r Academy of Management Journal

2022, Vol. 65, No. 3, 711–719.

https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2022.4003

FROM THE EDITORS

JOINING SOCIETAL CONVERSATIONS ON
MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS
LASZLO TIHANYI
Rice University

JENNIFER HOWARD-GRENVILLE
University of Cambridge

KATHERINE A. DECELLES
University of Toronto

The main priorities of the 22nd editorial team of conversations in broader society on management
Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) are to and organizations. We acknowledge that those out-
increase AMJ’s relevance and credibility in manage- side of our field may conceptualize organizations
ment and organization research and to position AMJ and management differently, emphasize organiza-
as a global and inclusive outlet that publishes origi- tional and managerial characteristics that are rele-
nal, interesting, and rigorous research by interna- vant to them, and focus on problems that have
tional scholars. The editorial team has engaged in not received attention in our studies. Thus, our goal
discussions with the Academy of Management com- with this SRF was to publish a collection of
munity through workshops and published editorials high-quality empirical studies that make meaningful
on how the journal could meet these priorities. Edi- contributions to ongoing societal debates about man-
torials have covered topics such as research impact agerial and organizational problems and investigate
(Tihanyi, 2020; Umphress, Greer, Muir, & Knight, topics that may have been neglected in the field but
2021); fit and misfit in qualitative research (Howard- significantly impact the lives of people inside and
Grenville, Nelson, Vough, & Zilber, 2021); bridging outside organizations. Such topics—including those
macro- and microtheory (Cowen, Rink, Cuypers, on socioeconomic status and class, diversity and
Gregoire, & Weller, 2022); original research (Tihanyi inclusion, community impact of organizational prac-
& DeCelles, 2021), empathy, respect, and inclusion tices, movement of workforce across borders, and
(Umphress, Rink, Muir, & Hideg, 2022); research organizational implications of national conflicts—
transparency (DeCelles, Howard-Grenville, & Tiha- are studied in adjacent fields, but often are not cen-
nyi, 2021); and practical and responsible research tral to management scholarship in journals like AMJ.
(Hideg, DeCelles, & Tihanyi, 2020). There might be many reasons for why these and
To further increase AMJ’s relevance, our editorial other topics highly relevant to society are often
team proposed a Special Research Forum (SRF) for neglected in our field. If universities are metaphori-
which we asked prospective authors to join ongoing cally called ivory towers given their isolation from
broader society, many could envision business
schools as secret halls within those ivory towers that
We are grateful to Denis Gregoire, Ivona Hideg, Andrew can be accessed through hidden stairwells. Their
Nelson, Floor Rink, Daphne Yiu, and Tammar Zilber for restricted access by means of high tuition fees, spe-
their comments on an earlier version of this introduction. cialized admission tests, and exclusive membership
We also would like to thank the members of the AMJ edito-
in their own association, coupled with their narrow
rial team and reviewer board for editing and reviewing the
Special Research Forum submissions. Special thanks to
mission of educating future business leaders, have
Andrew Carton, Lindred Greer, Ivona Hideg, Cindy Muir often kept them isolated from societal conversations
(Zapata), Andrew Nelson, Floor Rink, Gurneeta Vasudeva, that involve management and organizations outside
Heather Vough, Ingo Weller, and Tammar Zilber for the business settings.
article summaries, and Michael Malgrande for managing Further, business school researchers may experi-
the publication process of this issue. ence barriers to, or limited incentives for, joining
711
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712 Academy of Management Journal June

