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Search and Research: The influence of editorial boards on journals' quality

Author

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  • Damien Besancenot

    (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord (ancienne affiliation) - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Joao R. Faria

    (IPED - Institute for Policy and Economic Development - UTEP - University of Texas [El Paso])

  • Kim Van Huynh

    (LEM - Laboratoire d'Économie Moderne - UP2 - Université Panthéon-Assas)

Abstract

This paper considers the search for the best papers by the editors of an academic journal. Editors' search is sequential. At each period, each editor receives one submission from a researcher and has to decide if she accepts or rejects the paper. The editorial board is heterogeneous, some editors being more demanding than others. On the academic side, researchers choose the quality level of their papers in order to maximize their utility function taking as given the composition of the editorial board. We show that three equilibria may occur. When the number of the less demanding editors is high, or if the editors exhibit great differences in their demand for quality, the journal will attract fewer submissions, publish a small number of papers and these papers will be of low quality. When the editorial board is composed by a homogeneous set of very demanding editors, the journal will publish a high number of high quality papers. For some intermediate structure of the board, a situation of multiple equilibria allows a hybrid equilibrium to exist in which the journal receives both good and bad papers. The long run and welfare implications of these equilibria are analyzed.

Suggested Citation

  • Damien Besancenot & Joao R. Faria & Kim Van Huynh, 2009. "Search and Research: The influence of editorial boards on journals' quality," CEPN Working Papers halshs-00370785, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cepnwp:halshs-00370785
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00370785
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    Cited by:

    1. João R. Faria & Rajeev K. Goel & Neela D. Manage, 2024. "The path of economics research production: Insights into the seesaw between theory and empirics," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(4), pages 753-772, September.
    2. Radek Zdeněk & Jana Lososová, 2018. "An analysis of editorial board members’ publication output in agricultural economics and policy journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 563-578, October.
    3. Damien Besancenot & Radu Vranceanu, 2017. "A model of scholarly publishing with hybrid academic journals," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 131-150, January.
    4. Shuo Xu & Mengjia An & Xin An, 2021. "Do scientific publications by editorial board members have shorter publication delays and then higher influence?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 6697-6713, August.
    5. Damien Besancenot & João Ricardo Faria & Franklin G. Mixon, 2017. "Academic Research and the Strategic Interaction of Scholars and Editors: A Two-Stage Game," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(01), pages 1-16, March.
    6. Damien Besancenot & Kim Huynh & Radu Vranceanu, 2011. "A Matching Model of the Academic Publication Market," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 167(4), pages 708-725, December.
    7. Faria João R & Mixon Franklin G & Upadhyaya Kamal P, 2018. "Editor Reputation and Journal Quality: The Case of Regional Economic Association Journals," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-20, January.
    8. Merigó, José M. & Yang, Jian-Bo, 2017. "A bibliometric analysis of operations research and management science," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 37-48.
    9. Sümeyye Akça & Özlem Şenyurt, 2023. "Geographical representation of editorial boards: a review in the field of library and information sciences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(2), pages 1409-1427, February.
    10. Heintzelman Martin & Nocetti Diego, 2009. "Where Should we Submit our Manuscript? An Analysis of Journal Submission Strategies," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-28, September.
    11. Besancenot, Damien & Vranceanu, Radu, 2024. "Reluctance to pursue breakthrough research: A signaling explanation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(4).
    12. Yundong Xie & Qiang Wu & Xingchen Li, 2019. "Editorial team scholarly index (ETSI): an alternative indicator for evaluating academic journal reputation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(3), pages 1333-1349, September.
    13. João Ricardo Faria & Rajeev K. Goel, 2016. "Academic Publication Uncertainty and Publishing Behavior: A Game-Theoretic Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 6176, CESifo.
    14. Damien Besancenot & Radu Vranceanu, 2014. "A model of scholarly publishing with hybrid academic journals," CEPN Working Papers hal-00971541, HAL.
    15. repec:hal:journl:hal-00971541 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Emre Sarigöl & David Garcia & Ingo Scholtes & Frank Schweitzer, 2017. "Quantifying the effect of editor–author relations on manuscript handling times," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(1), pages 609-631, October.
    17. J. A. García & Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & J. Fdez-Valdivia, 2015. "The author–editor game," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(1), pages 361-380, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Editors; Search Equilibrium; Publication market; Academic journals.; Academic journals;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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