Submitting to
Academy of Management Collections

The mission of Academy of Management Collections is to publish carefully-curated collections of articles from the AOM’s archive of previously-published journal articles, tied together by an original essay. AOM journals include the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Perspectives, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Academy of Management Discoveries, and Academy of Management Annals. Collections may be comprised of articles that reflect a single literature, or they may tie together seemingly-unrelated articles into a meaningful conversation relevant to the understanding of a topic or issue. In addition to the selected articles, each collection begins with an original essay from the curator(s); this curating essay facilitates the collection becoming more than the sum of its parts, with the goal of enhancing insight into key topics in management research. The essay is a commentary that helps the reader to navigate the articles in the collection and see how, holistically, they tell an important story that informs our understanding of an aspect of management. The original essay also provides a critique of the current state of the relevant AOM-based literature, elucidates the implications for practice that can be gleaned from the collection, and provides compelling suggestions for how to advance our understanding of the topic. 

A Collection includes 10-20 articles selected by the curator(s) from the AOM archive, with the original essay. The articles form a coherent thematic whole, as elucidated in the narrative contained in the curating essay. Each collection, inclusive of the original essay and selected articles, forms a single volume of Collections.

Museums provide a metaphor for Collections. Typically, space constraints mean that museums own many more pieces than can be featured on display for visitors at any given time; the Smithsonian Institute is only able to display approximately 1% of its collection of approximately 155,000,000 items (www.si.edu). However, archived pieces are often curated into unique and thematic collections, forming exhibitions that are arranged using either creative or chronological ordering. Such thematic displays begin with an explanation of the exhibition’s meaning and purpose, and are accompanied by a narrative that is designed to guide viewers through the underlying logic of the curated collection to provide an enhanced experience for the visitors.  

Collections plays a comparable role for published research. The AOM has in excess of 50,000 articles in its archive. Although scholars and practitioners use individual articles in the archive to support the development of novel research, theorizing, and practice; with effective curation, the archived articles have the potential to provide additional and deeper insights that can increase their contribution to the broad field of management. Like pieces in a museum, they can be assembled to express a narrative that enhances their meaning and contribution. The act of curation involves identifying the items in a thematic collection and articulating the elements that connect them into a coherent and insightful whole. In the case of articles, the reader becomes the viewer, guided through the collection by the logic and thoughtfulness of the curator. 

The point of an art collection is to illuminate viewers toward a new way of seeing, understanding, and appreciating. This is precisely what AMC seeks to achieve with collections of AOM articles.  

See below for Collections proposal guidelines. Please contact the editors – Benjamin Galvin and Elizabeth Rose – with any questions.

Submission Requirements

Submitting to Collections is a two-stage process. 

Authors interested in publishing an Academy of Management Collections must first submit a brief proposal outlining the idea for their curation of articles; see below for a detailed description of what the proposal should include. If the proposal is accepted, the author(s) will be invited to submit the collection – including the curating essay and the AOM-published articles – which will then be subject to a double-blind review process. 

When authors submit their proposal to Collections, they agree to abide by the journal’s publication requirements. Specifically, an author must:

• Agree that the proposal or curating essay is not under review for publication elsewhere, and will not be submitted to another publication outlet during the Collections review process;
  
• Confirm that the proposal, curating essay, or collection has not previously been submitted to Collections for review. This includes prior submission of a proposal that covers the same broad topic area or focuses on a similar set of curated articles. If submitters are unsure about the distinctiveness of a new proposal, they should contact the editors for clarification.

Proposal Guidelines

Submitting a Collections Proposal

Collections follows a two-step process for submissions. First, authors must submit a brief proposal that outlines the plan for the collection, including the value-adding curating essay.

Proposals should be no longer than five (5) pages (8.5x11” or A4), single-spaced, with standard (1” or 2.54 cm) margins and using a 12-point font. References, tables, and figures are not counted in the five-page limit, and may be attended to the end of the proposal.

Collection Proposal Format

Individuals interested in curating a collection should submit, for review, a proposal that could be expanded into a full-length curating essay if accepted. The proposal should cover each of the sections in the following structure and include a list of the AOM articles that are proposed to form the collection. 

I. Introduction and overview of the value proposition, and why the collection (and the curating essay itself) is useful or needed.
This section should introduce the collection and make the case for why the collection is important to read. It should provide a hook that draws readers in and invites them to engage with the remainder of the essay and the articles in the collection. 

II. Narrative overview/history of the topic that weaves together the contributions of the selected articles from the AOM archive, to tell a compelling story.
This section should include a curated overview of the selected literature, with a focus on the articles in the collection, aimed at helping the reader to understand the nuances of how the literature has developed, either thematically or temporally. It should also create connections for the reader that would not be obvious to those without deep familiarity with the topic. Readers should feel as though they are being exposed to the essence of the topic. The voice of the curator(s) should be strong in this section, offering the reader an insider’s view of the topic. This section should not feel like a traditional review (e.g., in AOM Annals), but rather more like the conversation that would take place in a doctoral seminar that is offered by an expert on a topic. In addition, curating authors should feel encouraged to express their insights and views on the topic.

III. Explanation of the current state of knowledge and a critique of the topic
The essay should include a summary of “where we are now” and provide a strong “state of the topic” summary. In addition to highlighting the progress made to date, this section should include a discussion of shortcomings related to current conceptualizations and the measurement of relevant constructs. It could also include commentary on other weaknesses or blind spots in the current literature. While the articles in the collection must be drawn solely from the AOM archives, the curating essay may also refer to some articles published in non-AOM journals, in order to provide broader context regarding the topic of interest.

IV. Implications for practice
Most curated essays will also provide a detailed overview of what our understanding of this topic means for practice, and why that matters. This section should make these connections in a much more thorough manner than usually seen in most AOM journals, more reflective of what the curator(s) would have to say about the topic in a consulting situation. It might also address how specific articles in the collection – and the collection as a whole – add nuance and conclusions for practice. The section could also discuss disconnects and gaps between practice and the research that has been undertaken to date.

V. Suggestions for future work
The curating essay should lay out a comprehensive future research agenda for how the identified weaknesses and gaps could be addressed, describing opportunities for future work. It could also address opportunities for theoretical extensions. This section should include suggestions that are bold and inspiring.

VI. Conclusion
The concluding section of the essay should represent the voice of the curator(s) and include clear justification of the value of reading the collection of articles that follow.

VII. References and the AOM articles
The essay should end with a typical reference list, along with references to the 10-20 AOM articles that constitute the collection.  

Proposals should be submitted directly via this site: Manuscript Central

Proposals are peer-reviewed, with the process managed by the Editors and Associate Editors. Once a proposal has been approved, the curating author is invited to continue to a full submission (a curating essay plus the 10-20 AOM articles). Please note that an invitation to submit a full collection does not guarantee acceptance.

Please feel free to contact the Collections Editorial Office with any questions.

Be sure to review our Style Guide for manuscript requirements, prior to submitting.

Ethics

View AOM’s Ethics policy page, which includes our Code of Ethics and detailed procedures and inquiry requests.

For more information, contact collections@aom.org.