conversations in society about management and organizational, and macro phenomena (Howard-
organizations. Historically, such topics have been Grenville, Davis, Dyllick, Miller, Thau, Tsui, 2019).
difficult to publish in our leading journals, due to an We may be considered experts on understanding
emphasis on novelty and theory-driven contribu- complex processes that lead to outcomes associated
tions (Howard-Grenville, 2021; Ployhart & Bartunek, with organizing, and enable their persistence or
2019). Lacking the strong need for external funding, change, as opposed to experts on social issues per se
management researchers are often not subject to the (Howard-Grenville, 2021). Therefore, management
pressures by funding bodies that our peers in the sci- researchers can help to expand the traditionally nar-
ences are—for example: “to promote the progress row mission of business schools by introducing new
of science; to advance the national health, prosper- perspectives, asking multilevel questions, or drawing
ity, and welfare; to secure the national defense” on diverse methodologies, which are different from
(National Science Foundation, 2022). Only recently and complementary to those used by scholars who
has management research that investigates organiza- study social issues from other disciplinary vantage
tional and management topics relevant to broader points.
society been celebrated and rewarded, for example One might question whether AMJ is the ideal
by our own initiatives (such as RRBM or divisional forum for management scholars to join societal con-
awards within the Academy of Management), or by versations about organizations given AMJ’s emphasis
outsiders (such as the Financial Times). on theory-driven research. We argue that exploring
Indeed, there are trends that seem to suggest that phenomena in the absence of testing or developing
business schools are becoming more oriented to theory will not lead to the meaningful progress
making research and education more relevant to required by society. The self-fulfilling nature of theo-
their broader societies, which will in turn encourage ries by means of business education can clearly be
scholars to pursue underresearched topics of critical observed in the recent history of developed market
importance. For instance, to meet the demands of the economies, ranging from the promotions of agency
next generation of MBA students, business school theory and self-interest to real options theory (Fer-
curricula are including topics that focus on inclu- raro, Pfeffer, & Sutton, 2005; Ghosal, 2005). It is
sion, ethics, and sustainability, while also offering increasingly evident that many dominant manage-
practical exposure to urgent social problems around ment theories that were born 50 or 60 years ago strug-
the world. One can also see a positive trend by read- gle to explain newly discovered nuances of human
ing the recent mission statements of business schools behavior, complex social relationships, nonbusiness
that increasingly emphasize the societal, global, organizations, and the organizational effects of multi-
community, and positive impact: “we create and dis- faceted institutional environments (Davis, 2010).
seminate knowledge through collaboration, develop- New management theories could enrich the conver-
ing global transformational leaders who positively sations with scientists in other fields trying to
impact organizations and society” (Michigan State), improve organizations and management that can
“to be a force for positive change in the world” (Eras- move societies forward.
mus), “to strengthen society by creating influential We are not alone in our goal of encouraging AMJ
research and fostering an inclusive lifelong learning authors to join broader conversations in society about
community that educates and supports tomorrow’s management and organizations. Although the process
business and academic leaders” (Florida), “we bring is slow, there is growing pressure from many stake-
together people, cultures and ideas to develop holders to change the status quo. Most importantly,
responsible leaders who transform business and the change has been led by management scholars who
society” (INSEAD). are passionate about making a difference, regardless
Although more thoroughly connecting business of the lack of rewards or despite the potential risks.
schools to social issues and having our research We are pleased to showcase their work in this SRF.
and education make a positive practical impact will
take time, management departments are particularly
ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE
well-positioned to lead this transformation. This is
because management as a discipline is often prob- It was our hope that this SRF would attract
lem- and practice-driven (Ployhart & Bartunek, research that took on the ambitious task of signifi-
2019) and draws on diverse disciplinary foundations cantly contributing to current societal debates by
(such as psychology, sociology, and economics) developing new theories, applying existing theories
to explore connections between individual, to new problems, rigorously collecting and
2022 Tihanyi, Howard-Grenville, and DeCelles 713

