WRITING AND PUBLISHING RESEARCH ARTICLES Moshe Banai, PhD - Editor International Studies of Management and Organization

Article’s Structure Title page Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion and conclusions References Tables and Figures

Title Page Title should be descriptive, ‘sexy’ and short Examples: “ A Resource Based View of the British Monarchy as a Corporate Brand” (Good) “New Frontiers and Perspective in Corporate Brand Management: In Search of a Theory” (Bad)

Abstract Limit the words to the required number Describe the article by including the: Objective(s) or research question Theory (if applicable) Methods Main findings Main theoretical conclusions

Introduction The study’s objectives or research questions General theories (e.g. international strategy) Specific theories (e.g. entry modes) Model (if applicable) Hypotheses

Methods Respondents: Type, number, characteristics Instruments: Questionnaires, Interviews, Documents’ analysis, Observations Design: e.g. Before - after; Experimental - control groups Process: Actual operations and statistics

Results (Data Theory) Apply a structural approach where each finding is presented in the same manner Present results in the same order as the hypotheses Accompany each table by a short narrative DO NOT INCLUDE CONCLUSIONS!

Discussion and Conclusions Main theoretical contribution: General theory - generalization - induction More specific empirical contributions: Specific theories - specification - deduction Practical contribution Limitations Future research

References Stick religiously to the “Instructions for Authors” More references indicate diligent work A mix of formats or missing information indicate an haphazard collection References that are not shown in the text indicate sloppiness Self reference is useful

Tables Minimize the number of tables and figures Design tables in an economical manner Pay attention to tables’ titles Do not include statistics that are not used/ described in the article Consult with previous issues of the same journal for format Print each table on a separate page

Common Mistakes - introduction Presenting no research objective(s) Having no theory (common in case studies) General theory is not related to specific theories Specific theories are not related to data theory Validity

Validity

Validity Conclusion Validity: In this study, is there a relationship between the two variables? Internal Validity: Assuming that there is a relationship in this study, is the relationship a causal one? Construct Validity: Did we implement the program we intended to implement and did we measure the outcome we wanted to measure? Did we operationalize well the ideas of the cause and the effect?

Validity External Validity: Assuming that there is a causal relationship in this study between the constructs of the cause and the effect, can we generalize this effect to other persons, places or times?

Common Mistakes - Methods Respondents: non-representative sampling small sample, low rate of return Instruments: non validated, biased (i.e. language) too long, too intrusive, reliability (e.g. among judges) Design: Validity Statistics: (e.g. assuming causality from correlation)

Common Mistakes - Results Lack of order - not following the hypotheses Missing results Repetition Presenting results not presented in hypotheses Mixing results and conclusions

Common Mistakes - Discussion Repetition of the results The discussion does not follow the order of the theories: general, specific, data Assumptions that were not introduces in the theory section pop up in the discussion section Only practical implications are presented No limitation section; no future research section