The state of JOM: An outgoing editor's (retro)spective
本文是《运营管理期刊》主编在任期结束时对期刊发展的回顾，总结了投稿量增长、影响力提升、特刊主题多样性等成就，并重申了对跨职能决策、方法严谨性和管理相关性的重视。
Five years ago, as the new Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Operations Management, I wrote an editorial that identified what I believed were the important characteristics for authors to consider in submitting their research to the Journal of Operations Management (Handfield, 2002). I reflected upon where the field of Operations Management had been, where we were, and the challenges that lay ahead. I was very honest in sharing my own set of personal biases on research that influences my decision-making in the acceptance or rejection of submissions to JOM. Cross-functional and cross-enterprise decision-making. Research that reflects management challenges associated with cross-functional and cross-enterprise decision-making when approaching management problems. Methodological rigor and the scientific method. Researchers must explore relevant research questions, so long as they adhere to proven scientific methods of investigation. I sought to publish research that was based on solid empirical methodologies based on the scientific method, but which could use a number of diverse research approaches (structured and unstructured interviews, coding and matrix analysis), meta-analysis, critical event techniques, simulation, quasi-experiments, lab studies, and data collection using the World Wide Web. Managerial relevance. The third important theme in my editorial outlook was to only publish articles that were managerially relevant. I urged researchers to develop an intimate understanding of the problems facing Operations Management practitioners. Managers are now more interested in understanding what factors, for example, affect the successful deployment of new technologies involving coordination between multiple organizations, or how to measure and manage strategic alliances with these parties. They are seeking how to deploy global manufacturing facilities, and create multi-echelon distribution systems that support inter-organizational sharing of demand and product requirements. In stipulating these criteria, I did not mean to imply that articles which did not meet these criteria were not relevant or worthwhile, only that they were unlikely to end up being published in the Journal of Operations Management under my editorship over my 5-year tenure. So … were these lofty goals indeed achieved? Was this view unnecessarily biased and narrow, and would it bring the journal down? Fortunately no. In large part, I believe this focus was the right one. First, the good news. JOM has grown significantly in stature and recognition in the last 5 years, due in large part to the early work done by Jack Meredith in shaping the focus of the journal prior to my editorship, and which I was able to sustain to date. The submission rate for JOM has grown steadily—in 2002 it was around 150 per year, then 180 last year in 2003. In 2004, we reviewed over 250 submissions, and in 2005, with a number of special issues, over 300 manuscripts were submitted to JOM—a truly incredible number. This trend continues into 2006, and we are seeing submissions from every part of the globe. JOM has truly evolved into a Global Journal of Operations Management, with authors submitting from Europe, South America, Latin America, Hong Kong, China, India, the Middle East, and even Africa! I sought to also expand the international presence in the Associate Editor Board. In addition to our existing representatives from universities in Australia and IMD, I invited several new AE's to the board, including Paul Cousins (University of Manchester), Kate Blackmon (Oxford University), Cipriano Forza (Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia), Jan C. Fransoo (Eindhoven), Dirk Van Donk (University of Groningen), and others. We are also beginning to include a number of manuscripts from Chinese authors, via a special process designed by Elsevier to this end. The large number of special issues managed by Guest Editors also reflects the interesting and diverse set of topics that were published in the journal. These special issue Guest Editors did a wonderful job in pulling together a cohesive set of impactful research papers that reflect the cutting-edge nature of the field, and the breadth of these issues reflects the current trends we face in the field of Operations Management: The Build to Order Supply Chain (BOSC): A Competitive Strategy for 21st Century Guest Editor: Angappa Gunasekaran, Associate Professor of Operations Management Incorporating Behavioral Theory in OM Empirical Models Guest Editors: Elliot Bendoly and Ken Schultz How eBusiness Technologies Impact Supply Chain Operations? Special Issue Editors: Professor Tonya Boone, College of William & Mary Professor, College of William & Mary Supply Chain Management in a Sustainable Environment Guest Editors: Vaidy Jayaraman, School of Business, University of Miami Jonathan Linton, Lally School of Management & Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Associate Guest Editor: Robert Klassen, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario Evolution of the Field of Operations Management Guest Editor: Dr. Linda G. Sprague, FDSI, FIOM, Professor of Manufacturing and Operations Management, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai, The People's Republic of China Operations Management in Not-For-Profit, Public and Government Services Guest Editors: Rohit Verma, University of Utah Curtis McLaughlin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Robert Johnston, University of Warwick William Youngdahl, Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management Offshoring of Service and Knowledge Work Guest Editors: William Youngdahl, Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management Kannan Ramaswamy, Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management Rohit Verma, University