analyzing relevant data, and reporting credible and these adverse events generate but also from the fact
transparent findings. We issued the call for papers at that minority employees become vicarious victims
the end of 2019, with a submission deadline of that feel the need to suppress their victimhood at
November 30, 2020. The response to the call was work, with the usual negative consequences from
exceptional. We received 144 submissions and sent suppression. When managers encourage and wel-
out all but 15 papers for full review. The 129 fully come conversations around identity (i.e., identity-
reviewed SRF papers were evaluated by the editorial based psychological safety), organizations can help
review board and editorial team. We sought reviews reduce the harmful effects of these societal events on
from a diverse group of scholars whose work covers their employees.
these topics and methods. The following two quotes by anonymous reviewers
December 2020 and January 2021 not only turned provide further insights on how readers react to this
out to be the busiest months in AMJ’s history—with paper:
over 500 submissions that included SRF papers, regu-
The authors make a strong case for the novelty, rele-
lar submissions, and revisions—but were among the
vance, and importance of their topic and research
most challenging months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
questions.
To maintain our reviewing quality requirements and
stay on schedule with the SRF and regular issues, we I can’t help but note that as I wrote this review, the
turned to our editorial review board for help. A spe- 5th year anniversary of the Pulse night club occurred
cial thanks to the 172 board members who volun- (the mass shooting at an LGBTQ1 Florida dance
teered to review multiple papers within a single club) and the sentence [was] announced for the police
30-day review cycle. As a result, we are pleased to be officer who murdered George Floyd. These made me
able to share 12 articles with our readers in this issue. wonder about the effect of anniversaries of mega-threat
Two additional papers are still under review and will events, and how the media should portray them. It
be considered for publication in future issues upon seems like a potential double-edged sword because
successful revisions. while society should “never forget” there may also be
re-experienced trauma in the form of embodied threat
when the media reposts images and stories associated
SRF ARTICLE INTRODUCTION with these events.
To break from SRF introduction tradition, we The central contribution of the second article by
asked the assigned editors to introduce each article Hein and Ansari (2022) is to illustrate how individu-
by discussing the article’s contribution, describing als whose identities are tightly regulated by organi-
how it joins a conversation in society, and illustrat- zations through benevolent marginalization can
ing their points with quotes from the reviewers. become emancipated and ultimately create new
In the first paper, Leigh and Melwani (2022) study identities for themselves and for the organization.
the effects of mega-threats on identity threat, identity According to Associate Editor Heather Vough, the
labor, and withdrawal at work. Associate Editor Cindy paper illustrates how disabled workers at a dedi-
Muir (Zapata) explains that the central contribution of cated worksite, or “sheltered workshop,” were able
the article is to show that some societal events are so to change the narrative about their ability to work
threatening to one’s identity (mega-threats) that their outside the workshop and, as a result, changed the
impact is felt in the workplace via increased with- identity of the workshop itself. The authors show the
drawal and reduced engagement. In particular, the importance of gaining the allyship of insider acti-
authors show that being a member of the same identity vists to make change happen; highlight the possibil-
group as a victim increases a person’s experience ity of organizational-level changes in the context of
of threat. Because this type of identity threat is not benevolent marginalization; and call for more atten-
common within the organization (due to the typical tion to benevolent, in addition to more malevolent,
identity make-up of organizations), those employees forms of marginalization.
feel the need to engage in the effortful process of sup- The article by Hein and Ansari (2022) is funda-
pressing these feelings at work. Leigh and Melwani mentally about how society thinks about and acts
(2022) also show how societal events that are seem- toward vulnerable populations. Well-meaning indi-
ingly unrelated to organizations nevertheless impact viduals and organizations may ascribe to dominate
employees’ work behaviors. However, the negative discourses that regulate the identities of members of
impact stems not only from media attention that these populations. This manuscript illustrates how
714 Academy of Management Journal June

