Review Submissions Should

• Advance theory or the theory development process in the area of management and organizations through developing new theories, significantly challenging current theory, synthesizing recent advances and ideas into current theory, initiating a search for new theory by pointing out and carefully delineating a novel type of problem, or crafting ways to improve the process of theory development
• Explicitly and persuasively present the research implications of their work

Review Essays

AMR review essays provide the opportunity for scholars and practitioners in our community to share how the arts (very broadly speaking) and wide varieties of scholarly literature inspire their scholarship as it relates to management theory, research, education or practice.

Submitting a Review Essay

AMR generally follows a two-step process for assessing Review Essay submissions.  First, authors submit and editors assess a brief proposal summarizing the critical aspects of the review essay (please see the criteria listed below).  Second, subject to approval of a proposal, the authors will be invited to submit a full manuscript of their review essay.  Kindly note that approval of a proposal and invitation of a full manuscript do not guarantee final acceptance of the review essay, which will undergo a separate review.

The proposal must address each of the following questions:

1. What is the primary intellectual theme you wish to explore?  Why is this theme important for AMR in particular?
2. What work are you reviewing (e.g. particular books, films, your own or other artwork, media)?  What is the significance of these materials?
3. How does what you are reviewing illuminate your primary intellectual theme?
4. What will be the important implications of your review essay for management theory, research, practice, or education?
5. What would your review essay address that may not be addressed in a standard AMR paper?

It will be helpful if you reference previous review essays (since 2013) or in some other way make evident that you are familiar with the types of work currently published in this section of AMR.

Proposals for review essays should be no longer than five single-spaced pages (including references).

Kindly follow the submission instructions at manuscript central for sending in a review essay proposal.

Proposals will be assessed by the associate editor of this section of AMR (based on the criteria listed above).

If upon approval of a proposal a full manuscript is submitted, that submission will undergo editorial review.

Dialogue

Dialogue is a forum for readers who wish to briefly comment on material recently published in AMR. Readers who wish to submit material for publication in the Dialogue section should address only AMR articles, review essays, or dialogues.

Dialogue comments must be timely, typically submitted within three months of the publication date of the material on which the dialogue author is commenting. When the dialogue comments pertain to an article, or review essay, the author(s) will be asked to comment as well. Dialogue submissions should not exceed five double-spaced manuscript pages, including references. Please refer to the AMR Style Guide for Authors for margins, font sizes, references and formatting. However an abstract should not be included in the submission. The editor will make publishing decisions regarding all dialogue submissions, typically without outside review.

Dialogue submissions should

• Only address AMR articles, review essays, or dialogues.
• Have comments submitted within three months of the publication date of the material on which the dialogue author is commenting.

Submission Requirements

When authors submit their manuscript to AMR for publication consideration, they agree to abide by AMR's publication requirements. Specifically, an author must:

• Agree that the manuscript is not under review for publication elsewhere and will not be submitted to another publication entity during the review period at AMR;
• Confirm that the manuscript has not previously been submitted to AMR for review (submission of a manuscript previously published in the Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings is acceptable; similarly, prior presentation at a conference or concurrent consideration for presentation at a conference does not disqualify a manuscript from submission to AMR); and
• Agree that working papers, prior drafts, and/or final versions of submitted manuscripts that are posted on a website (e.g., personal, departmental, university, or working series site) will be taken down during the review process.

Submission of a manuscript to the AMR also carries an implicit quid pro quo: willingness to review for AMR. The cornerstone of the editorial process at AMR is the willingness of colleagues to provide each other feedback through peer review. Authors who submit manuscripts to AMR for review are expected to reciprocate by reviewing for AMR if called upon to do so.

Any article, review essay or dialogue submission to AMR should be prepared according to the AMR Style Guide for Authors, but authors should omit the title page for the purpose of uploading onto the web-based submission system. This file for articles must contain a detailed 200-word abstract and must start on page 1 (except for dialogue submissions, as they do not include abstracts) and all end materials such as appendices, references, tables, and figures. The submission must be typed using a twelve-point Times New Roman font, with margins of at least one-inch.

To submit a manuscript, first ensure that you have a Word file from which the title page and that all author-identifying references have been removed. Then go to the Website at Manuscript Central and follow the directions. Acknowledgments of others' help in preparing the paper for submission should be included in the letter to the editor that is featured as part of the web-based submission process.

Submission Process

Please address all new AMR submissions to the editor, Jay Bryan Barney at Manuscript Central.  Follow the instructions for the web-based submission system, making sure you have a manuscript Word file that has no title page or other identifying information on it.