of Utah Organization Theory and Supply Chain Management Guest Editors: David J. Ketchen, Jr., Carl DeSantis Professor of Management, Florida State University G. Tomas M. Hult, Director—MSU-CIBER, Michigan State University Operations Management Research in Process Industries Guest Editors: Jan C. Fransoo (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, The Netherlands) Dirk Pieter Van Donk (University of Groningen, The Netherlands) OM Replication Research Guest Editors: Mark Frohlich, Assistant Professor, Boston University J. Robb Dixon, Associate Professor, Boston University Risk Issues in Supply Chain Management Guest Editors: Ram Narasimhan, Professor, Michigan State University Srinivas Talluri, Professor, Michigan State University Research in Supply Chain Quality Guest Editor: S. Thomas Foster, Jr., Associate Professor, Brigham Young University Innovative Data Sources for Empirically Building and Validating Theories in OM Guest Editors: Diane H. Parente (Penn State Erie) Thomas F. Gattiker (Miami University) Coordinating Product Design, Process Design, and Supply Chain Design Decisions Guest Editors: M. Johnny Rungtusanatham, Associate Professor, Arizona State University Cipriano Forza, Associate Professor, Università di Padova Part of the explanation for this growth in submissions is due to the increasing visibility of JOM as one of the top tier journals in the field of Operations and Supply Chain Management. In addition to being listed in the Financial Times top 40 academic journals used to rank business schools, JOM has seen a significant jump in its “Impact Factor”. The impact factor is a measure based on the citation index, identifying the extent to which a journal is cited in all other journals. The impact factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations in the current year to articles published in the two previous years by the total number of articles published in the two previous years. The example below shows how it is calculated. The annual Best Paper Award has now become a feature event at the Academy of Management Operations Management Division meeting. One of the sessions is dedicated to presenting the JOM best paper, best reviewer, and best Associate Editor awards next year. Three paper finalists present their paper to the group, and the award is announced immediately after the session. Another new feature is the introduction of a new section of the journal, entitled “Theory Development”. This section of the journal was dedicated to the development of theory which forms the basis for solid empirical research and theory-testing. The Theory Development section of the journal was not simply designed to include literature reviews, but was focused on the publications of research that advances the theoretical foundation of operations management as a basis for future theory-testing. Criteria for evaluation of papers in this section is similar to the criteria used in the Academy of Management Review, but modified as follows. The Theory Development section of the journal is devoted to theory development for operations management scholars around the world. The mission of this section is to publish new theoretical insights that advance our understanding of operations management. Theory Development-JOM will publish novel, insightful and carefully crafted conceptual articles that challenge conventional wisdom concerning all aspects of operations management and its evolution as a field of knowledge. The journal is open to a variety of perspectives, including those that seek to improve the effectiveness of, as well as those critical of operations management. Each manuscript published in this section must provide new theoretical insights that can advance our understanding of the problems and solutions available to operations managers and the operations function. Most articles include a review of relevant literature as well. Submissions to this section must extend theory in ways that permit the development of testable, knowledge-based claims. To do this, researchers can develop new management and operations management theory, significantly challenge or clarify existing theory, synthesize recent advances and ideas into fresh if not entirely new theory, or initiate a search for new theory by identifying and delineating a novel theoretical problem. Theory-building models should also be well grounded, and address actual management practices. The editors will also encourage cross-fertilization with other fields by borrowing concepts from them: contributions are often grounded in economics, psychology, sociology, or social psychology, as well as the humanities, history, engineering, physics, mathematics, and nontraditional perspectives. Finally, a note to all of you who keep up with the evolution of the field of management. Many people were saddened by the death a year ago of Sumantra Ghoshal, a brilliant author of many works on competitive strategy. One of the last papers he wrote was titled “Bad Management Theories are Destroying Good Management Practices.” In his paper, he emphasizes the heavy responsibility borne by business school academics, who in the past have propagated ideologically inspired amoral theories, and who then freed their students from any sense of moral responsibility. He advocates that many of the traditional theoretical foundations including transaction cost theory, Porter's theory of the firm, and the behavioral theory of the firm may have in fact hindered effective decision-making by managers trained in these theories. I mention this article only to remind you of the responsibility you bear in helping to share the discipline of Operations Management, and the way that it will shape the thinking of future managers trained by the readers of our journal. I am confident that the new editorial team of Morgan Swink and Ken Boyer will successfully carry on this mission, and feel confident in leaving the journal in their highly capable hands.