such organizational regulation can be undone. While societal issues to the forefront of public awareness
the context of this paper is disabled individuals work- and discourse. The reviewers on this paper conclude:
ing in sheltered workshops, the findings have applica- In my opinion, the authors have crafted a beautiful
tions that extend well beyond this. For example, the paper.
authors point to other potential contexts where benev-
olent marginalization may occur, including nursing [This paper] clearly contributes to the literature on
homes, homeless shelters, psychiatric hospitals, and intersectionality and stereotype content by showing
refugee camps. The reviewers wrote the following [that] being situated at the nexus of multiple subordi-
comments about this article: nated identity groups will result in intersectional
advantage versus double jeopardy. The authors go to
I think these authors are doing something very unique great lengths to integrate the literature we highlighted
and special. in the last round of revision, and I believe the manu-
script advances the scholarly conversation in impor-
I found the gap that you identify persuasive and your
tant ways. Additionally, I am encouraged to see these
use of the critical management studies literature to
relatively new constructs, theories and methodologies
develop a contribution that addresses it novel and
employed for the AMJ readership!
interesting. Your empirical analysis is nuanced, evoc-
ative and well rounded, and directly and clearly tied In the next article, Martin and Harrison (2022)
to your summary of the process you induced from develop theory on the relationship between upward
your data. I also liked how you have broadened the class mobility and employee voice. Building on the
relevance of your paper by drawing parallels to sev- notion that there are individual and organizational
eral spheres/organizations in which benevolent mar-
pathways to voice, the paper finds that the upwardly
ginalization is also prevalent and relating these to
your findings. mobile possess a high internal sense of efficacy and
are likely to speak up. However, this positive path-
The article by Ponce de Leon and Rosette (2022) way to voice for the upwardly mobile is offset by
makes important contributions to the study of dis- managers being more inclined to solicit voice from
crimination, gender, and race—and, critically, the those who come from, and have remained in, higher
intersectionality of gender and race. Associate Editor social class positions. Associate Editor Floor Rink
Ivona Hideg explains that this paper examines
finds the key contribution of this paper in its presen-
unique experiences of Black women whose identi-
tation of evidence suggesting that the upwardly
ties intersect marginalized gender and racial identi-
mobile may not have an enduring, reduced sense of
ties, and provides insights on their experiences
their capabilities as suggested by prior imprinting
compared to both White women and Black men.
research. Instead, lingering elements of their past
They do so in the context of workplace discrimina-
tion claims and consequent financial remedies. Spe- inhibit the voice opportunities solicited to the
cifically, by integrating the concept of intersectional upwardly mobile by their superiors as they move
invisibility with the BIAS (behaviors from inter- through gateway organizations. Illustrating how
group affect and stereotypes) framework, the paper individual and organizational antecedents jointly
theorizes and empirically demonstrates that Black have a countervailing influence on their ability to
women are seen as less prototypical victims of gen- voice opinions highlights the importance of consid-
der and racial discrimination compared to White ering diversity in the voice process. Socially signifi-
women and Black men, respectively. By doing so, cant employee features, like class background, may
this paper provides a more complete understanding exert both facilitating and constraining forces.
of the effects of nonprototypicality for Black women By examining the intersection of upward mobility
who allege discrimination, and demonstrates how and voice, Martin and Harrison (2022) contribute to
nonprototypicality can be simultaneously helpful the societal debate about prior lower-class experien-
and harmful for Black women. ces of the upwardly mobile having an imprinting
With their article, Ponce de Leon and Rosette effect on them that leads to a reduced sense of their
(2022) join and contribute to critical and timely socie- own abilities. Is this indeed true, or does an upward
tal discussions about racial and gender discrimina- class transition correspond to a higher general sense
tion. These important conversations have been of efficacy that facilitates voice? Moreover, the article
ignited by two prominent social movements—Black- joins societal conversations about the degree to
LivesMatter and MeToo—and the Covid-19 pan- which managers view the upwardly mobile as sour-
demic has also been a catalyst for bringing these ces of input that are equally valuable to those of other
2022 Tihanyi, Howard-Grenville, and DeCelles 715

employees from higher-class backgrounds. The The following comments by the reviewers echo the
reviewers commented, associate editor’s observations.

This paper was extremely interesting to me, as the There is an overall fit with the special issue regard-
topics of social class and voice are both important ing larger issues related to diversity/inclusion in
and not yet well researched in management. The dual the workplace as well as organizational values. The
pathways arguments were well-represented, and the number of studies, the reporting of all studies con-
ducted (including 1 null in the supplementary)
results provide valuable insights on how one’s social
allows this program of research to speak definitively
class background and managerial behavior jointly
about the effect size and variation across studies and
affect employees’ willingness and ability to voice
samples.
their opinions.

