Special Topic Forum Guidelines

A Special Topic Forum (STF) is a solicited and refereed collection of articles and conceptual notes that address a predetermined theme. The theme typically addresses areas of inquiry that are not adequately attended to in the management and organization literature and that are sufficiently broad enough to be of interest to more than one segment of the Academy of Management’s membership. The goal of an STF generally is to stimulate additional research in the focused upon area of inquiry. This guide outlines the end-to-end processes by which an STF comes to appear in AMR.

The Origination of an STF

The decision to solicit manuscripts for an STF resides with the editor of AMR. The impetus for one may come from the journal’s editorial team or any member of the Academy. STF’s often begin as informal proposals made to the editor. Indeed, such proposals are welcome. On receiving such a proposal, the editor usually will consider it in consultation with one or more associate editors. Should the editor decide to proceed, the submitter of the informal proposal will be asked to develop a more formal proposal which names the STF and thoroughly describes its domain, including examples of topics and ideas for articles which would fit the theme of the forum. This proposal also identifies the team of two or more individuals who have agreed to serve as guest editors for the forum. The team must be recognized widely for its scholarly accomplishments and editorial experiences. One member of this team also should be identified as the lead guest editor who will serve as the primary point of contact for the AMR editorial office. Finally, this team will be asked to submit the names of at least 50 individuals who would be appropriate reviewers for manuscripts submitted to the STF and who have agreed to do so.

Based on the formal proposal and associated materials, the editor will decide whether or not to move ahead with the STF. If the decision is to proceed, the guest editors will prepare a call for papers which will appear in AMR and on the Web site. Generally speaking, the due date for submissions set by the call for papers will be at least one year after the call appears in AMR.

The Editorial Process

The process by which STF manuscripts are handled is nearly identical to that of regular submissions to AMR. All manuscripts are submitted to the AMR Web-based submission system. Reviewers are assigned to each manuscript sent out for review. It is the STF action editor who receives the reviews on each manuscript, makes decisions about its status (reject, revise, accept), and communicates that decision to the lead author. All correspondence, including reviews and decision letters, is channeled through the AMR Web-based system. This process is reiterated for every manuscript until all submissions have received either an accept or reject decision. Authors are notified of these decisions as they are made by the action editors. The remaining pool of papers, then, is considered eligible for the STF, and the panel of guest editors makes a recommendation to the editor regarding their inclusion in the forum. Normally, all would be included, but in the event that accepted manuscripts are felt by the guest editors to deviate significantly from the central theme set by the majority of the accepted papers in the STF, or should their number be excessive, the guest editors may recommend to the editor that they be published as regular manuscripts in AMR. Ultimately, the editor decides which manuscripts to include in the STF, and notifies the authors how and when they will be published.

Guest Editors' Introductory Article

All submissions to an STF are subject to a refereeing process except for introductions or commentaries written by the guest editors. Typically, the guest editors will prepare an introduction to the forum providing a synopsis and integrative analysis of the collective contributions of the STF articles. These manuscripts are subject to review by the AMR editor and/or associate editors. It is AMR policy that guest editors will not submit additional theoretical papers for review for publication in the STF.

Timing of the Process

Understandably, authors are interested in receiving both timely and constructive reviews and decisions on their work. Consequently, the editor gives deadlines to reviewers, and a series of reminders to reviewers both before and after reviews are due. Action editors also are given deadlines for their decisions and letters after all reviews are in. It is important for both reviewers and guest editors to adhere to the timing standards set by the editor. Individuals should not accept an editorial or reviewer role if they will be unable to finish that task within the editor’s parameters.

The Nature and Format of STF Articles

Manuscripts submitted to an STF are expected to adhere to the domain and format guidelines set by AMR for all submissions. The editor will screen initial submissions for their general adherence. Nonetheless, the guest editors should be mindful that manuscripts need to fit within the theory development domain of AMR. They should also be aware of page length restrictions, appropriate use of footnotes, endnotes, figures and tables and restrictions on the presentation of original data as they manage manuscripts through the review process. Although formal copy editing is performed after manuscripts are accepted, editors should not accept manuscripts that exhibit arcane language that may be unfamiliar to AMR readers.

Summary

The STF is a way for AMR to solicit and package contributions to theory development on a specified theme. The use of a guest editorial team and selected reviewers allows for highly focused feedback and substantial development of the submitted manuscripts as a result. The process outlined above seeks to result in timely performance that does not differ from that provided for regularly submitted manuscripts.

Current Call for Special Topic Forum Manuscripts

©2006 The Academy of Management Review
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