Advancing Theory and Research and the British Journal of Management

Published date01 January 2014
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12047
Date01 January 2014
Editorial
Advancing Theory and Research and the
British Journal of Management
Geoffrey Wood and Pawan Budhwar1
Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK, 1Aston Business School,
Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Corresponding author email: geoffrey.wood@wbs.ac.uk
In an ecosystem of management journals dominated by US heavyweights, the British
Journal of Management (BJM) assumes a unique role. There is no other European
business and management journal of the standing and stature of this journal that seeks
both to be multidisciplinary and to appeal to a general readership of business and
management scholars. This is a tribute to the efforts of previous editorial teams. At the
same time, the journal faces the challenge of remaining relevant both to the immediate
British Academy of Management community and to the wider scholarly one, while
raising its own game in pioneering and leading debates, and in global esteem.
The Durkheimian (or Weberian)
moment
Infusing the work of the classic theorists of socio-
economics was an inherent assumption that
society was undergoing structural changes of
some sort or another, but that the outcome was
not readily apparent. This brought with it a
concern as to the manner in which embedded pat-
terns of behaviour may readjust and remould
themselves over time. It also raised questions as to
why economies and societies develop unevenly
and during long economic transitions, and why
some types of firm, social groupings and regions
fare very much better than others.
There is little doubt that our present condition
is one of a similar period of uncertainty. There is
much debate around the real structural causes
of the crisis, which have ranged from natural
resource constraints, through changes in elite
composition and elite failure, as well as changes in
the global political–economic balance of power,
to technological change. Other issues include the
global reach of supply chains, the clustering of
large-scale export manufacturing capabilities to a
limited number of countries, the challenges posed
by climate change, and the worsening of the terms
and conditions of employment for many in
advanced societies.
These issues and challenges may be understood
from a wide range of theoretical perspectives.
While, as individual scholars, we hold our own
views on these subjects, we welcome a broad range
of alternative perspectives that seek to advance
understanding of the firm and its milieu within an
undoubtedly changing world. Many studies, of
course, concern themselves with specific goings-on
within a single organization, rather than broader
questions of politics, economy and society.
However, even such studies need to take account
of broader environmental forces, and the intercon-
nection between intra- and inter-firm realities.
The uses of theory
We expect papers not only to present empirical
evidence, but also to engage with theory. Although
we welcome differing approaches, we insist that
any paradigms deployed should genuinely consti-
tute theory. This would rule out a sole reliance on
introductory textbook-level summaries of popular
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British Journal of Management, Vol. 25, 1–3 (2014)
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12047
© 2014 British Academy of Management. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4
2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, USA.

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