The message of the paper is interesting and impor- I read this manuscript with great interest because I
tant. Moreover, its message is conveyed via a clear think the idea that people might endorse a policy that
writing style and backed up by robust empirical evi- supports disadvantaged candidates, but not imple-
dence derived through multiple methods. ment it when making individual decisions, is very
interesting and practically important.
In general, I thought the paper was interesting and The next article, by de Rond, Lok, and Marrison
appreciated the use of multiple studies (two of which (2022), joins efforts to theorize the role of lived expe-
were pre-registered), including both correlational and
rience in social action. The case study is a team of
experimental designs.
pedophile hunters—people who voluntarily dedi-
In their article, Munguia Gomez and Levine (2022) cate time and effort to tricking predators into believ-
show that organizational policies aimed at increasing ing they are communicating online with children. In
underrepresented minorities are not necessarily relied contrast, in reality, the hunters eventually confront
on by decision-makers. According to Associate Editor the predator with the evidence they have gathered
Cindy Muir (Zapata), the authors theoretically refer to and call the police, streaming these actions online.
this phenomenon as the “policy–people gap,” which Associate Editor Tammar Zilber argues that by
persists due to a shift in what is viewed as fair. For deploying the phenomenological concept “way-of-
example, while macrojustice (policy) gets at whether being” the paper offers an interpretative account to
opportunities are allocated fairly in aggregate, micro- explain the hunters’ use of extreme practices.
justice (people) focuses on whether opportunities are Through its empirical context, the paper speaks to
given based on an individual’s qualities. Importantly, a burning societal problem of systemic child sexual
decision-makers believe they are making fair decisions abuse. At the same time, the paper speaks to a larger
regardless of whether they attend to micro- or mac- problem of online media and polarization by
rojustice. However, decision-makers tend to shift highlighting the need, and offering the conceptual
to microjustice concerns (focus on the person they tools, to study the experience of online communities
are considering hiring), even when it is inconsis- that communicate among themselves to the point that
tent with their organization’s macrojustice inter- they lose connection with larger society. Through this
ests. Thus, hiring decisions often fail to meet the paper, the authors challenge us to be more sensitive to
organization’s stated objectives. the lived experience of others as a means of more
The current paper highlights a critical problem effective mutual engagement.
with hiring: policies designed to hire people from The following are comments on this paper from
disadvantaged groups are not adhered to consis- the reviewers:
tently despite being espoused by decision-makers.
The result is that the standard solution to address the I admire your research approach and commend you
pervasive organizational issue of underrepresenta- on your writing and showing your data. I find myself
tion within organizations is not working as intended. not wanting to stop reading, but at the same time,
needing to take frequent breaks because the context of
By demonstrating why this gap persists, the scholars
the story makes me so uncomfortable.
provide a solution to the problem. Specifically, their
work suggests that the policy–people gap can be sub- Your methodological approach gets into the lifeworlds
stantially reduced by informing decision-makers of vigilantes, which is both fascinating and offers
about the two standards of fairness (microjustice vs. exceptionally rich empirical data. Moreover, one of
macrojustice) and highlighting that hiring should my concerns with the growing body of research in
accomplish the organization’s macrojustice goal. extreme contexts, such as the one examined in this
716 Academy of Management Journal June

paper, is that much of it continues to adopt “off the and corporate volunteers. Deputy Editor Jennifer
shelf” methods. That is clearly not the case here. I con- Howard-Grenville concludes that the work engages
gratulate you for the lengths you have clearly gone to both management literature and community devel-
explore vigilantes’ lived practice. It shows in your opment scholarship that recognizes the benefits and
data and understanding of your research context. costs of corporate community investment, and offers
The way in which you position your more syn- multiple pathways for behavioral changes that yield
thetic, phenomenological approach compared to the mutual benefit. Furthermore, Gibson joins a conver-
essentializing tendencies of much organizational sation on the role of corporations in community
scholarship, including on vigilantism, and then development with her article by exploring how com-
draw this out with your data, is also compelling. munity investment can be mutually advantageous,
In their paper, Fang and Tilcsik (2022) focus on the which is often not the case in practice. In certain sec-
social class pay gap, or when people from lower-class tors in particular, such as the extractive industries,
families earn less than people from upper-class fami- the tight coupling between corporate activity and the
lies even when they are similar in terms of education communities in which they operate can both benefit
and work in occupations with similar prestige. and harm communities. This is especially the case
According to Associate Editor Ingo Weller, the when these communities are already at risk due to
authors develop a theoretical explanation for this being economically disadvantaged and having their
puzzle. Fang and Tilcsik (2022) argue that, due to self-determination affected by earlier policies, as in
their family backgrounds and early socialization the case of Indigenous communities in Australia.
experiences, individuals from lower-class families The article describes how corporate secondees gain
self-select more often into prosocial occupations, much better understanding of and motivation to
whereas members of the upper-class prefer occupa- address community needs through their immersion
tions that offer them more autonomy. These prosocial in community projects, while simultaneously com-
and autonomous occupations are similar in terms of munity members gain expertise and perspectives
educational requirements and prestige, but differ in that enable them to make progress on their commun-
pay, explaining a significant portion of the enduring ity’s articulated needs.
social class pay gap. The reviewers said the following about the paper:
The reviewers commented: I enjoyed reading this paper a great deal. Your study
In this article, the authors synthesize macro- and of the work done by Bridge in collaboration with cor-
microresearch to [put] forward the argument that peo- porates and indigenous communities in Australia
ple from upper-class backgrounds make more money was very well integrated into your theory of corporate
because they find themselves in more agentic and community co-development. I particularly appreci-
less prosocial occupations on average. This is accom- ated how you used the information from interviews
plished through an impressive review of the literature and reflective journals to build the description of the
and a merging of GSS and BLS data. As someone who process through which the relationship between cor-
has done a lot of work on these topics, I was excited porates and communities developed.
to see this work and enjoyed reading the paper and
engaging with the findings. I found this paper to be a thorough and thoughtful
inductive exploration of community co-development,
I enjoyed reading your paper and believe that ques- and an attempted bridge to connect co-development
tions of social mobility and work are interesting and discourse outside of management research with the
worthy of study. [These are questions] on which soci- management literature on corporate social responsi-
ologists (and increasingly, economists) have done a bility. The topic is important, [the] data are impres-
lot of work, and so finding a new angle for which you sive, and the writing is clear.
also have a convincing empirical test is a challenge. In their article, Lucas, Grimes, and Gehman (2022)
My general impression of your paper is that it is theorize that voluntary certification and coercive leg-
well-written, and you have an interesting idea in cate-
islation may serve as synergistic governance forms
gorizing occupations as agentic versus pro-social.
for societal change efforts, as in the case of a shift
The next article, by Gibson (2022), makes an toward sustainable business practices. Associate
important contribution toward understanding the Editor Gurneeta Vasudeva explains that the paper
ways in which corporate community investment makes the counterintuitive point that weak legisla-
actions can be designed and implemented so as to tion catalyzes strong voluntary certification, owing
enable transformational change in both communities to imperatives for values authentication by
2022 Tihanyi, Howard-Grenville, and DeCelles 717

