Abstract
With the new year, we are initiating some changes to the Editorial Team at Group & Organization Management (GOM) and introducing new resources for readers, authors, and reviewers, while maintaining continuity through our commitment to GOM’s mission. Since its inception in 1976, GOM has pursued a mission to publish cutting-edge management research focused on how individuals, groups and teams, and organizations function and thrive within the international arena. To do this, we feature theoretical and empirical articles spanning all levels of analysis, reflecting multiple theoretical traditions, and employing a broad and diverse range of methodologies. Whether you are a scholar, educator, or practitioner, GOM is a great resource for the innovative ideas and fresh perspectives necessary to stay current in the field of organization studies.
For the past three years, I have had the privilege to serve as GOM’s Editor-in-Chief. During this time, thanks to the hard work of our outstanding Editorial Team and the strong commitment and support of our publisher, SAGE, GOM has experienced continued growth in both scale and stature. To build on this momentum, I have accepted an appointment to serve a second term and will continue working with GOM’s diverse constituents to further our efforts to move the journal forward.
My second term as Editor will involve both continuity and change. Lucy Gilson (University of Connecticut) will continue to provide exceptional service as the Senior Associate Editor. In addition to supporting the review process and serving as a guest editor with Walter Davis (University of Mississippi) for GOM’s annual Conceptual Issue, Lucy will continue partnering with SAGE to pursue initiatives designed to increase GOM’s accessibility and visibility to a wider audience of scholars and practitioners. These efforts include working with GOM’s Social Media Coordinator, Hannah Bonitz (University of Connecticut), to highlight intriguing findings published in GOM and other management outlets through Twitter at @GroupOrgMgmt and LinkedIn via our profile Group and Org Mgmt Journal and our LinkedIn group titled Group and Organization Management (International Journal).
Keeping with the continuity theme, I am happy to report that four of GOM’s current Associate Editors—Judith Clair (Boston College), Guido Hertel (University of Münster), M. Travis Maynard (Colorado State University), and Orlando Richard (University of Texas at Dallas)—have agreed to serve for a second term. In addition, Mark B. Gavin (West Virginia University) and Jodi S. Goodman (West Virginia University) will continue to serve as Methods Associate Editors. This innovative role was recently introduced to ensure the scientific rigor and integrity of GOM publications and Mark and Jodi have played a key role in its success to date. GOM and its constituents can look forward to further benefits from the expertise and commitment of these outstanding scholars.
Moving to the change theme, we bid a find farewell to three scholars—Jin Nam Choi (Seoul National University), Lisa M. Finkelstein (Illinois State University), and Ethlyn A. Williams (Florida Atlantic University)—who have decided to step down from their Associate Editor roles due to competing obligations. We are extremely grateful for their dedicated and high quality service. Further evidence of their commitment is apparent from their decisions to remain actively involved with GOM by serving as Editorial Board Members.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, we are expanding the number of Associate Editors from nine to 14. Joining the Editorial Team are seven new Action Editors—Michelle C. Bligh (Claremont Graduate University), Paul Harvey (University of New Hampshire), Deanna Kennedy (University of Washington Bothell), Devaki Rau (Illinois State University), Rebecca J. Reichard (Claremont Graduate University), Yuhyung Shin (Hanyang University), and Thomas J. Zagenczyk (Clemson University). Finally, Brian K. Miller (Texas State University) is also joining GOM to serve as an additional Methods Associate Editor.
During my first term, I was fortunate to have what I dubbed my “Dream Team” of Associate Editors based on their exemplary levels of professionalism and scholarship. The addition of new Associate Editor’s has not changed my view; in fact, the increased size and added expertise of the incoming Associate Editors will help us to sustain and enhance our service-oriented culture. Hence, I consider the continuing and incoming Associate Editors to be “Dream Team II”—an apt title for a journal that dedicates so much attention to the effective teamwork.
At the outset of my first term as Editor, we increased the size of the GOM Editorial Review Board from 67 to 142 members. Moving forward, we have again expanded the size of the Review Board to 158 members to further improve our efforts to provide high quality reviews in a timely fashion. The new board members have all served as outstanding reviewers for a number of years and we are excited to work more closely with them in the coming years. Please join me in welcoming, Brian J. Collins (University of Southern Mississippi), Rein De Cooman (University of Leuven), William Evans (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), Vishal Gupta (University of Alabama), Ralph Heidl (University of Oregon), Amy Henley (Kennesaw State University), Beth Humberd (University of Massachusetts Lowell), Andrew Li (West Texas A&M University), Robert Litchfield (Washington & Jefferson College), Gordon Liu (The Open University), Sophia Marinova (University of Alabama Huntsville), Martin Martens (Vancouver Island University), Michael J. Morely (University of Limerick), Todd Moss (Syracuse University), Tammy Rapp (Ohio University), Andreas Schwab (Iowa State University), Kristin Scott (Clemson University), Brad Shuck (University of Louisville), Marissa Leigh Shuffler (Clemson University), Lynda Jiwen Song (Renmin University of China), John Paul Stephens (Case Western Reserve University), Todd Weber (Central Washington University), and Miles Zachary (Auburn University).
A perusal of GOM’s Editorial Review Board reveals an impressive group of top scholars from diverse geographic locations and academic disciplines. What we all have in common, however, is out shared goal of making GOM the go to outlet for scholars engaged in research on groups and teams. At the same time, as the name reflects, GOM will always remain open not only to “group” but also to high quality “management” and “organization” research. Perhaps the best way to capture GOM’s mission is through the phrase, “Teams PLUS.” As this phrase suggests, we will continue to be a preferred outlet for research on groups and teams, plus a wide array of topics focused on organizations and their management.
In closing, I would like to express my appreciation to Cynthia Nalevanko, the SAGE Social Science Journals Editor, and the entire SAGE team for their unwavering support of GOM. Their commitment is apparent from the expansion of GOM’s page allocation by 25% beginning with the February 2018 issue. This increased page allocation will enable us to publish one additional article in each of the six annual issues. Speaking on behalf of the entire Editorial Board, we promise to deliver on this investment by exemplifying the teamwork we promote as we take GOM to even greater heights.