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Editorial
Ray W Cooksey
New England Business School, University of New England, Armidale NSW
Article Text
Welcome to the second volume of JMO. We have had a very successful first year with the new format and mission of JMO and the changes are paying off. We are enjoying an increased number of high quality submissions for review, many from international colleagues. Our special issues are proving popular with several in the pipeline and several more at the proposal stage. International interest in JMO is increasing, which is precisely what we hoped the revamping of the journal would achieve. The JMO workshop at the annual ANZAM conference in Yeppoon, Queensland, this past December was extremely well-attended, demonstrating the interest that ANZAM members have in considering JMO as a potential outlet for their high-quality work. In all respects then, the 2006 launch of JMO can be considered a huge success.
So, what remains to be done? Certainly, we must continue to pursue and publish papers of the highest possible quality. However, we also must continue to pursue and publish research that is meaningful and useful to a variety of audiences and for a variety of purposes. Our readership potentially includes not only academics, but also managers and CEOs, educators, consultants, professionals, policy makers, practitioners, and students, regionally as well as internationally. Trying to meet the needs and expectations of such a diverse readership is a continuing challenge—one that JMO has eagerly taken on. This is the primary reason JMO encourages a range of different types of submissions: qualitative and quantitative empirical research articles, theoretical and conceptual articles, literature reviews – including those from theses, articles on management education and learning, practitioner perspectives and case studies and methodological advances.
What has perhaps not been quite so clear is that JMO wishes to actively reflect an open philosophical orientation in terms of seeking contributions that reflect research paradigm and disciplinary diversity, methodological diversity and innovation, and innovative developments, applications and combinations of methodologies. By explicitly inviting multidisciplinarity and methodological innovation and diversity, JMO hopes to enhance the meaningfulness and usefulness of what it publishes for a wider group of audiences. The last thing that we want is for JMO to be pigeon-holed as an outlet for only certain disciplines or for certain kinds of research and research approaches. Of course, this aspiration comes with certain responsibilities. For potential contributors, it means that disciplinary foundations and methodological logic and detail must be clearly spelled out in a way that enhances the transparency of the story being conveyed. It means being open about what can and cannot be learned from one’s study and it means being able to show what the study might mean to different, yet relevant, reading audiences. For those who review submissions for JMO, it means that they must be open-minded and balanced in their outlook and respect diversity in disciplinarity, paradigms and methodologies. They need to apply appropriate criteria when judging the quality of each submission they review.
These responsibilities can be better met with clear recognition of the purpose(s) for which the research has been undertaken. Here again, diversity is the rule rather than the exception. JMO aspires to publish contributions that can accomplish a range of purposes:
- building theory and conceptual frameworks;
- integrating and critiquing research;
- testing theory and conceptual frameworks;
- conveying and analysing perspectives and voices;
- evaluating/influencing organisational and managerial change and decision making;
- developing/evaluating/influencing management education curriculum and teaching and learning practices;
- evaluating/influencing policy development and implementation relevant to business and management concerns;
- influencing organisational and managerial practices, and
- increasing contextual understanding.
Contributors can help JMO to realise these aspirations by clearly contextualising their research and transparently conveying, and then concretely addressing, the intended purposes and uses for the research. Reviewers for JMO can help realise these aspirations by clearly judging contributions in light of such contextualisations and intentions. Getting this right can also extend the potential international reach and appeal of the work that JMO publishes.
Diversity with responsibility might be an apt way to capture what I have been trying to convey here. I believe that JMO can be an ideal platform to achieve such a goal. I invite you to consider how you might contribute to that end.
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