values-driven companies, thereby pointing to impor- other-focused and interpersonally effective. The fol-
tant complementarities between interdependent lowing comments from the reviewers support these
governance forms. observations:
This paper addresses an important societal prob-
lem of “remaking capitalism” through the governance The current paper investigates an important topic—
of sustainable business practices. Toward this goal, imposter thoughts at work—which has received
increasing public attention, but little scientific atten-
Lucas and colleagues (2022) address an important but
tion. The paper is well written overall, and the variety
understudied question of whether sustainability legis-
of methods (including a pre-registered experiment!)
lation complements or crowds out companies’ related are great strengths.
voluntary certification. Representative reviewer com-
ments include the following: I enjoyed reading this manuscript—it is an important
The phenomenon is substantively and theoretically topic that is understudied in management despite its
important, the context and sample are appropriate, salience in our everyday experiences. I appreciated
the data and analyses are extensive and rigorous, and how the author utilized different methods and data
the findings are interesting and supportive. sources to triangulate an interesting phenomenon, and
the manuscript was well-written. I particularly liked
The paper examines an interesting topic from a the unobtrusive, behavioral measures that Study 2 uti-
unique perspective, which could provide important lized instead of relying heavily on self-reports. I think
implications to the readership. The authors have also the research generates important insights into the pro-
[made] a very serious (and time-demanding) effort to cess by which having impostor thoughts [increases]
collect and analyze relevant data. I have enjoyed the interpersonal effectiveness.
novelty and potential impact of the paper. The article by Tang et al. (2022) addresses an
important limitation of conscientiousness by incor-
This interesting paper studies how firms respond porating theory on artificial intelligence into the
with voluntary measures after the passage of related
management landscape. The authors find that the
legislation. The paper theorizes that so-called “weak
legislation” will prompt an “authenticity threat” that
advantage that conscientious employees typically
leads to stronger responses by firms located in have fades away when they work in jobs with
domains where there’s a greater gap between the artificial intelligence, because they are not able to
legislation’s goals and prevailing practices. exploit the autonomy that they so effectively use to
their advantage in traditional contexts. Intelligent
The next article, by Tewfik (2022), rebalances the
machines encroach on their sense of orderliness and
conversation on imposter syndrome, which has
control, removing one of the key advantages of con-
largely focused on the syndrome’s negative effects,
scientiousness. The authors test their predictions
and shows that imposter thoughts can result in
with a range of methods and samples, including
higher ratings of interpersonal effectiveness from
pre-registered hypotheses.
others at work because those with higher imposter
Associate Editor Andrew Carton argues that the
thoughts adopt a more other-focused orientation. In
Associate Editor Lindred Greer’s view, the paper article is a remarkable example of merging our
also improves the study of mechanisms in the impos- understanding of traditional organizational concepts
ter syndrome literature and challenges the literature (in this case, personality) with realities of the 21st
on self-worth which suggests that challenges to century. We know how much the world of work is
self-worth always make people turn inward, show- changing, but we know less about how these changes
ing that, here, it can turn people toward others. affect longstanding patterns. The reviewers agree.
Finally, the paper counters practitioner wisdom to One of them concludes
get over, or get rid of, imposter thoughts, and instead This paper, with its excellent reframe, is worthy of
suggests that a more balanced view of the phenome- appearing in AMJ and is an excellent fit with the
non is needed. theme of the special issue … this version is likely to
The review of imposter syndrome is timely and make a big splash in the field. I think it will stimulate
relevant. As organizations diversify, many may feel a lot of research, particularly by personality research-
that they do not belong, or are imposters. Tewfik’s ers, whose assumptions about conscientiousness are
being challenged here.
(2022) work shows that such anxiety does not need
to be crippling but could sometimes be leveraged as The final article in this issue is by Logue and
a strength, as it can help people to be more Grimes (2022), who develop theory on how
718 Academy of Management Journal June

