RESEARCH ISSUESSHAWNEE VICKERY, Feature Editor, Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University Journal Management: An Operations Perspective by Lee J. Krajewski,
Research journals play an integral part in the overall research process. However, when I agreed to assume the role of editor of DECISION SCIENCES, I never realized that I would actually have to practice what I have been preaching as an operations management professor for the past 25 years. Given the opportunity to write an article for DECISION LINE, I thought it would be informative for Decision Sciences Institute members--and certainly fun for me--to look at journal management from an operations perspective and share with you some of my thoughts on the direction research is taking in business schools. I am convinced that successful organizations are customer driven. These organizations identify the various market segments they want to compete in and determine what they must do to be successful. Academic journals are no different, although the definition of a ``customer'' is a little clouded. There are at least three customer categories for a journal. The first category is the subscribers of the journal. A journal must satisfy their need to have access to the latest developments in their fields, or eventually shrivel to extinction. Subscribers also provide the revenue for journal operations. The second category is the authors, the providers of the raw material for the journal. Without good material the journal will not satisfy the subscribers. Journals provide a service to authors by publishing their papers and enabling them to gain visibility, respectability, and even promotion. The third category is the academic performance evaluators. Journals provide a quality screen on the articles they receive and, depending on the academic respectability of the journal, provide a measure of article quality useful in evaluating the performance of authors. Journals compete against other journals for the best papers, and identify niches that serve to differentiate themselves from other journals. DECISION SCIENCES publishes papers that have a clear decision-making orientation and can demonstrate the implications of the results for decision makers. While other journals may publish some papers with this focus, DECISION SCIENCES is devoted to it. I think this niche is a good one given the pressure for relevancy that research business schools are receiving from their constituencies. Nonetheless, the competition is severe given the number of journals available to authors. Successful journals must gear their operations to satisfy a number of critical competitive priorities:
1. Quality
2. Time 3. Flexibility I have not mentioned price (or cost) in my list of competitive priorities; in my opinion it runs counter to the purpose a journal serves. Journals should strive to achieve the competitive priorities listed and keep costs as low as possible so that the academic community has ample access to the publications. Besides, much of the true cost of operating a journal such as DECISION SCIENCES is absorbed by the host university in the form of the editor's release time, office space, and computer equipment. Consequently, in the paragraphs that follow I will focus on how the competitive priorities listed above relate to the DECISION SCIENCES journal. Quality The definition of quality in academic publishing is changing. In the past, it was acceptable for faculty members in business schools to devote their entire research portfolio to ``pure research'' and not concern themselves with the myriad of complex problems facing practicing managers today. Quality research was defined as research that looked to the future, was rigorous, and was written for a select academic audience in the most scientific manner. Today, it is imperative for the deans of business schools to demonstrate relevancy to the practicing community and potential benefactors. There is pressure to add more realism to our research. Quality research is now being defined as research that addresses significant managerial problems of concern today, using rigor appropriate for the problems addressed and perhaps involving nontraditional methodologies, and written for a broader audience. The editorial philosophy of DECISION SCIENCES is consistent with the new definition of quality. This new definition still supports theory development and in fact encourages it. However, there is now a need to motivate the development of new theories by identifying realistic scenarios where the problem being addressed is a significant issue for a decision maker. Pure methodological developments are also consistent with the new definition of quality providing they can be shown to produce significant improvements for decision makers. Conformance to Specifications. The traditional role that journals play is that of a quality screen, or a final check on quality before the article sees the light of day in published form. As one studies the typical article review process, one may actually get the idea that journals are guilty of ``inspecting quality'' into the product, the very thing we tell practicing managers not to do. Yes, DECISION SCIENCES has standards designed to make it a top-notch journal in the field. However, journals should be interested in improving the quality of the materials they receive. While the reviews of articles are an unavoidable aspect of academic publishing, the nature of the reviews can serve to constructively help authors even if the recommendation is to reject the paper. DECISION SCIENCES views the review process as an extension of the research process and focuses on helping authors improve their work, regardless of the outcome. Each reviewer gets a copy of the editorial philosophy containing these thoughts when he/she receives a paper to review. I would be the last one to say that all of our reviewers fulfill the need to provide substantive, constructive feedback. However, many of them do and those that do not are not asked to review again. High-Performance Design High-performance design includes the dimensions of product grade, product features, durability, and customer service. Product grade The grade of the journal, or its ranking in the field relative to other journals, is a function of the articles it publishes which, in turn, is a function of the selectivity of the journal. DECISION SCIENCES accepts only about 15 percent of the articles submitted. In addition, product grade is a function of the quality of the editorial staff as well as the respectability of the authors publishing articles in the journal. We have tried to put together an outstanding staff of associate editors and we have had a stellar group of authors publish their papers in the journal over the years. Nonetheless, we need to make better progress in a number of areas traditionally under-represented in the journal, such as finance, marketing, human resources, and accounting. Product features Often, product features determine whether a customer will buy a given product. Product features play a similar