Editorial

Citation

Ribeiro Soriano, D. (2012), "Editorial", Management Decision, Vol. 50 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/md.2012.00150aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Management Decision, Volume 50, Issue 1

As a student of business administration, the first time that I read of the existence of Management Decision was in 1981. On taking a look at some of the papers published in the journal, I noticed that this publication had many important things to say. Currently the “reserve” of Management Decision makes me think that, like good Spanish wines, time increases its value and worth in the management field and for academia in general. I am honoured to substitute John Peters as editor-in-chief of MD. It is a very important achievement for me as I am entirely aware of the high standards and quality of articles published in the Journal, which I already had direct involvement in as book review editor.

The success of the Journal is due to the ongoing, dedicated efforts of the MD team, and they deserve my gratitude. Any journal is only as good as the team working behind it. From our new editorial team to everyone who has worked with MD to date, we want to thank you for all of your work.

John Peters’ accomplishments include many things, among them, inclusion in the ISI-ranked journals, and currently a 2010 second impact factor from Thomson Reuters ISI that has increased to 1.078. After over 20 years, John leaves the MD editorship. His contribution to the journal has been truly immeasurable and beyond compare. The one defining thing about the MD editor-in-chief is that he has been a remarkably professional editor.

Special thanks should also go out to Kate Snowden, executive editor at Emerald over the last few years.

The regional editors are to be applauded for the amount of high-quality work that they accomplish for MD. Our book review editor was also particularly helpful in his role. We also want to thank the past, current and incoming editorial board members, in addition to all of the ad hoc reviewers who donate their time to help MD. It is not only the Journal that benefits from their work, but also the many authors whose manuscripts are reviewed by these people. The input received by reviewers provides valuable feedback for them.

When I took on the editorial job for MD, the most important task for me was securing a high-quality team with whom I could work. I am particularly pleased that many of the regional editors and editorial board members have chosen to stay on with our new team, and I welcome our new regional editors, editorial board members, and reviewers. To all of you, I want to say “thanks” for joining us, and thank you for the work, ideas, and energy that will be expended over the next few years.

We also want to sincerely thank the team at Emerald. We have a very professional team, in particular, Ruth Bailey, Juliet Harrison, Catherine Smith, Andrea Watson-Lee etc. They are playing critical roles in getting the Journal published and in helping our new editorial team transition to our roles, along with all of Emerald (team and production) who have enabled the publication of all the issues.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude for the support from the people who regularly review papers for MD, many of whom are not members of the board. These collaborators are very busy people who have helped to achieve the success of MD. We are, of course, very grateful to the contributing authors that have chosen to publish their manuscripts in MD.

As editor in MD, one of the first questions people asked me was, “what kind of papers are you going to publish?” Good question. We will continue to publish articles that are firmly grounded in important management concerns, that are examined using rigorous research methods, and that present actionable insights. We should bear in mind that the journal publishes its 50th volume in 2012. MD has earned its place in academia as the world’s very first peer-reviewed management journal. I know that may rankle in certain quarters but we always feel that the best way to respond to detractors is to produce a journal of the very highest quality and to strive to improve with each issue. There are many emerging topics that warrant attention – including new applications of management. I encourage authors to begin by clearly stating the area of focus and how the study addresses a substantive management challenge. Then, it is important to demonstrate the most appropriate methods of inquiry utilized to examine the focal concern. The conventional hypothesis-testing framework is fine, but case studies and exploratory analysis will be considered in MD, too. Strong theoretical papers, papers oriented to executives and practitioners, and papers for education in management skills will be adequate. In sum, authors will need to explain how the results from their studies add new insights to the management field.

MD will go on editing special issues related to interesting topics and new titles. Issues will be based on topics that offer great promise for advancing the field by introducing new concepts or extending and developing existing theory in a significant way and that will stimulate future research.

The new editorial team invites you to read the articles in the hope that they may stir thoughts that help readers create theories and practices for the future of management decisions. I would be delighted to receive feedback and would, of course, welcome any ideas regarding its content, including suggestions for thematic issues.

Domingo Ribeiro SorianoEditor-in-Chief