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tained flexibility and responsiveness so as not to be emy of Management Journal, 65. doi: 10.5465/amj.
overcome (or overrestricted) by it. 2020.1492
The following are comments from the reviewers: Fang, R. T., & Tilcsik, A. 2022. Prosocial occupations,
I find the findings quite exciting, and can clearly see a work autonomy, and the origins of the social class pay
contribution: … the [positives] and negatives of hype gap. Academy of Management Journal, 65. doi: 10.
and the implications of various navigation strategies 5465/amj.2020.1564
to manage the hype. Ferraro, F., Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. 2005. Economics lan-
guage and assumptions: How theories can become
I’m excited about the core idea in this manuscript. self-fulfilling. Academy of Management Review, 30:
There’s something very interesting about the captur- 8–24.
ing/harnessing, channeling, translating and amplify- Ghoshal, S. 2005. Bad management theories are destroying
ing of hype as entrepreneurs in nascent markets build good management practices. Academy of Manage-
the runway and ultimately materialize the promise. ment Learning & Education, 4: 75–91.

This was a fascinating paper. Gibson, C. B. 2022. Investing in communities: Forging new
ground in corporate community co-development
through relational and psychological pathways. Acad-
I really like this paper now. I feel like I’ve learned
emy of Management Journal, 65. doi: 10.5465/amj.
something new, and their theoretical story is
2020.1664.
cohesive.
Hein, P. H., & Ansari, S. 2022. From sheltered to included:
The emancipation of disabled workers from benevo-
CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION lent marginalization. Academy of Management Jour-
nal, 65. doi: 10.5465/amj.2020.1689.
We think that the articles in this issue will make
meaningful contributions to ongoing societal debates Hideg, I., DeCelles, K. A., & Tihanyi, L. 2020. Publishing
practical and responsible research in AMJ. Academy
about management and organizations. To facilitate
of Management Journal, 63: 1681–1686.
the conversation, the articles are made available to
the public (open access) for a period of time. Their Howard-Grenville, J. 2021. Caring, courage and curiosity:
Reflections on our roles as scholars in organizing for a
empirical results on, and new approaches to, societal
sustainable future. Organization Theory, 2: doi: 10.
problems may provide opportunities for their
1177/2631787721991143.
authors to make societal conversations more produc-
tive and to help affected groups and communities Howard-Grenville, J., Davis, G. F., Dyllick, T., Miller, C. C.,
Thau, S., & Tsui, A. S. 2019. Sustainable development
find solutions. The SRF hopefully signals to
for a better world: Contributions of leadership, man-
researchers in other fields studying similar problems agement, and organizations. Academy of Manage-
that AMJ welcomes their work. Readers, including ment Discoveries, 5: 355–366.
prospective authors of AMJ papers, may also find the
Howard-Grenville, J., Nelson, A., Vough, H., & Zilber, T. B.
articles in this issue encouraging if they are seeking 2021. Achieving fit and avoiding misfit in qualitative
to work on research topics that matter to broader research. Academy of Management Journal, 64:
society. 1313–1323.
2022 Tihanyi, Howard-Grenville, and DeCelles 719