role in the journal business. Authors and subscribers alike will choose a journal that provides visibility to the topics they consider important and interesting. DECISION SCIENCES has instituted a new feature called ``Research Focus'' which is a grouping of five or more articles devoted to a selected topic of current interest in the field. Our first Research Focus is devoted to international quality management practices. It poses some interesting operational issues because the editor is Professor Kee Young Kim of Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Special procedures for ensuring the same rigorous review process are in place with the help of Professor Kim. This first Research Focus is important for the journal as well as the Decision Sciences Institute because it demonstrates our commitment to internationalizing the journal as well as the Institute. The call for papers is out and I encourage everyone interested in this topic to submit their best papers. We have also taken steps to improve the aesthetics of the journal by enhancing the page layout and increasing the use of color on the cover. Durability A durable product is one that stands the test of time. DECISION SCIENCES has been around for about 24 years, and my sincere hope is that it will stay around much longer--at least beyond my tenure as editor. My predecessors have done an outstanding job of maintaining and increasing the base of subscribers and I can only do my best to continue that tradition. Customer service Authors are the primary focus of a journal's customer service program. The two most relevant aspects of customer service are ``accessibility'' and ``humanity.'' Accessibility refers to the ease of access to those who count. Most questions can be answered by our assistant editor, Alex Benedicto, who is on duty during normal business hours in the journal office. More involved or sensitive questions will be answered by me as soon as possible, given that I have a few other assigned duties as a faculty member. The number is 614-292-3199. There is a voice mail system for any messages. The other aspect of customer service is humanity. This aspect refers to attributes such as friendliness, attention, humility, and honesty--all attributes of a good editorial office. It may be difficult for some authors to believe, but editors are actually human and, even though they may be stupid at times, they really are nice people. We always try to provide service with a smile--even though authors cannot see us smile over the telephone. Unfortunately, however, in this business the customer (author) is not always right. If that were so, we would be publishing everything sent to us. Time Time is an important dimension affecting both the subscribers and the authors. Fast delivery This dimension is measured in the elapsed time from the receipt of an article to its publication. Journals can achieve a competitive edge over other journals if turnaround times can be short while maintaining high quality reviews. The backbone of this part of the operation is the cadre of reviewers who devote considerable time to provide comments to the authors and recommendations to the editor. Each reviewer is given a due date and, if on that date the review is not in, a reminder letter is sent. If the review still is overdue, we call to find out when we can expect it. Sometimes we find out that the reviewer was hospitalized, moved out of the country unexpectedly, or even passed away. Sometimes the package we sent was lost on the reviewer's desk. It is not unusual to have to seek another reviewer after waiting six weeks for a review that will never come. At present our average is about 45 days for feedback to the author on the first review. However, it is the variance that kills you. The analogy is simple. Put your right hand in a bucket of ice and your left hand in a bucket of boiling water. On the average you should be fine, but why is there screaming? We need to work on reducing the variance while remembering that the reviewers are providing a valuable, donated service. On-time delivery Another characteristic of journal competitiveness is on-time delivery, that is, providing issues on schedule. DECISION SCIENCES presently is publishing six issues a year. Alex and Hal Jacobs, the managing editor, are responsible for meeting the deadlines for each issue. Subscribers want to get their issues on time; keeping to the schedule is a top priority. Flexibility When I first took over as editor I thought I was about to manage a system that had the characteristics of a high-volume standardized operation. While many of the tasks are of that nature, the materials we handle and the volumes we face require a considerable amount of flexibility. Customization This is the flexibility to accommodate the unique needs of each customer, in this case the authors. Each article is unique and needs a unique assignment of reviewers. Reviewer selection is important for two reasons: it determines the quality of the review and it may affect the turnaround time of the first review. We are in the process of developing a new key word system that will enable us to better match reviewers to article content. Authors will be required to select several key words from a large list describing the problem and methodology in the paper. Reviewers will be requested to select a set of key words closely describing their interest and expertise. Our new editorial assistant software will help us find a group of reviewers for each paper. As before, I will make final selections of reviewers to each paper. Volume flexibility Since becoming editor, I have discovered that research is seasonal. Strangely enough, it seems to coincide with typical academic vacation periods. I am using the term ``vacation'' loosely to include those periods when there is no teaching. The journal office has to be geared to respond to above average volumes of papers during these select times of the year. Of course, this flexibility affects the turnaround time for the first review. Research plays an important role in society, and journals play an important role in research. Journals not only are the vehicles for communicating results and findings, but also play a vital role in defining the direction of research and helping researchers improve their work. If you would like to join the team of reviewers do not hesitate to call. And do not hesitate to send us your good papers because, after all, we are customer driven.
LEE J. KRAJEWSI is Professor of Operations Management in the Department of Management Sciences and Director of the Center of Excellence in Manufacturing Management at The Ohio State University. He received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Krajewski is a co-author of the texts MANAGEMENT SCIENCE: QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN CONTEXT and OPERATION MANAGEMENT: STRATEGY AND ANALYSIS. He has been appointed editor of DECISION SCIENCES journal, and serves as vice president at large for the Decision Sciences Institute.
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