Article Submission Guidelines

The Academy of Management receives article submissions to our seven journals. Each journal is different in domain and mission. All are considered “big tent” journals and encompass a broad range of topics. Therefore, it is recommended that potential authors visit each journal page to determine the best fit for their research. Reviewing the Information for Contributors and the Style Guide for Authors documents for each journal is also strongly recommended.

Use the links below to submit original articles and proposals to the journal-specific ScholarOne site.

Submission Requirements

To submit a manuscript:

1. Prepare as a Microsoft Word file from which the title page and all author-identifying references have been removed. 
2. Access the journal-specific ScholarOne website.
3. Acknowledgements of others' help in preparing the paper for submission should be included in the letter to the editor that is featured as part of the web-based submission process. 
4. For assistance uploading your paper, please contact Manuscript Central support.

Process for new users:

1. Establish your account by entering name, affiliation, address details, and a few keywords describing your work. Do not submit your manuscript (despite the fact that there is the opportunity to upload a file).
2. Access the "Author Center" and provide information about your submission. Follow the instructions about submitting your work.

AOM Publication Policies and Process

All AOM journals have detailed workflows ensuring submissions go through numerous checks to substantiate they meet AOM ethical and procedural guidelines throughout the submission and acceptance timeline. Each AOM journal has its own specific set of submission guidelines, codes of conduct policies and article formatting templates, which must be strictly adhered to throughout the publishing process. 

If a submitted article is accepted for review, the journal editorial team will initiate the peer reviewer process. Designated reviewers, chosen from a pool of subject specific volunteers, will each advise the editor to either recommend to approve the article, send it back for revision, or reject it. If revisions are recommended, the process continues until a final decision can be made on whether or not to publish the article within the individual AOM journal. 

Through these policies, procedures, and editorial mechanisms, AOM enables the advancement of management research to align with our mission and vision, providing top ranked vehicles for our content and an invaluable resource for our global authors. 

Important Notes:

• The Academy of Management does not charge submission fees.
• Submissions to Academy of Management journals are not automatically published and go through a rigorous review process that may include multiple rounds of revisions.
• If submitting your article Annals, please submit a short proposal and not a full text article. Proposals that do not conform to the proposal guidelines will not be considered. Please review the Annals proposal guidelines.
• AOM Editors are accountable for their respective publications and have editorial discretion within the bounds of the AOM Code of Ethics and Journal Policies and Procedures in rendering editorial decisions. Associate and Action Editors operate under the auspices of the Editor and similarly ascribe to high editorial and ethical standards.  AOM Editors and Action Editors are required to sign a Conflict of Interest statement to maintain parity in the peer review process and remain vigilant in assessing their own impartiality.  AOM Editors and Action Editors have broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Some manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for an appeal.  If an author has legitimate and substantiated concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest in the handling of their manuscript, Editors employ processes including independent and additional ad hoc review to respond fairly to requests to appeal an editorial decision.  If an author believes the decision to reject the manuscript raises an ethical concern within the journal editorial team or the AOM, or wish to formally appeal an editor decision, please review the AOM Ethics resources and contact the AOM Ombuds for informal counseling. Authors are also encouraged to review AOM’s Policies and Procedures for handling Ethical Complaints.

Appealing the Editorial Decision

Editors have broad discretion to determine if a submission is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many submissions are declined without peer review. These desk rejections may provide only a very general statement of the reason for the decision. Submissions may also be rejected after peer review.

Authors who seek to appeal an editorial decision must note the following:

• The only matters eligible for appeal are those that are procedural in nature.
• Content-related decisions (e.g., theoretical or methodological issues) are final and not eligible for appeal.
• Challenging the expertise of an editor, associate editor, or reviewer are not grounds for an appeal.

If an author believes that the decision to reject their submission was based on a flaw in procedure, then the author may appeal the decision by providing the action editor with a detailed written explanation of the procedural flaw and its perceived unjust effects on the decision to reject the manuscript. The action editor, in conjunction with the journal’s editor-in-chief, will consider the appeal and render a decision.  Editors may employ supplementary and independent peer review when considering an appeal. All decisions on appeals are final.

If an author believes the decision to reject their manuscript raises an ethical concern about the journal editorial team or the Academy of Management (AOM), or wishes to formally appeal an editor’s decision on ethical grounds, please review the AOM Ethics resources and contact the AOM Ombuds for guidance on pursuing an ethical complaint. Authors are also encouraged to review AOM’s Policies and Procedures for handling Ethical Complaints.

Style Guidelines

Please review AOM's Style Guide for manuscript requirements prior to submitting.

Guidelines for submitting figures/images

• Use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Tables and figures should be placed at the end of the manuscript, with placement instructions between paragraphs within the body text to indicate where these items would go (e.g., "Insert Table 1 Here").

Publishing in AOM Journals: An article from the Academy of Management Editors

The Academy of Management journal editors explain the foundational philosophy of knowledge creation and dissemination, as well as details about the AOM journals and the differences among them. The editors discuss common questions of interest to authors, outlining not only what is central to each journal but also the characteristics of typical papers that appear in the publications.

From the Editors

Charlesworth Author Services

The Academy of Management has partnered with Charlesworth Author Services to provide language editing services to support our scholarly author community.

Charlesworth’s editing services assists authors with preparing their submissions—from peer review to publication—by accelerating and simplifying the process while increasing its efficiency.  

A wide range of publication support packages and flexible individual services are available, including translations and editing, proofreading, and reviewer response assessments.

Learn more

Ethics

View AOM’s Ethics policy page, which includes our Code of Ethics and detailed procedures and inquiry requests.