Editorial

Citation

Svensson, G. (2006), "Editorial", European Business Review, Vol. 18 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2006.05418faa.001

Editorial

This special issue – number one of a series – includes articles that address topics that contribute to the ongoing discussion and debate of academic journals and academic publishing.

Academic journals provide a forum for scholars to communicate their research efforts and the interpretive views of their findings to others within and beyond the research community. Academic publishing is often based upon a peer review process. In extension, these two themes are inter-connected. The latter serves the purpose to perform quality assurance and quality control of the former.

Published articles address – but are not limited to – up-to-date reviews, academic viewpoints, debatable/controversial topics of discussion, implications for scholars/academia and suggestions for the future. There are a few tentative questions that are implicitly addressed:

• •

  Are there paradigmatic and/or myopic views in academic journals and academic publishing?

• •

  What are the opportunities and threats to – and strengths and weaknesses of – academic journals and academic publishing within and across continents?

This special issue includes thought-provoking and challenging articles that are empirically or conceptually related to the themes of academic journals and academic publishing.

The first article is co-authored by Daniela Rosenstreich and Ben Wooliscroft of the University of Otago, New Zealand. They raise the question: how international are the top academic journals in marketing?

The second article is co-authored by Michael J. Polonsky and Romana Garma of Victoria University, Australia, and John D. Mittelstaedt of Clemson University, USA. They provide an examination of the globalisation of authorship in publishing in 20 of the leading marketing journals.

The third article is co-authored by Göran Svensson of the Oslo School of Management, Norway and Greg Wood of Deakin University, Australia. They debate and contend that there is a Pareto syndrome in top marketing journals that is based upon a selection of research and journal criteria.

The fourth article is co-authored by Audrey Gilmore, David Carson and Chad Perry of the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. They provide insights and share their experiences from academic publishing in various areas such as: best practice for editors, guest editors, authors and reviewers.

Sten Jönsson of Göteborg Univeristy, Sweden is the author of the last article of this special issue. He proposes 13 rules for academic writing, all of which are of value to scholars interested in engaging in academic publishing.

I hope that you – the reader of the European Business Review – will find the five contributions of this special issue of great intellectual interest and stimulation. I also believe that scholars will find that they contribute to the current and ongoing debate in academia concerning the publishing of research. In fact, these articles may be used for teaching purposes in higher education and doctoral programs, as well as at higher research seminars in academia.

The next special issue (i.e. number 2) on academic journals and academic publishing will appear in the European Business Review in 2007. Included in this next special issue will be another collection of refreshing, thought-provoking and challenging articles from scholars in academia worldwide.

So keep an eye out for this special issue series and the other ones that will appear in the European Business Review during 2006/2007 and onwards. For example, other forthcoming special issues in progress for 2007 are on the views from global thought leaders, pioneers in business education and Wroe Alderson's intellectual legacy.

Welcome to the thought-provoking and challenging world of European Business Review!

Göran Svensson