. Reviewers appreciated the hard work you devoted to clarifying your ideas. We all find this version to be an improvement.

Unfortunately, I continue to have concerns about the degree to which your article makes enough of a contribution .. to warrant publication in OBHDP. I dislike declining a manuscript for which I have previously invited a revision, and I appreciate the hard work that you have put into revising this one.

I am afraid, however, that I cannot accept this article for publication.. I will not invite another revision.

What delivers the strongest ROI?“Articles like dates: first impressions matter. The introduction determines whether or not readers will continue reading… If reviewers are intrigued … they are more likely to look for reasons to recommend revision.”Grant & Pollock, 2011 AMJ

Introductions are like the first 2-3 minutes of a job interview the panel appraises the candidate and then seeks to confirm this impression.

Success foundations-method & design

Arms race/design: what are the signatures of successful authors?

Elegant logical theorizing (Kant, 1998; Whetten, 2002)

Team-Level

Individual-Level

IndividualPerformance

Individual Empowerment

TeamPerformance

Team Empowerment

Leadership Climate

Leader-MemberExchange

H2(+)

H1(+)H2(+)

H1(+)

H1(+)))

H1(+)H2(+)

H2(+)H3(+)

H1(+)H3(+)

H1(+)H3(+)

H5(-) H3(+)H4(+)

Chen, Kirkman et al., 2009

Ah…..maybe it’s the topic

Most popular……….

teams” (30%) “job performance” (27%). OCB or “extra-role behavior” (14%),“leadership” (12%) & “job attitudes” (12%).

Under-represented…..

“creativity,” “diversity,” “social exchange/ psych contracts,” & “justice/fairness.”

Morrison (2010) AMJ OB: WHAT IS HOT AND WHAT IS NOT?237 articles 40% of content

Clear overviewIt’s a road map not a reward for finishing the journey

Getting readyKnow your target audience

Immerse yourself in the literatureRead eclectically

(Robert Sutton: “hard ideas from soft sources”)Start broad, finish narrow

Tips About the Process(Ashforth, 2010)

Setting the hook

(1) Who cares? What is the topic or research question,and why is it interesting and important in theory and practice?

(2) What major, unaddressed puzzle, controversy, or paradox does this study address, and why does it need to be addressed?

(3) What will we learn? How does your study fundamentallychange, challenge, or advance scholars’ understanding?

Five factors that are bed fellows with a big hit!

(1) Offering counter-intuitive insights

(2) Highlighting the effect of new and important practices

(3) Showing inconsistencies and their consequences

(4) Suggesting a specific theory to explain an interesting & current situation

(5) Identifying an iconic phenomenon that opens new areas of inquiry and practice.

McGahan (2007)

Which elements of personality relate to creativity?

Creativity

Conscientiousness

Close monitoring & accurate communication

Close monitoring & inaccurate communication

George & Zhou (2001)

Exemplary Introductions according to AMJ Outstanding Reviewers

Latham, Erez, & Locke (1988) Consensus creation. Created almost complete consensus on the effects of participation on goal setting, and that consensus still persists today.

van der Vegt & Bunderson (2005)Clear identification of gaps; good explanation for why addressing the gaps would yield important contributions

Consensus creation and destruction

The review process

At an A level journal if you are lucky enough to get an R&R to be successful anticipate 3-4 revisions –any less is a bonus!

Be prepared to consider the options and fully respond to the editors.

You need to fix or acknowledge any issues and convince the reviewers you have done so.

Reviewers and editors are not sadists (it just seems that way)Evaluative feedback impairs acceptance of

developmental feedback

You

Now I’m aware of the foundations what about the Review Process?

“The reviewers’ overall assessments differedsomewhat, from quite pessimistic to guardedlyoptimistic. My own reading of the paper and thereviewers’ comments left me closer to the second,and so I would like to offer you the opportunityto revise and resubmit your paper to AMR.However, given the challenging comments raisedby the review team…please note that this must beconsidered a high risk revision.”

-from an AMR review

Read between the lines (good news is often disguised as bad)

But What About the Review Process? (Ashforth, 2010)

25

Now what?

Plan the rewriteProcess (who does what when, where)Letter wayyy longer than paper, and takes

more time Lay the groundwork

Insert conversation into reply letter (1st author)

“Gets”Analyses or…More data??!

Key learnings

Did we cover your questions?

What are some of the things you will do?