Huff, A. S. 1999. Writing for scholarly publication. Thou- Tihanyi, L. 2020. From “that’s interesting” to “that’s
sand Oaks, CA: SAGE. important.”. Academy of Management Journal, 63:
Leigh, A., & Melwani, S. 2022. Am I next? The spillover 329–331.
effects of mega-threats on avoidant behaviors at work. Tihanyi, L., & DeCelles, K. A. 2021. Publishing original
Academy of Management Journal, 65. doi: 10.5465/ research in AMJ: Advice to prospective authors.
AMBPP.2021.221 Academy of Management Journal, 64: 679–683.
Logue, D., & Grimes, M. G. 2022. Living up to the hype: Umphress, E. E., Greer, L. L., Muir, C. P., & Knight, A.
How new ventures manage the resource and liability 2021. Publishing impactful research in AMJ: Winners
of future-oriented visions within the nascent market of the 2020 and 2021 Impact Awards. Academy of
of impact investing. Academy of Management Jour- Management Journal, 64: 1648–1653.
nal, 65. doi: 10.5465/amj.2020.1583. Umphress, E. E., Rink, F., Muir, C. P., & Hideg, I. 2022.
Lucas, D. S., Grimes, M. G., & Gehman, J. 2022. Remaking Insights on how we try to show empathy, respect, and
capitalism: the strength of weak legislation in mobiliz- inclusion in AMJ. Academy of Management Journal,
ing B corporation certification. Academy of Manage- 65: 363–370.
ment Journal, 65. doi: 10.5465/amj.2020.1688.
Martin, S. R., & Harrison, S. 2022. Upward mobility, the
cleft habitus, and speaking up: How class transitions
relate to individual and organizational antecedents of Laszlo Tihanyi ([email protected]) is professor and William
voice. Academy of Management Journal, 65. doi: 10. Alexander Kirkland Chair of Strategic Management in the
5465/amj.2020.1550. Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice
Munguia Gomez, D. M., & Levine, E. E. 2022. The University. His main research areas are corporate
policy-people gap: Decision makers choose policies governance in multinational firms, internationalization,
that favor different applicants than they select when and organizational adaptation in emerging economies. His
making individual decisions. Academy of Manage- current research explores the involvement of institutional
ment Journal, 65. doi: 10.5465/amj.2020.1740. investors in foreign direct investment and the effects of
social movements on multinational firms. He serves as the
National Science Foundation. 2022. At a Glance. Retrieved editor of AMJ.
from https://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp.
Jennifer Howard-Grenville ([email protected].
Ployhart, R. E., & Bartunek, J. M. 2019. Editors’ comments:
uk) is the Diageo Professor of Organization Studies at the
There is nothing so theoretical as good practice—A
Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
call for phenomenal theory. Academy of Manage-
An expert in qualitative research and organizational theory,
ment Review, 44: 493–497.
her research focuses on how people and organizations
Ponce de Leon, R., & Rosette, A. S. 2022. “Invisible” dis- generate and navigate change related to sustainability. She
crimination: Divergent outcomes for the non- serves as deputy editor (qualitative) at AMJ, and was an
prototypicality of Black women. Academy of Man- associate editor at the journal from 2014 to 2016.
agement Journal, 65.
Katherine A. DeCelles ([email protected])
Tang, P. M., Koopman, J., McClean, S. T., Zhang, J. H., Li, is the Secretary of State Professor of Organizational
C. H., De Cremer, D., Lu, Y., & Ng, C. T. S. 2022. When Effectiveness at the Rotman School of Management at the
conscientious employees meet intelligent machines: University of Toronto. Her research interests are in
An integrative approach inspired by complementarity conflict, emotion, morality, inequality, and crime. She is
theory and role theory. Academy of Management currently studying coordinating processes of deviant
Journal, 65. interaction to understand how to prevent hate speech,
Tewfik, B. A. 2022. The impostor phenomenon revisited: violent injury, and racial discrimination. She currently
Examining the relationship between workplace serves as deputy editor (micro) for AMJ, and served as an
impostor thoughts and interpersonal effectiveness at associate Editor for AMJ from 2017–2019.
work. Academy of Management Journal, 65. doi: 10.
5465/amj.2020.1516.
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