Letter from the Editor-in-Chief (EIC)

Citation

Tung, R. (2019), "Letter from the Editor-in-Chief (EIC)", Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 449-450. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCSM-10-2019-220

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief (EIC)

This is the second and last editorial that I write as EIC of Cross Cultural & Strategic Management (CCSM). My first editorial appeared in end 2015 when I took over as Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal (CCM:IJ) from Simon Dolan where I outlined my vision and direction for the journal.

Shortly after I assumed the Editorship and upon broad consultation with the editorial team and researchers in the discipline, a decision was made to change the name of the journal from its previous title of CCM:IJ to its current title of CCSM. This decision was made to reflect the broadened domain/scope of coverage of the journal, namely, to provide “a forum for the publication of high-quality cross-cultural and strategic management research in the global context” (from the journal’s Statement of Editorial Policy). To date, most journals on cross-cultural management typically publish behavioral and/or managerial research that tends to focus on the micro level of analysis. Most journals of international business and strategic management, on the other hand, tend to focus on the macro aspects of conducting business across international boundaries and/or the strategic management of cross-cultural business relations, respectively. The extant literature on culture shows that research on culture can and should span multiple levels (see e.g. Tung and Stahl, 2018). CCSM thus seeks to fill the void in the extant publication space through the dissemination of “discerning, theoretically grounded, evidence-based and cutting-edge research on issues relevant to all aspects of global management influenced by, related to and/or affecting the crossing of cultures. CCSM is especially interested in theoretical and empirical papers that investigate new and unique ideas and/or are multilevel (micro-meso-macro) and/or are multidisciplinary in nature” (from the journal’s Statement of Editorial Policy).

To accomplish this objective, the journal has recruited well-known scholars skilled at all three levels of analysis in a variety of capacities – as members of the Editorial Team, Consulting Editorial Board and Editorial Review Board. I will highlight some of their contributions to CCSM in the following list:

• Currently, three members of the Editorial Team have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of International Business (AIB), the premier academic association of professors/scholars in International Business. “The AIB Fellows consist of a select group of distinguished AIB members recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business or have made significant contributions to the AIB” (from AIB Fellows website, https://aib.msu.edu/aibfellows.asp).

• Several members of the Consulting Editorial and Editorial Review Boards are Fellows of AIB and/or the Academy of Management. These include Paul Beamish, John Child, Anne Tsui, Yadong Luo, Oded Shenkar, Mary Ann von Glinow, Cary Cooper, Tailan Chi, Gary Knight, Mike Kotaabe, Luis Gomez-Mejia, Charles Dhanaraj, Mike Peng, Arie Lewin and Randall Schuler, among others.

• Many members of the Consulting Editorial and Editorial Review Boards are eminent scholars in the field and represent the “who’s who” of research on cross-cultural management and global strategic management.

• Many members of the Consulting Editorial and Editorial Review Boards provide not only moral support to CCSM but have actively contributed to peer-reviewed publications in the journal. During my tenure as EIC, I started a new feature known as “Distinguished Scholar Essays” (DSEs). DSEs were written by John Berry, Yadong Luo, Michael Hitt, Kim Cameron, Anne Tsui, Cary Cooper, Jeanne Brett, among others. They are among the most highly cited authors in the management/cross-cultural research literature.

• Lorraine Eden, former EIC of the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) and a Past President of the AIB, has co-edited a Special Issue for the journal on “Gender in International Business and Management” (Vol. 24: 2, 2017).

• Arjen van Witteloostuijin, who has served as Reviewing Editor of CCSM since mid-2015, concurrently serves as an Area Editor of JIB. Arjen’s tenure will end along with mine in year-end.

• Kim Cameron, who is generally recognized as a founder of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), has specifically written a piece for CCSM on POS as applied to cross-cultural and international management.

• Cary Cooper, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the advancement of management education in the UK, specifically wrote a piece for CCSM where he presented his novel idea of “presenteeism” (opposite of “absenteeism”) and its relationship to performance. Sir Cooper has informed me that as a result of the publication of his piece in CCSM, Cambridge University Press issued him with a book contract on the same subject.

• Other well-known scholars have contributed their research to CCSM. These include Alain Verbeke, currently EIC of JIBS, among others.

• Peter Williamson of Cambridge University will co-edit a Special Issue on the “Belt and Road Initiative” in CCSM in the coming year. This reflects the ongoing engagement and participation of well-established scholars in the journal.

In summary, the recognized scholarship, commitment and dedication of CCSM’s editorial team and the active engagement of the Consulting Editorial and Editorial Review Boards have contributed to the publication of high-quality research in the journal as reflected in the significant increase in the journal’s impact factor over a relatively short period of time, from 0.396 in 2014 to 1.516 in 2017 to 2.61 in 2018 (a six-fold increase over a four-year period). The Immediacy Index for CCSM has also climbed from 0.1 (2014) to 0.469 (2017) and is rapidly approaching that of the Journal of World Business (JWB) that has an Immediacy Index of 0.552. Of course, the JWB has a much longer history in the field – the journal celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. According to another source of journal ranking, the “Scimago Journal & Country Rank”, CCSM ranks among the top (highest quartile) for “Cultural Studies” and has increased its rank for “Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management” from Q3 (2016) to Q2 (2017). This advancement in quartile ranking, coupled with the “citations per document,” shows a clear upward trajectory for CCSM over the recent past (www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=21100803392&tip=sid&clean=0 (accessed May 20, 2019)).

I am proud of the many accomplishments of CCSM over the recent past. This transformation could not have taken place without the dedicated members of the Editorial Team, Consulting Editorial Team, Editorial Review Board and all supporters of CCSM. I wholeheartedly thank them for their unwavering support and truly value their friendship and assistance throughout the past four years.

In closing, I wish the journal continued success in servicing the unique nice it currently occupies in “cross-cultural and strategic management research in the global context.”