Please excuse cross postings.
Corporate Governance: An International Review
Call for Papers to be submitted to a Special Issue in CGIR on
“Research Methodology in Governance Studies: Challenges and Opportunities”
Guest Editors: Brian Boyd, Renée Adams, and Steve Gove
Research methodology is important for any academic topic, but arguably even
more so for corporate governance. Most constructs in governance research
are unobservable, raising questions regarding the suitability of proxy
indicators. Additionally, the pattern of relationships among variables is
often complex, requiring sophisticated designs ranging from mediation to
multiplex networks, among others. Thus, it is not surprising that it is
often difficult to identify causal effects in corporate governance
research.
The goal of this special issue is to advance knowledge regarding the design
and implementation of the methodological component of governance research.
Sample topics might include, but are not limited to the following:
• The correspondence between statistical methods, measurement, and
theory
• Evolution of measurement and statistical methodologies in
governance research
• Corporate governance constructs, construct clarity, validity, and
reliability
• Methodological advances and innovations applicable to corporate
governance research from outside the field
• Qualitative and mixed method approaches to corporate governance
research
• The role of governance data and limitations of that data in
research methods (e.g., limited databases, course-grained proxies, etc.)
• Content and text analysis
• Dealing with endogeneity: natural experiments, difference-in-
difference estimators, regression discontinuty design, instrumental
variable analysis, etc.
• Measuring and analyzing networks
• Contingency modeling
• Survey design
• Event studies
• Sample selection
Proposals should be submitted via
http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cgir and
selecting “Special Issue: Research Methods” as the paper type. Papers
should follow CGIR style guidelines. Papers will undergo the usual double-
blind, developmental review, and the final acceptance of papers will be
contingent on incorporating reviewers’ feedback to the satisfaction of the
editors. Submissions will be evaluated with respect to the following
criteria:
(a) Relevance. The proposed manuscript should make a contribution towards
improving our understanding of methodological issues in the context of
corporate governance.
(b) Viability. The paper should represent an achievable project within the
tight time
constraints required. If the scope of a manuscript revision falls outside
the timetable of the special issue, we may recommend to the Editors in
Chief that the final paper be published in a subsequent issue of CGIR.
(c) Organization and Coherence. The paper should follow a logical
structure, read
clearly, and thoroughly represent the available research.
(d) Insight for Future Work. The proposal should convey important
implications for future
management scholars regarding methodological rigor.
Additionally, authors should carefully consider the following questions
when planning their articles:
1. Is there a problem? If so, how salient is it? The premise of
most methods papers is that the authors have a ‘better mousetrap’ – i.e., a
better way of addressing or framing a particular question. Implicit in
this premise is the notion that existing approaches are flawed or limited
in some way. As such, a critical first step is to document both the extent
and salience of this issue. Careful reviews of the literature, and a
positive tone in any critique of prior work is invaluable in this step.
2. What benefits does the new approach provide? Authors should be
able to provide strong evidence that approach offers new insights – e.g.,
by challenging the conclusions of prior work, integrating disparate and
inconsistent findings, or by the ability to frame new questions. There are
two components to answering this question:
a. An empirical demonstration. Generally, manuscripts which only
describe a new approach will be perceived as a weaker contribution than
manuscripts which both describe and test.
b. Comparisons are powerful evidence of the benefits to a new
approach. For example, a manuscript which develops a new measure of a
governance construct will be seen as a weaker contribution than one which
compares the efficacy of the new measure against existing measures.
3. Feasibility. Is this methodological advance readily available to
governance scholars? What steps could an author take to facilitate
adoption of this innovation? This could include appendices or online
supplements that include software tutorials, sample code,etc.
The Guest Editors for this Special Issue are Brian Boyd, City University of
Hong Kong (
bkboyd@cityu.edu.hk), Renée Adams, University of New South Wales
(
renee.adams@unsw.edu.au), and Steve Gove, University of Vermont
(
sgove@bsad.uvm.edu). We welcome any questions or queries about possible
submissions.
We will begin accepting submissions on February 1, 2015. All papers must
be submitted by March 13, 2015. Please note that due to the strict
timetable associated with a special issue, we will not be able to accept
late submissions. Also, for authors invited to submit revised manuscripts,
it will be essential to handle these changes in a timely manner.