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Does early publishing in top journals really predict long-term scientific success in the business field?

Author

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  • Li Hou

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Qiang Wu

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Yundong Xie

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

Abstract

The soaring number of researchers has led to increasingly intense competition in academia. Early identification of scientists’ potential is a practical but difficult issue currently attracting escalating attention. This study takes the business field as an example and explores whether early publishing in top journals is an effective yardstick to recognise scientists who will have better academic performance in their careers. We extract the career records of publication and citations for 1933 business scientists with stable and continuous publication records from the combination of the ORCID and Scopus databases. Through regression analysis and various checks, we find that researchers publishing in top journals early in their careers indeed perform better subsequently compared to peers with similar early career profiles but no top journal publications. Our research sheds light on a new perspective for early identification of potential star scientists, especially in the business field, and justifies encouraging junior researchers to devote themselves to publishing in top-ranked peer-reviewed journals.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Hou & Qiang Wu & Yundong Xie, 2022. "Does early publishing in top journals really predict long-term scientific success in the business field?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(11), pages 6083-6107, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:127:y:2022:i:11:d:10.1007_s11192-022-04509-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-022-04509-0
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gen-Chang Hsu & Wei-Jiun Lin & Syuan-Jyun Sun, 2023. "Temporal trends in academic performance and career duration of principal investigators in ecology and evolutionary biology in Taiwan," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(6), pages 3437-3451, June.
    3. Guo, Liying & Wang, Yang & Li, Meiling, 2024. "Exploration, exploitation and funding success: Evidence from junior scientists supported by the Chinese Young Scientists Fund," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2).
    4. Yining Wang & Qiang Wu & Liangyu Li, 2024. "Examining the influence of women scientists on scientific impact and novelty: insights from top business journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(6), pages 3517-3542, June.

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