If you need assistance uploading your paper or proposal, please contact the ScholarOne helpline on weekdays (Monday - Friday) between 00:00 - 20:30 ET (GMT-5) at +1-434-964-4100 or 1-888-503-1050 (US). You may also email them to MCSupport@thomson.com or visit their "get help now" website at: GET HELP NOW!

Proposal Guidelines

Please 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.

Theory Building Resources

We often get requests for information, articles and resources on theory building. We hope you find the following useful.

• Syllabi for Theory–Building Doctoral Courses
  Professor Mason A. Carpenter - University of Wisconsin, Madison
• AMR Reviewers and Editors Advice On Clear Writing
  Professor Belle Rose Ragins - Associate Editor, Academy of Management Review
• AMR Reviewers and Editors Advice On Clear Writing
  Additional Commentary: AMR Reviewers and Editors Advice On Clear Writing
• AMR Writing Theoretical Papers: A Workshop from the Editors
• From the Editor Essay on Teaching Theory
• From the Editor Essays on Writing Theory

AMR Best Article Winners Collection

References on theory-building and theoretical contributions:

• Ingrid Smithey Fulmer 2012  Editor's Comments: The Craft of Writing Theory Articles-Variety and Similarity in AMR
  Academy of Management Review 37(3): 327-331Bartunek, J. M., Rynes, S. L., & Ireland, R. D. 2006.  What makes management research interesting and why does it matter? Academy of Management Journal, 49(1): 9-15.
• Bergh, D. 2003.  From the Editors: Thinking strategically about contribution. Academy of Management Journal, 46(2): 135-136
• Corley, K. & Gioia, D.  Building theory about theory building: What constitutes a theoretical contribution?  Academy of Management Review, 36 (1): 12-32
• Davis, Murray S. 1971.  That's interesting! Philosophy and Social Science, 1 (4): 309-344.
• Gioia, D. A., & Pitre, E. 1990.  Multiparadigm perspectives on theory building. Academy of Management Review, 15: 584-602.
• Hambrick, D. C. 1994. 1993 Presidential Address:  What if the Academy actually mattered? Academy of Management Review, 19(1): 11-16.
• Hitt, M. A., & Smith, K. G. 2005.  Introduction: The process of developing management theory.
• K. G. Smith, & M. A. Hitt (Eds.),  Great Minds in Management: The Process of Theory Development: 1-6. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Huff, A. S. 1999.  Writing for Scholarly Publication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Kilduff, M. 2006. Editor's comments: Publishing theory.  Academy of Management Review, 31(2):252-255.
• Ragins, B. R. 2012 Editor's Comments: Reflections on the Craft of Clear Writing Academy of Management Review 37(4): 493-501
• Rindova, V. P. 2008.  Publishing theory when you are new to the game. Academy of Management Review, 33(2): 300-303.
• Rynes, S. 2002.  Editor Comments: Some reflections on contribution. Academy of Management Journal, 45(2): 311-313.
• Suddaby, R. 2010.   Editor's Comments: Construct clarity in theories of management and organization. Academy of Management Review, 35 (3) 346-358.
• Van de Ven, A. H. 1989.  Nothing is quite so practical as a good theory. Academy of Management Review, 14(4): 486-489.
• Whetten, D. A. 1989.  What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14: 490-495.
• Weick, Karl. 1995. What theory is Not, Theorizing is, Administrative Science Quarterly, 40: 385-390.

Directions for Users with an Account 

Go to the Manuscript Central Website and login. At the Welcome Page, go to the Author Center. On the right-hand side of the page, you will see Author Resources. Click below to submit a new document.

This is a six-step process.

1. Type, title and abstract
   • Document Type: From the drop-down menu, select type of document.
   • Insert title.
   • Insert abstract (if you are submitting a proposal, insert a brief description about your proposal).
2. Attributes
   • Select a keyword. Then click “Add”.
3. Authors and institutions
   • This page allows you to add additional authors.
4. Details and comments
   • Answer all of the questions on this page. Please note that you should include any acknowledgments in the Cover Letter section. Because of the distinctive nature of ANNALS papers, the qualifications of the author to provide a definitive review of the area proposed is relevant to the decision to issue an invitation.  Thus, the Annals requires all authors to submit a current Curriculum Vitae (CV) as part of the submission process, but the CVs will be reviewed only by the editors, not the reviewers. Please upload the CV as a supplementary file Not for Review.
5. File upload
   • Please note that File Designation is a drop down list and refers to the type of document that the author is uploading: proposal, article, table, figure/image, supplementary file for review (which can be viewed by editors and reviewers), or supplementary file Not for review (for the editor's eyes only).
6. Review and submit
   • This page allows you to review your entire application and make any necessary changes before submitting.